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K7UGA report - Monday evening
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

Hi! It's Monday evening, or Tuesday (14th) on the UTC clock. I was on the 0218-0230 UTC VO-52 pass as K7UGA, and plan to work one more pass this evening - an SO-50 pass at 0351-0405 UTC. Thanks for the QSOs so far! On Tuesday in the early afternoon, I hope to work the SO-50 pass at 1943-1958 UTC. I can't stretch my lunch time to cover the AO-27 pass that starts about 2019 UTC, and SO-50 gives me more time to (hopefully) work stations than I can in the 7 minutes on AO-27. For Tuesday evening (early Wednesday on the UTC clock), I am looking to work the following passes: VO-52 at 0235-0247 UTC (satellite passing directly over my head) VO-52 at 0413-0422 UTC (low pass over the west coast) SO-50 at 0420-0433 UTC (starting to my north, going around to southeast) I may stop working the VO-52 pass around the time SO-50 comes up from the horizon, as I don't have great visibility to the northwest from my house. For Wednesday, I'm hoping to work one midday pass: SO-50 at 1832-1845 UTC (starting to my south, going around to northeast) I am not sure about my Wednesday evening (early Thursday, UTC) plans yet. I plan on working passes on Thursday morning and around midday from the back yard (VO-52, SO-50, possibly AO-27) before driving to Yuma and on to California. I may skip working passes Wednesday evening, and focus on the daytime operating Thursday morning instead. I'll post more about that tomorrow night or Wednesday morning. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK (K7UGA, on the satellites this week) http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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ALMASat-1 and MASAT-1
by PY5LF 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Hi Signal of MAZAT over us; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PT_0q9e2o4 And ALMASat-1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZrGNDOUyGI Both at height around 1400km. 73 PY5LF LUCIANO FABRICIO Curitiba-PR-Brazil GG54jm <http://www.qrz.com/db/py5lf> http://www.qrz.com/db/py5lf

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Re: MaSat-1
by Mark L. Hammond 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

OKay, just copied over 100 packets on the TS-2000 while in the shack! Mark N8MH At 04:01 PM 2/13/2012 -0500, Mark L. Hammond wrote: >Nice work, Mirek! > >I just decoded Masat-1 using Funcube Dongle and their software. I >only got a few packets, but I was doing all of it remotely from work >:) > >73, > >Mark N8MH > >On Mon, Feb 13, 2012 at 3:44 PM, Miroslav Kasal <kasal(a)feec.vutbr.cz> wrote: >> Hi OMs, >> >> >> >> MaSat-1 seems to me as great CubeSat. The signal during revn 5 was very >> strong at max elevation 12 degrees at me in Brno. Number of detected Packets >> was 74. The audio file: >> http://www.urel.feec.vutbr.cz/esl/files/Othact/masat1_rev5.wav >> >> >> >> Congrats Budapest Team! >> >> >> >> 73, Mirek OK2AQ >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 > > > >-- >Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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MaSat-1 over Brasil
by Roland Zurmely 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Very good copy on orbit #7 ! Please see here telemetry received: http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/vega.htm 73 de Roland PY4ZBZ

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eBay Madness
by Craig Gagner 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

I am still taken back by the amount of folks willing to pay top dollar for a discontinued radio, I just saw a IC-910 with no 1.2 and owned previously by a smoker with a starting bid of $1300 .. Wow .. I would think the prices would go down now that there is a known fix for the TS-2000. Craig

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Masat over Australia
by Andy Kellner 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Just received and decoded a few packets from Masat over Queensland, orbit #6. Sat had 6 reboots so far, so it seems its rebooting every orbit. Low power mode. Cheers, Andy - VK4HHH

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E-St@r TLE
by Rob Styles 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

TLE(source: - , last update: 13/02/2012 16:32:20 UTC+01:00) 1 00003U 12006C 12044.46627998 .00000000 00000-0 28115-3 0 18 2 00003 69.4857 238.7662 0796159 45.0883 191.9444 14.06339990 10

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E-St@r TLE
by Rob Styles 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

TLE(source: - , last update: 13/02/2012 16:32:20 UTC+01:00) 1 00003U 12006C 12044.46627998 .00000000 00000-0 28115-3 0 18 2 00003 69.4857 238.7662 0796159 45.0883 191.9444 14.06339990 10

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ALMASAT-1 and Masat-1 RX and decoded.
by Nader Omer 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

15:50 utc Orbit # 4 AlMAsat-1 packet received via MixW . Masat-1 Packet received and decoded as well via Masat-1 decoder software See a decoder screen shot at http://st2nh-blogger.blogspot.com/2012/02/masat-1-decoder-received-telemetr… 73;s

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PW-Sat signals decoded @ ISIS
by Wouter Weggelaar 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Hi All, PW-Sat has been decoded using the ISIS GSKit on the first and 3rd pass of PW-SAT over Delft. On the third pass we also connected SDR hardware to 70cm to listen for the other cubes A spectrum plot can be found at http://www.pa3weg.nl/pa3weg/images/Spectrum_plot_PA3WEG_3rd_pass_1537UTC.jpg and the recording of PW-SAT at http://www.pa3weg.nl/pa3weg/recordings/PW-SAT%20recording%20PA3WEG%2013-02-… As you can imagine, all our engineers gathered around when they heard familiar BPSK 1200 sounds ;) http://www.pa3weg.nl/pa3weg/images/TrackingVEGA01.jpg http://www.pa3weg.nl/pa3weg/images/TrackingVEGA02.jpg We have heard: - PW-Sat - MaSat-1 - XatCobeo - Probably AlmaSat Nothing heard from Goliat, Robusta and UniCubeSat Wouter Weggelaar PA3WEG ISIS RF Engineer

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Vega keps
by Armando Mercado 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

The first keps for the Vega launch... No id's yet. This is probably the primary payload. 1 38077U 12006A 12044.49168479 -.00000825 26074-5 00000+0 0 27 2 38077 069.5109 238.7998 0797863 046.5524 319.9217 14.12426963 09 73 Armando, N8IGJ

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Cubesat report
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Heard very strong data bursts on the following frequencies from around 1539 hours GMT onwards. Just using an "Elk" antenna and very strong -My QTH - IO81EM (Wales UK) 145.902 Mhz, 437.475 Mhz, 437.550 Mhz. Ken Eaton GW1FKY

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cube this am
by Nick Pugh 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

On the pass at 1134 today I copied sat on the flowing frequencies 145.905,437.355,437.375,437.459 MHz see video at url http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5kVXrRRnFo <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5kVXrRRnFo&context=C3076e55ADOEgsToPDskJtA7 vLKGEwrAo5UfF_UN9w> &context=C3076e55ADOEgsToPDskJtA7vLKGEwrAo5UfF_UN9w Thanks nick Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School

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MASAT-1 received by ST2UOK station
by yasir osman 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

MASAT-1 CW beacon and packet was successfully heard over Africa (Khartoum the capital of Sudan) by ST2UOK ground station team. the received signal was recorded as an audio file and will be posted on our website soon. the CW heard as a short time signal decoded like: SAT 410 24 EHH ----- SAT 410 25 ------------ SAT 411 ----------------- Right now the team is trying to decode the received packet using MASAT-1 decoder software. 73 de ST2UOK http://cubesat.uofk.edu www.facebook.com/cubesat

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Masat-1 and CW TLM Heard Over Africa
by Nader Omer 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Just heard MaSat-1 with a max elevation of 11 degrees @ Khartoum Strong signal also I succeed to recorded CW beacon? I well post it later>> Nice launch Vega congratulation to all 73 de st2nh

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ALMASat-1 decoded
by Mike Rupprecht 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

1k2 AFSK, beacon every 2 min 2012-02-13 13:54:21.440 UTC: [126 Bytes KISS Frame (without CRC)] ctrl: 19 PID: F0 {UI!} 107 Payload Bytes from ALMSAT to IW4DUL: 1 > CC 00 FF 00 00 65 21 B3 38 E9 8C 74 00 81 28 00 11 D9 00 12 21 > 51 00 00 09 0D 90 05 26 40 02 01 00 1F 02 90 35 03 D0 00 18 41 > D0 42 04 70 48 04 8A 12 00 0F FF 20 BA 12 00 09 F9 9D 8A 31 61 > 9D B0 00 9E 09 E7 9E 9A 0A 11 00 00 9D 71 56 9D 71 33 9C E4 81 > 1C A5 69 B1 FE D1 E4 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 101 > 00 00 82 A8 00 00 03 73, Mike DK3WN

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MaSat-1 and XATCOBEO heard
by Mark L. Hammond 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Based on frequencies of signals---just "heard" MASAT-1 (437.345) and XATCOBEO (437.365) with Funcube dongle, at 1340utc 13 Feb during a 7 deg pass. Recording was made, hope to process tonight. I was remotely logged in watching the waterfall; but frequencies appeared to be correct. Using the pre-launch TLEs with the "1000utc" time in the name. Congrats to ALL the teams! 73, Mark N8MH On Mon, Feb 13, 2012 at 7:48 AM, Mani VU2WMY <wmy(a)isac.gov.in> wrote: > I too heard some signals on 437.345 possibly from Masat at 12:25 pass over > Bangalore,India (Max El 60 deg) for a while. In between heard some thing > like a high speed CW for a short time. Unable to decode. > > Mani VU2WMY > > > Quoting Dave Webb KB1PVH <kb1pvh(a)gmail.com>: > >> Just heard MaSat-1 with a max elevation of 20 degrees over Massachusetts. >> Strong signal but I was unable to decode due to operator error. >> >> Dave - KB1PVH >> >> > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is > for > the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and > privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or > distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please > contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original > message. > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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MaSat-1 heard
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Just heard MaSat-1 with a max elevation of 20 degrees over Massachusetts. Strong signal but I was unable to decode due to operator error. Dave - KB1PVH Sent from my Verizon Wireless DROID X

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Vega Launch Success – Satellite Signals Heard
by Trevor . 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

http://www.uk.amsat.org/4657 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Vega launch
by Graham Shirville 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Latest update from Kourou timed at 0724UTC “The chronology is on going smoothly for a launch today at 11:00 for a launch window that has been extended to 3 hours. The launcher is under control, flight software is up loaded in the on board computer, the inertial reference system is aligned. Mechanical teams are now removing the mobile gantry. Meteo is fine for the launch up to now.” (I believe the 11:00 time indicated is actually 11:00 CET therefore the start of the launch window remains at 10:00 UTC) 73 Graham G3VZV

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Video of K7UGA working AO-7 this evening now available
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Hi! During the first AO-7 pass I worked as K7UGA this evening, I made a video of that pass. Since I only made 3 QSOs early in the pass, I trimmed it down to about 6 minutes in length. The video is now available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=790OQThYtX0 More videos should follow later, either like this one or combinations of the audio I record when working each pass combined with still photos to make a slideshow that plays with the audio track. I'm using the same two FT-817NDs I used in other videos I recently posted, along with an Elk log periodic. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK (K7UGA) http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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K7UGA report for Sunday, upcoming passes through Tuesday (14th) afternoon
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 13 Feb '12

13 Feb '12

Hi! The Central Arizona DX Association's commemoration of the Arizona Statehood Centennial is underway. Thanks to Bob K7BHM, the CADXA's organizer of this week-long event and the K7UGA QSL manager, I was able to get on the air this evening as the UTC clock passed the midnight hour earlier today, starting with an AO-7 pass. K7UGA logged a total 16 QSOs on 5 different passes, using 3 different satellites (AO-7, SO-50, VO-52). Thanks for the QSOs! K7UGA will also be on the HF bands from stations around Arizona, with some of the HF operations already in progress. More will be on the HF bands after 1500 UTC today, through next Sunday (19th). To read more about the CADXA's commemoration, which received the OK from the Arizona Centennial Commission as an official event connected with the state centennial celebrations, please visit http://cadxa.org/ For Monday evening (early Tuesday on the UTC clock), I am planning to work the following passes: VO-52 at 0218-0230 UTC (passes to the east of Arizona) SO-50 at 0351-0404 UTC (passes from the north of Arizona to the southeast) I know there is a second VO-52 pass I could work at the same time as the SO-50 pass, but I would like to work both SSB and FM where possible. The 0218 UTC VO-52 pass practically covers from coast to coast, and those on the west coast can get an early jump on the 0351 UTC SO-50 pass before that footprint stretches too far east. Tuesday, 14 February, is Statehood Day here in Arizona. Along with the planned operations on HF from the 3 cities that served as capitals in Arizona's pre-statehood territorial days (Phoenix, Tucson, and Prescott) and my planned activity tomorrow night (which will be the 14th on the UTC clock), I am hoping to be able to work one or two passes around the 1930-2030 UTC timeframe from here in the Phoenix area. This will allow satellite operators a chance to do the same thing as those working HF. I see an SO-50 pass at 1943-1958 UTC on Tuesday, followed by an AO-27 pass where the repeater should switch on around 2019 UTC. I would like to work both passes if possible, but will try for at least one of the two. I will take a closer look at the Tuesday evening (early Wednesday, UTC time) passes tomorrow. I expect there should be VO-52 and SO-50 passes that K7UGA can be on, and I will post more about that later. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK (K7UGA on the satellites this week) http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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K7UGA this evening
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 12 Feb '12

12 Feb '12

Hi! I was on the 0014 UTC AO-7 pass and worked 3 stations as K7UGA. Rick WA4NVM was the first station in the K7UGA log. I plan on working all of the passes I previously posted, including the late-evening 0503 UTC SO-50 pass. I hope to work more stations on the next few passes tonight. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Bravo, K8YSE (Working UT1FG/MM Primer)
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 12 Feb '12

12 Feb '12

John K8YSE has prepared an excellent "working Yuri" primer for those trying to make a contact with UT1FG/MM. It is full of proverbs relevant to OLD and NEW satellite operators. Take a minute to read it if you are currently active. Scroll down about 1/4 way through the web page: http://www.papays.com/sat/general.html 73 Clayton W5PFG If you are busy whining about the lack of HEO birds and griping about the usable satellites we have left, this message is not intended for you.

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Re: Preliminary TLE's For Mondays Vega Launch
by Mark L. Hammond 12 Feb '12

12 Feb '12

Here is an updated version of the info for SatPC32, to match the name/case in the TLE's posted by Trever. MASAT,437345.0,145950,USB,FM,Nor,0,0,GFSK 625/1250BPS,CW ALMASat-1,437465.0,145950,FM,FM,Nor,0,0,1k2 packet ALMASat-1,2407850.0,435100.0,FM,FM,Nor,2256000.0,0, Sband FM UNICUBESAT,437305.0,145950,FM,FM,Nor,0,0,9k6 packet UNICUBESAT,437345.0,145950,FM,FM,Nor,0,0,9k6 packet PW-SAT,145900.0,435020.0,USB,FM,Nor,0,0,12kBPSK and xpdr PW-SAT,145902.0,435032.0,USB,FM,Nor,0,0,12kBPSK and xpdr GOLIAT,437485,145900.0,FM,FM,Nor,0,0,1k2 AFSK ESTAR,437445,145900.0,FM,FM,Nor,0,0,1k2 AFSK ROBUSTA,437325,145900.0,FM,FM,Nor,0,0,1k2 AFSK XATCOBEO,437365,145940.0,FM,FM,Nor,0,0,1k2 AFSK Simplex XATCOBEO,145940.0,437365,FM,FM,Nor,0,0,1k2 AFSK SSR dwnlnk By the way---if you are having trouble with the TLEs as posted---try opening the .TXT file from within Word; copy the info, and paste into a new .TXT file. That fixed the LF/CR issues I was seeing... 73, Mark N8MH At 05:23 PM 2/12/2012 +0000, Trevor . wrote: >Preliminary sets of TLE's for a launch at 1000, 1100 or 1200 UT are available via > >http://www.uk.amsat.org/4460 > >73 Trevor M5AKA >AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/ >---- > > >_______________________________________________ >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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QSL backs for roving satellite operators
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 12 Feb '12

12 Feb '12

Has anyone designed a QSL card back for satellite operators who operate a lot of rover? I am trying to trim cost and time associated with multiple cards to QSL my rover contacts. In the past I have hand written many /P cards and some image-based cards using photo printers, but would like to order a better quality card with an image front and QSO data on back. I'm looking for a QSL card back that has room for pertinent information such as my rover grid, satellite, and the necessary items to confirm a valid QSO for award purposes. The idea would be for the card to support at least four QSO's. My question is -- has anyone designed such a card and are you willing to share with me your image? Perhaps someone is a real graphics hound and would like to help? Thank you & 73, Clayton W5PFG

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Preliminary TLE's For Mondays Vega Launch
by Trevor . 12 Feb '12

12 Feb '12

Preliminary sets of TLE's for a launch at 1000, 1100 or 1200 UT are available via http://www.uk.amsat.org/4460 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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TLEs for Vega Maiden Flight
by Alberto González, GENSO User Support 12 Feb '12

12 Feb '12

Dear all, Find below in this email (or attached) the predicted Two Line Elements for the VEGA Maiden Flight, kindly calculated by the University of Bologna. These TLEs were calculated on a best-effort basis with some simplifying assumptions but they will be ok for the first few orbits. There are three different sets of TLEs for different launch scenarios at 10:00, 11:00 and 12:00 UTC on 2012 Feb. 13. We would like to thank University of Bologna and ESA Education Office for their efforts to have these TLEs ready for the launch. Best regards, Alberto González - University of Vigo User Support team GENSO European Operations Node -------------------------------------------- Launch: 13/02/2012 10:00UTC -------------------------------------------- XATCOBEO 1 00002U 12006B 12044.46627998 .00000000 00000-0 31967-3 0 16 2 00002 69.4857 238.7662 0796847 45.0971 191.9357 14.06476807 13 ESTAR 1 00003U 12006C 12044.46627998 .00000000 00000-0 28115-3 0 18 2 00003 69.4857 238.7662 0796159 45.0883 191.9444 14.06339990 10 GOLIAT 1 00004U 12006D 12044.46627998 .00000000 00000-0 26912-3 0 12 2 00004 69.4857 238.7662 0795841 45.0842 191.9484 14.06276813 11 ROBUSTA 1 00005U 12006E 12044.46627998 .00000000 00000-0 31201-3 0 10 2 00005 69.4856 238.7662 0796758 45.0912 191.9422 14.06456720 16 MASAT 1 00006U 12006F 12044.46627998 .00000000 00000-0 28115-3 0 11 2 00006 69.4856 238.7662 0796254 45.0851 191.9481 14.06356736 11 PW-SAT 1 00007U 12006G 12044.46627998 .00000000 00000-0 26588-3 0 14 2 00007 69.4856 238.7662 0796068 45.0829 191.9503 14.06319864 16 UNICUBESAT 1 00008U 12006H 12044.46627998 .00000000 00000-0 31967-3 0 12 2 00008 69.4856 238.7662 0796936 45.0885 191.9454 14.06489697 10 ALMASat-1 1 00009U 12006I 12044.46627998 .00000000 00000-0 12728-3 0 17 2 00009 69.4857 238.7662 0792733 45.0462 191.9858 14.05660435 12 -------------------------------------------- Launch: 13/02/2012 11:00UTC -------------------------------------------- XATCOBEO 1 00002U 12006B 12044.50794664 .00000000 00000-0 31967-3 0 16 2 00002 69.4857 253.8073 0796845 45.0970 191.9357 14.06476323 17 ESTAR 1 00003U 12006C 12044.50794664 .00000000 00000-0 28115-3 0 18 2 00003 69.4857 253.8073 0796156 45.0882 191.9444 14.06339491 16 GOLIAT 1 00004U 12006D 12044.50794664 .00000000 00000-0 26912-3 0 12 2 00004 69.4857 253.8073 0795838 45.0842 191.9484 14.06276301 13 ROBUSTA 1 00005U 12006E 12044.50794664 .00000000 00000-0 31201-3 0 10 2 00005 69.4856 253.8072 0796757 45.0911 191.9422 14.06456510 14 MASAT 1 00006U 12006F 12044.50794664 .00000000 00000-0 28115-3 0 11 2 00006 69.4856 253.8072 0796253 45.0851 191.9481 14.06356511 14 PW-SAT 1 00007U 12006G 12044.50794664 .00000000 00000-0 26588-3 0 14 2 00007 69.4856 253.8072 0796067 45.0829 191.9503 14.06319626 14 UNICUBESAT 1 00008U 12006H 12044.50794664 .00000000 00000-0 31967-3 0 12 2 00008 69.4856 253.8072 0796936 45.0885 191.9454 14.06489696 12 ALMASat-1 1 00009U 12006I 12044.50794664 .00000000 00000-0 12728-3 0 17 2 00009 69.4857 253.8073 0792730 45.0462 191.9859 14.05659674 17 -------------------------------------------- Launch: 13/02/2012 12:00UTC -------------------------------------------- XATCOBEO 1 00002U 12006B 12044.54961331 .00000000 00000-0 31967-3 0 17 2 00002 69.4856 268.8483 0796843 45.0970 191.9357 14.06475954 14 ESTAR 1 00003U 12006C 12044.54961331 .00000000 00000-0 28115-3 0 19 2 00003 69.4856 268.8483 0796154 45.0882 191.9444 14.06339111 13 GOLIAT 1 00004U 12006D 12044.54961331 .00000000 00000-0 26912-3 0 13 2 00004 69.4856 268.8483 0795836 45.0842 191.9484 14.06275908 13 ROBUSTA 1 00005U 12006E 12044.54961331 .00000000 00000-0 31201-3 0 11 2 00005 69.4856 268.8483 0796756 45.0912 191.9422 14.06456373 13 MASAT 1 00006U 12006F 12044.54961331 .00000000 00000-0 28115-3 0 12 2 00006 69.4856 268.8483 0796252 45.0851 191.9481 14.06356363 10 PW-SAT 1 00007U 12006G 12044.54961331 .00000000 00000-0 26588-3 0 15 2 00007 69.4856 268.8483 0796066 45.0829 191.9503 14.06319466 17 UNICUBESAT 1 00008U 12006H 12044.54961331 .00000000 00000-0 31967-3 0 13 2 00008 69.4856 268.8483 0796936 45.0885 191.9454 14.06489697 15 ALMASat-1 1 00009U 12006I 12044.54961331 .00000000 00000-0 12728-3 0 18 2 00009 69.4857 268.8483 0792727 45.0461 191.9859 14.05659070 13

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ANS-041 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin
by JoAnne Maenpaa 12 Feb '12

12 Feb '12

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-041 Special Bulletin SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-041.01 ANS-041 AMSAT Fox-1 Cubesat Selected for NASA ELaNa Launch Collaboration AMSAT News Service Bulletin 041.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. February 10, 2012 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-041.01 Project ELaNa, NASA's "Educational Launch of NanoSat" managed by the Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center, announced on February 10 that the AMSAT Fox-1 cubesat has been selected to join the program. NASA will work with AMSAT in a collaborative agreement where NASA will cover the integration and launch costs of satellites deemed to have merit in support of their strategic and educational goals. Watch for full details to be published in the AMSAT Journal. AMSAT teamed with the ARRL to write and deliver the 159 page educa- tional proposal to NASA. Letters documenting the importance of AMSAT's satellites in the education programs at the ARRL and also at the Clay Center for Science and Technology at the Dexter and Southfield schools in Brookline, MA, were important parts of our proposal. AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW said, "The ELaNA Launch oppor- tunity marks AMSAT's return to space after the conclusion of the successful ARISSat-1/KEDR flight. We need to get the flight Fox-1, along with an operational flight backup satellite, built, integrat- ed, tested, and delivered. Our ability to provide a spacecraft and get it launched is dependent upon the active support of our donors who wish to see Fox-1 fly." AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering, Tony Monteiro, AA2TX noted this will provide a launch opportunity for AMSAT's next generation of FM repeater satellites with features and operation beyond the experience of AO-51. AMSAT's Fox-1 Engineering Team is making progress developing the advanced satellite that will provide these features: + Fox-1 is designed to operate in sunlight without batteries once the battery system fails. This applies lessons learned from AO-51 and ARISSat-1 operations. + In case of IHU failure Fox-1 will continue to operate its FM repeater in a basic, 'zombie sat' mode, so that the repeater remains on-the-air. + Fox-1 is designed as the immediate replacement for AO-51. Its U/V (Mode B) transponder will make it even easier to work with modest equipment. + From the ground user's perspective, the same FM amateur radio equipment used for AO-51 may be used for Fox-1. + Extending the design, Fox-2 will benefit from the development work of Fox-1 by adding more sophisticated power management and Software Defined Transponder (SDX) communications systems. The Fox-1 Project presents an opportunity to literally put your call- sign on the Fox hardware. AMSAT is looking for major donations to help underwrite the cost of solar cells/panels, one of the more significant expenses of the project. These solar cells are needed for the flight unit as well as for the a flight spare. As Fox-1 will have solar cells on all six sides of the spacecraft and given the relatively small surface area available on each side (at most 4" by 4" per side), AMSAT needs to invest in high efficiency solar cells to gain as much power as possible to operate the spacecraft. Several opportunities to make your donation to keep amateur radio in space include: + Return the form sent with the letter to reply with your donation for the Fox-1 Project. - All donations over $40 will receive a Fox pin. - Donations of $120 or more qualify you for AMSAT President's Club + Call Martha at the AMSAT Office +1-888-FB AMSAT (1-888-322-6728) + Paypal donation widget on the main page at: http://www.amsat.org + Paypal donation widget for Project Fox at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fox/ + You can also go to the Paypal site and send your donation to martha(a)amsat.org. + The AMSAT Store: http://www.amsat-na.com/store/categories.php Project Fox web site provide a good overview of the technical progress of the new satellite: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fox/ [ANS thanks AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering, Tony Monteiro, AA2TX and AMSAT's Project Fox Engineering team for the above information] /EX

10 10

VEGA Maiden flight tomorrow
by Graham Shirville 12 Feb '12

12 Feb '12

Hi All, Just a couple of updates! PW-SAT will have 5 possible operating modes as shown below – we should expect the FM/DBS transponder (mode 5) to only be operational after the science mission has been completed - however the 1k2 BPSK transmissions will provide some good "in orbit" demonstration signals for AMSAT-UKs's upcoming FUNcube mission later this year: DOWN-LINK: 145.900 MHz Available Modes: 1. Receive only mode. DOWN-LINK: none 2. Beacon CW mode. DOWN-LINK: BEACON CW 12 WPM 3. Beacon BPSK mode. DOWN-LINK: BEACON BPSK 1200 bps AX25 (1 frame on 20 sec) 4. Control communication mode. UP-LINK: Commands DOWN-LINK: BPSK 1200 bps AX25 5. Repeater mode (aka "AO16" mode). UP-LINK: 435.020 MHz FM Voice DOWN-LINK: 145.900 MHz DSB Voice (repeated from up-link) During LEOP, the "launch and early operations phase", tomorrow, listeners are encouraged to gather at the IRC "cubesat" channel to exchange all the latest available information . You do not need to download a special IRC client to achieve this - simply point any browser at http://webchat.freenode.net and join the #cubesat channel. best 73 Graham

1 0

ANS 043 Bulletins
by Dee 11 Feb '12

11 Feb '12

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-043 ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS 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. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org In this edition: * AMSAT Fox-1 Cubesat Selected for NASA ELaNa Launch Collaboration * Vega Launch on February 13 With Eight Amateur Band Cubesats * ARISS Contact to Celebrate 50th Anniversary John Glenn Over Perth * Open Mission Control Software for CubeSat Project Teams * NASA astronaut Janice Voss, KC5BTK Passes * SumbandilaSat SO-67 Amateur Transponder Recovery Work in Progress * AMSAT Notes: * International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report February 6, 2012 SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-043.01 ANS-043 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 043.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. February 12, 2012 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-043.01 AMSAT Fox-1 Cubesat Selected for NASA ELaNa Launch Collaboration Project ELaNa, NASA's "Educational Launch of NanoSat" managed by the Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center, announced on February 10 that the AMSAT Fox-1 cubesat has been selected to join the program. NASA will work with AMSAT in a collaborative agreement where NASA will cover the integration and launch costs of satellites deemed to have merit in support of their strategic and educational goals. AMSAT teamed with the ARRL to write and deliver the 159 page educa- tional proposal to NASA. Letters documenting the importance of AMSAT's satellites in the education programs at the ARRL and also at the Clay Center for Science and Technology at the Dexter and Southfield schools in Brookline, MA, were important parts of our proposal. AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW said, "The ELaNA Launch opportunity marks AMSAT's return to space after the conclusion of the successful ARISSat-1/KEDR flight. We need to get the flight Fox-1, along with an operational flight backup satellite, built, integrat- ed, tested, and delivered. Our ability to provide a spacecraft and get it launched is dependent upon the active support of our donors who wish to see Fox-1 fly." AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering, Tony Monteiro, AA2TX noted this will provide a launch opportunity for AMSAT's next generation of FM repeater satellites with features and operation beyond the experience of AO-51. AMSAT's Fox-1 Engineering Team is making progress developing the advanced satellite that will provide these features: + Fox-1 is designed to operate in sunlight without batteries once the battery system fails. This applies lessons learned from AO-51 and ARISSat-1 operations. + In case of IHU failure Fox-1 will continue to operate its FM repeater in a basic, 'zombie sat' mode, so that the repeater remains on-the-air. + Fox-1 is designed as the immediate replacement for AO-51. Its U/V (Mode B) transponder will make it even easier to work with modest equipment. + From the ground user's perspective, the same FM amateur radio equipment used for AO-51 may be used for Fox-1. + Extending the design, Fox-2 will benefit from the development work of Fox-1 by adding more sophisticated power management and Software Defined Transponder (SDX) communications systems. The Fox-1 Project presents an opportunity to literally put your call- sign on the Fox hardware. AMSAT is looking for major donations to help underwrite the cost of solar cells/panels, one of the more significant expenses of the project. These solar cells are needed for the flight unit as well as for the a flight spare. As Fox-1 will have solar cells on all six sides of the spacecraft and given the relatively small surface area available on each side (at most 4" by 4" per side), AMSAT needs to invest in high efficiency solar cells to gain as much power as possible to operate the spacecraft. Several opportunities to make your donation to keep amateur radio in space include: + Return the form sent with the letter to reply with your donation for the Fox-1 Project. - All donations over $40 will receive a Fox pin. - Donations of $120 or more qualify you for AMSAT President's Club + Call Martha at the AMSAT Office +1-888-FB AMSAT (1-888-322-6728) + Paypal donation widget on the main page at: http://www.amsat.org + Paypal donation widget for Project Fox at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fox/ + You can also go to the Paypal site and send your donation to martha(a)amsat.org. + The AMSAT Store: http://www.amsat-na.com/store/categories.php Project Fox web site provide a good overview of the technical progress of the new satellite: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fox/ [ANS thanks AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering, Tony Monteiro, AA2TX and AMSAT's Project Fox Engineering team for the above information] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------- ESA Vega Launch Includes 8 Amateur Band Satellites Vega is scheduled to launch on February 13, at 1000 UTC with eight student built amateur radio satellites. Internet video streaming of the launch will be available at: http://www.videocorner.tv/index.htm The launcher will first deploy the main payload LARES, the Laser relativity Spacecraft and will then make an additional firing of the final OVUM stage before deploying the secondary cubesat payloads. The planned timing for these deployments, in order of ejection, are as follows: = T0+ 4245.30secs 1st PPOD, with XatCobeo, e-st@r, and Goliat. = T0+ 4255.30secs 2nd PPOD, with Robusta, MaSat-1 and PW-Sat. = T0+ 4265.30secs 3rd PPOD, with UniCubeSat. = T0+ 4275.30secs AlmaSat-1. The Cubesats will not deploy their antennas until >1800 seconds after they leave their PODS.It is not known how soon AlmaSat-1 will start transmitting after deployment. Vega Launch Cubesat Amateur Band Frequencies: + AlmaSat-1 437.465 MHz 1200 bps FSK, 2407.850 MHz + E-St@r 437.445 MHz 1200 bps AFSK + Goliat 437.485 MHz 1200 bpx AFSK + MaSat-1 437.345 MHz GFSK 625/1250 bps, CW + PW-Sat 435.020 MHz FM uplink, 145.990 MHz DSB downlink + Robusta 437.325 MHz 1200 bps FM telemetry + UniCubeSat 437.305 MHz 9600 bps FSK + XaTcobeo 437.365 MHz FFSK with AX.25 Links to the home pages of the satellite teams are included on the http://www.amsat.org page. Extensive coverage of the launch and the satellites can also be found on the AMSAT-UK web: http://www.uk.amsat.org/ An ESA video of all of the satellites aboard the Vega Maiden Flight can be viewed on YouTube at: http://tinyurl.com/ESA-Vega-Cubesats The university cubesat teams welcome reception reports. All observ- ers are invited to submit reports via amsat-bb and to also join the CubeSat Internet Relay Chat channel to pass on their news and com- ments in realtime. You will need an IRC client such as the ChatZilla addon for FireFox or mIRC to join the cubesat chat: 1. Connect to the irc.freenode.net server. 2. Once connected to the server the /join #cubesat command will bring you into the channel. 3. Many users set their chat nickname to "name_callsign". ChatZilla AddOn for Firefox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/chatzilla/ mIRC http://www.mirc.com/ [ANS thanks the CubeSat Teams for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Contact to Celebrate 50th Anniversary John Glenn Over Perth On the 20th of February 1962 a Mercury-Atlas 6 spacecraft called "Friendship 7" was launched. In the hot-seat was Astronaut, John Glenn. The objective was to place a man into earth orbit, observe his reactions to the space environment and safely return him to earth to a point where he could be readily found. During the first orbit of three, the spacecraft came into radio range of the Muchea Tracking Station where the first Australian space radio contact was made by Gerry O'Connor who spoke with John Glenn as he passed overhead. One of the questions that was posed for this flight was "Can you see the cities of Earth from space?" To help answer that question, the people of the City of Perth all turned their lights on as John Glenn flew over. The answer to the question was a resounding "YES!", and Perth was nicknamed "The City of Light". Fifty years later on February 20, 2012 young people from Western Australia will have the chance to ask a question of an astronaut or cosmonaut currently residing on the International Space Station. There will be a live radio and video connection to the space station at the Northbridge Piazza in Perth, Western Australia. Ten lucky winners of the student competition, selected from primary and secon- dary schools, will get to ask questions, and receive their answers in real time as the space station flies overhead. >From a technical perspective, ARISS will configure a direct amateur radio link between the ISS and ham operator, Dick Flagg, AH6NM, in Honolulu. In Perth, members of the Hills Amateur Radio Group will provide a phone link between AH6NM and Northbridge Piazza so the stu- dents can converse with the astronaut. Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI, ARISS Mentor for Australia is conducting the behind the scenes preparation. The event begins at 17:00PM Perth time (0900 UTC) on February 20. The currently scheduled contact time is approximately at 10:22 UTC, sub- ject to last minute change depending upon events aboard the ISS or orbit changes. In addition to the ARISS contact, web-streaming and other space act- ivities such as a radio telescope, optical telescopes, museum exhibi- tions, an address by the Lord Mayor of Perth, a video message from John Glenn and a presentation by the Western Australia Chief Scientist are planned. The press release of the City of Lights ARISS event, issued by the Government of Western Australia can be read on=line at: http://tinyurl.com/WA-PressRelease Web pages with more information of the event can be found at: http://harg.org.au/ariss/ http://museum.wa.gov.au/city-lights [ANS thanks Richard, G4TUT and David Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS Public Relations, Australia ARISS Coordinator Tony Hutchison, VK5ZAI for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Open Mission Control Software for CubeSat Project Teams CubeSat developers may be interested in learning more about the Open Mission Control software, an open source, open access software for monitoring and controlling small spacecraft. The software is designed to provide an application and framework that can be adapted quickly and easily to support a variety of spacecraft including CubeSats, myPocketQubs and NanoLab experiments, and sounding rocket and high altitude balloon experiments. The team include students, space pro- fessionals, educators and enthusiasts from around the world, all working together to build a great mission control application for small spacecraft projects. The Open Mission Control framework consists of the application and graphical user interface which contain the basic structure of the program, and the Open Mission Control toolbox, which provides a number of ready to use functions typically required for mission control applicationa. The Open Mission Control application and graphical user interface can be adapted to a project quickly and easily, by populating them with elements from the Open Mission Control toolbox and other stan- dard library elements. This approach allows also users with limited programming experience to create sophisticated mission control soft- ware by building on a solid basic implementation. Use and verification. Designed to work with any spacecraft project, the first flight mis- sion that is expected to use Open Mission Control is myPocketQub 442. myPocketQub 442 was selected to fly as a pocket spacecraft attached to UKube-1, the first United Kingdom Space Agency CubeSat. It is expected to be the first mission controlled by Open Mission Control and to demonstrate and verify various use cases: + The first use case is for professional monitoring, command and control of a real spacecraft. + The second use case involves schools and universities using Open Mission Control to upload their virtual payloads for their Open- Space365 projects, monitor their experiments as they run and down- load the data for analysis. + The third use case involves the use of Open Mission Control as monitoring software for the various scientific and engineering sub-payloads that will fly on myPocketQub 442. The students con- ducting these experiments will use Open Mission Control to access and store the data from these payload experiments for analysis and research. + The fourth use case is communication with engineering models of the real spacecraft which will be made available on the Internet. These engineering models are duplicates of the flight hardware and allow Open Mission Control to command and monitor them and their sub-payloads in real time and to simulate different critical mis- sion phases under real conditions. Additional information and links are available on the Open Mission Control webpage at: http://openmissioncontrol.wordpress.com/ [ANS thanks the Open Mission Control Team for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA astronaut Janice Voss, KC5BTK Passes NASA astronaut Janice Voss passed away from cancer overnight. One of only six women who have flown in space five times, Voss' career was highlighted by her work and dedication to scientific payloads and exploration. Janice supported SAREX during her flights on the Space Shuttle. She was a phone-in speaker during one of AMSAT's multi-media Dayton Forum presentations with Roy Neal as MC. Janice held the callsign KC5BTK. Voss began her career with NASA in 1973 while a student at Purdue University. She returned to NASA in 1977 to work as an instructor, teaching entry guidance and navigation to space shuttle crews. After completing her doctorate in 1987, she worked within the aerospace industry until she was selected as an astronaut in 1990. Voss' first spaceflight mission was STS-57 in 1993, the first flight of the Spacehab module. She next flew on STS-63 in 1995, a mission to the Mir space station, and third flight of Spacehab. She also flew as a payload commander on STS-83 in 1997 with the Microgravity Science Laboratory, but the mission was cut short due to problems with one of the orbiter's three fuel power generation units. Voss, the crew and MSL flew again as the STS-94 MSL-1 Spacelab mission, focused on materials and combustion science research in microgravity. Her last mission was STS-99 in 2000, a flight to the International Space Station as part of the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission which mapped more than 47 million square miles of the Earth's land surface. In total, Voss spent more than 49 days in space. Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office said, "By improving the way scientists are able to analyze their data, and establishing the experimental methods and hardware necessary to perform these unique experiments, Janice and her crew ensured that our space station would be the site of discoveries that we haven't even imagined." For Voss' complete biography, please visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/voss-jan.html [ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO and SpaceRef.com for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- SumbandilaSat SO-67 Amateur Transponder Recovery Work in Progress It would appear that prior reports on the demise of South Africa's SumbandilaSat were 'greatly exagerated' (with apologies to author Mark Twain). A report on the Southern African AMSAT website says partial recov- ery is possible for Amateur Radio Operation to possibly resume in March 2012. "We have not given up on our efforts to get SumbandilaSat working again even if it is only partially", said Johan Lochner ZR1CBC who is spending much time on the recovery process and many nights burn- ing the midnight oil working on new and more intelligent algorithms. He and his colleagues are making every effort to get the satellite working again. SumbandilaSat experienced a corruption in the programme memory of one of the power switches. This is the interface unit which con- trols a robust orientation control implementation system which is using output from the magnetic sensors to point the solar panels to- wards the sun in a safe mode scenario when for example communica- tions with the ground segment was not possible for a few days. The corruption of the program memory prevented the magnetic inter- face unit from automatically switching on after power-up and thus preventing access to measurements taken by the magnetometer. Johann said, "As a result of the malfunction of the magnetic control unit the satellite started to slowly point away from the sun with intermittent sun eclipses. When there was no power flowing from the solar cells the batteries drained and we could not in a safe way communicate with the satellite, so we backed off. Once we determined this pattern we stopped communicating with the satellite when we did not see sufficient charge on the batteries. At other times we had good communication when could diagnose what was going on. Dur- ing good communication windows that could last 2 or 3 days we tried to diagnose the exact nature of the problem in the same way as we had done before and we started to implement a fix. The particular power switch that failed was already the redundant one so we were in a worse state than before." SumbandilaSat controllers implemented automated ground segment soft- ware to make contact with the satellite from both SANSA Space Opera- tions and the Electronic Systems labs at SU. The objective was to contact the satellite automatically and to try to implement the recovery procedure and also notify the team if any contact was made. Johann continued, "By mid-November 2011 we again made contact with SumbandilaSat and set in place a planned recovery procedure. Within 3-4 days we came to the conclusion that the main battery had failed. Earlier the intermittent contact was because the battery could not be fully charged and that satellite power bus was too low for the processors and transmitter to function. We surmised that during the month that we had no contact that the battery must have gone open circuit. With the battery no longer on the power bus, the voltage on the bus would rise to 28.5 volts and supply enough current to support operations when SumbandilaSat was in full sunlight." The SumbandilaSat concludes, "We are determined to get this working and to maintain the scientific value of the satellite as much as possible. Johann's focus is now on getting the amateur radio trans- ponder working, which with the loss of AO-51 will be a great asset to amateur radio satellite activity. By the end of February we hope to achieve this!" Uplink: 145.875 MHz (no tone required) Downlink: 435.345 MHz See: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/SumbandilaSat.htm for full coverage of this news. [ANS thanks SA AMSAT and Johan Lochner, ZR1CBC for the above information] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---- AMSAT Notes: AMSAT Fox Project Flyer Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK has put together a nice 4 page pdf description of the Fox project. This is available directly from this URL: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fox/AMSAT_Fox-20120206.pdf or the link can be found midway down the Fox page on the AMSAT Web site. More detailed information about the Fox project can be found in the Fox area of the AMSAT Web site. AMSAT Annual Meeting dates set The 2012 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Symposium will be held Oct 26-28,2011 at the Holiday Inn Orlando Airport. More details as they become available. AMSAT at Dayton 2012 The AMSAT Dayton team is busy preparing for the AMSAT presence at this years Hamvention - May 18-20, 2012. Same booth spaces next the the ARRL area, outdoor satellite demonstration area and it looks like the AMSAT Forum will be Saturday morning. Additional information and web site area soon. [ANS Thanks Gould, WA2SXM, for this information] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report February 6, 2012 1. Upcoming School Contacts An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was successful for Inuksuk High School, Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada on Wednesday, February 8 at 15:18 UTC via telebridge station AH6NM in Hawaii. The school has formed a space club through which students are learning about the ISS via videos, the internet and guest speakers. They are learning how to track the ISS and are completing space-related projects. Radio usage and protocol have been discussed. First Air and the Makivik Corporation are the sponsors that ensure ARISS contacts are supported in the remote areas of Northern Canada. Soumuta Elementary School, located in Kagoshima, Japan scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Saturday, February 11 at 10:33 UTC was successful. The school was established in 1972 and has a current enrollment of 479 students. Students are learning about the mission of the ISS and will experience amateur radio concepts through their contact. 2. Polish Students Experience Successful ARISS Contact On Saturday, February 4, students attending the Zespol Szkol nr 8 in Walbrzych, Poland participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Don Pettit, KD5MDT on the ISS. Radio station W6SRJ in California provided the telebridge connection. Greetings were exchanged and students were able to get through all the space-related questions they had prepared. The contact was integrated into a curriculum covering electronics, microprocessor systems and English and drew interest from the school's robotics and amateur radio clubs. Contact audio was fed into EchoLink and IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project). Representatives from radio and television stations provided media coverage. 3. ARISS-U.S. to Review Proposals Submitted The NASA Teaching From Space office received over 100 inquiries about the U.S. proposal process for ARISS contacts that will be scheduled during the July 2012 - January 2013 time frame. Twenty-three schools met the January 30 deadline and submitted proposals. The next step is for the U.S. Selection Committee to review the proposals and select the U.S. schools in about one month. Another window of opportunity for U.S. schools and organizations to submit proposals will open later in the year. 4. AMSAT News Service on ARISS The February 5 AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service bulletin (ANS-036) included an item about the successful amateur radio satellite, SuitSat, titled, "Remembering Mr. Smith - SuitSat-1 February 3, 2006." Another piece covered the recent ARISS contact with El Dorado County students. To view the articles, see: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2012/000589.html 5. Amateur Radio Newsline Covers ARISS On February 3, Amateur Radio Newsline posted the winners of the ARISSat Chicken Little Contest in its report #1799. To read, "Ham Radio in Space: Winners of ARISSat-1 Chicken Little Contest Announced," see: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt /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 additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Dee Interdonato, NB2F Nb2f at amsat dot org

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K7UGA satellite activity starting Sunday evening (early Monday, UTC)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 11 Feb '12

11 Feb '12

Hi! The Central Arizona DX Association's Arizona Centennial special event, using Barry Goldwater's former call sign K7UGA, officially starts on Monday (13 February), UTC time. Since that will be Sunday evening here in North America, I am planning to work a few passes tomorrow evening as K7UGA. Tentative plans are for the following passes from here in DM43: AO-7 at 0014-0036 UTC (almost directly over the Phoenix area) VO-52 at 0201-0212 UTC (to the east of Arizona) AO-7 at 0212-0228 UTC (to the west of Arizona) VO-52 at 0336-0348 UTC (to the west of Arizona) and *possibly*: SO-50 at 0503-0517 UTC (covering much of the USA at this late hour) I tend to start out about 10 kHz above the center of the SSB/CW transponders with my small portable station, but may move around to avoid QRM/QRN or to try making QSOs. Be prepared to tune around the downlink if I am not around 145.960 MHz USB on AO-7 or 145.910 MHz USB on VO-52. Due to work commitments, I will not be able to work SO-50 or AO-27 passes around midday on Monday. I hope to work some passes Monday evening (Tuesday the 14th, UTC time) and SO-50 and/or AO-27 around midday on Tuesday, since the 14th is Arizona's statehood day. I will have better opportunities to work FM passes as K7UGA starting on Thursday before and during my drive to Yuma for the Yuma Hamfest/ARRL Southwestern Convention, and at that event starting on Friday. Please be patient, as I hope to make time to work many passes on Friday and Saturday from Yuma. Please remember that I am *NOT* the QSL manager for K7UGA. Bob K7BHM is the QSL manager. More information about the planned K7UGA activity, including when stations will be on the HF bands and in which modes, can be found at the CADXA web site http://cadxa.org/ 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

1 0

145.825 MHz APRS on Katy to Nanjing Balloon
by Trevor . 11 Feb '12

11 Feb '12

The kt5tk-11 balloon will be using the ISS Digipeater frequency of 145.825 MHz while in mid-Atlantic on its journey from Texas to China. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/4505 Launch date 3pm CST Feb. 11 73 Trevor M5AKA

4 3

Fox is a go! Please donate to make it happen
by Stefan Wagener 11 Feb '12

11 Feb '12

Great announcement by NASA! Now FOX1 is getting real and will need all of our support. Use the AMSAT website (PayPal) to donate. Just added my financial support. Hope many will follow. Every $ will make a difference. 73, Stefan VE4NSA

1 0

Fox fantastic
by Nick Pugh 11 Feb '12

11 Feb '12

Hats off to the FOX team for winning the NASA grant for a launch for FOX. GO FOX Thanks Nick k5qxj Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School

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NASA to Broadcast Spacewalk
by Clint Bradford 10 Feb '12

10 Feb '12

NASA TV TO BROADCAST SPACE STATION SPACEWALK FEB. 16 HOUSTON -- Two cosmonauts will conduct a five-and-a-half-hour spacewalk Thursday, Feb. 16, to continue outfitting the International Space Station. NASA Television will broadcast the spacewalk beginning at 7:45 a.m. CST. Expedition 30 Russian Flight Engineers Oleg Kononenko and Anton Shkaplerov will move one of the two Strela cranes from Pirs, the oldest Russian airlock and docking module, to the newer Poisk docking module. The 46-foot boom will be used for future assembly and maintenance work. The duo also will install five debris shields on the Zvezda service module and, if time permits, a small experiment on the forward section of the module, an experiment sample pack on Poisk and support struts on the Pirs ladder. Both spacewalkers will wear Russian Orlan suits bearing blue stripes and equipped with NASA helmet cameras. They will emerge from the Pirs airlock at about 8:15 a.m. This spacewalk will be the 162nd in support of space station assembly and maintenance. The last spacewalk occurred Aug. 3, 2011. For Kononenko, it will be his third spacewalk following two in July 2008 during Expedition 17. His two previous spacewalks lasted a total of 12 hours and 12 minutes. It will be Shkaplerov's first spacewalk and the only one scheduled during Expedition 30. Because of the location of the activities, Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank of NASA and Russian Flight Engineer Anatoly Ivanishin will be isolated in their Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft, which is attached to the Poisk module, for the duration of the spacewalk. NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit of NASA and European Space Agency Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers will be free to move about the U.S. segment of the complex. Their Soyuz TMA-03M is attached to the Rassvet module. For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the International Space Station and its crew, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station -end- Clint Bradford clintbradford(a)mac.com

1 0

2300-2450 MHz in Sweden
by Trevor . 10 Feb '12

10 Feb '12

The SSA has responded to a consultation that proposes to remove access to 2300-2450 MHz in Sweden. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/4551 73 Trevor M5AKA

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ESA Frequency Change
by Mineo Wakita 10 Feb '12

10 Feb '12

Downlink,CW frequency of MaSat-1 and UNICubeSAT were changed. They are MaSat1: 437.345MHz, UNICubeSAT: 437.305MHz as follows. The initial TLEs will be opened to public after launch Vega Rocket. Satellite Uplink Downlink Beacon Mode ---------- ------- -------- ------- ------------------- Xatcobeo . 437.365 145.940 1200bps FFSK,SSR e-st@r . 437.445 437.445 1200bps AFSK Goliat . 437.485 437.485 1200bps AFSK Robusta . 437.325 437.325 1200bps FM MaSat-1 . 437.345 437.345 625/1250bps GFSK,CW PW-Sat1 435.020 145.900 145.900 1200bps BPSK,FM UNICubeSAT . 437.305 437.305 9600bps FSK ALMASat-1 . 437.465 2407.850 1200bps FSK ---------- ------- -------- -------- ------------------- http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/esa9cubf.htm JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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K2BSA/5 National Scouting Museum for 11 Feb, 2012 passes.
by Tom Schuessler 10 Feb '12

10 Feb '12

Conducting another Radio Merit Badge class at the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas, EM12, this Saturday the 11th. With operations as K2BSA/5. In addition to local VHF/UHF and HF stations for Scouts to make contacts for the badge requirement, we will again conduct satellite ops as well. Our pass times this outing will be around 2000Z with both SO-50 and AO-27 active at the same time and somewhat similar sky positions. SO-50 has a 67 Hz tone and AO-27 does not so I will be turning off the tone when 27 comes up. Hopefully the dueling satellites will not be as big a problem as I fear. Oh well give K2BSA/5 a call and get some Scouts excited about Ham Radio and Satellites as well. By the way, check out this site page, http://www.k2bsa.net/on-the-air/ published by Jim Wilson, K5ND. Jim is the custodian of the K2BSA call, and works for the BSA National HQ next door to the Museum building. Our previous satellite operations, including the ARRL Kids Day ops on January 8 figure prominently on his newly minted site. Check out the recording provided by Rick, WA4NVM for that day and K8YSE's from back in September. Thanks guys for the contributions. I sent out QSL cards from the January 8th event so hopefully all of you we worked have gotten them by now. See you on the birds. Tom Schuessler 2713 Lake Gardens Drive Irving, Texas 75060 972-986-7456 214-403-1464 (Cell) n5hyp(a)arrl.net n5hyp(a)amsat.org

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Price question on two radios
by Ronny Julian 10 Feb '12

10 Feb '12

A friend of mine is looking to sell both of these. What he does not know is what they are worth. since they are good for sats and SSB I thought I'd ask here. Please reply off list. Thanks! Ronny K4RJJ Kenwood TR-9500 UHF all mode Kenwood TR-751A 2 meter all mode

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Re: 437.550 Packet
by VK2MAL 09 Feb '12

09 Feb '12

I have accessed the 70cm Packet system a few times the last week or so. There seems to be no one else down here using it across VK. Interesting that the 70cm Ericson packet system is left on when the 2m Kenwood system is off. Mal - VK2MAL Sent from my iPhone

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ISS packet
by Daniel 09 Feb '12

09 Feb '12

Hey all it seems that the ISS is doing packet on 437.550 KF7MYK and myself just sent packets Back and forth on that freq and heard the ISS making its wonderful noises, Dan,

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ISS 437.550 Packet
by Kevin Deane 09 Feb '12

09 Feb '12

For anyone that might be interested Packet is working on the 437.550 Unproto ARISS or RS0ISS Looks like the 145.825 RS0ISS-4 has been of for awhile but thats the norm for that one. Kevin KF7MYK

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HamSatDroid
by jerry keeton 08 Feb '12

08 Feb '12

I have a Motorola Milestone , just updated to version 8.0 . Both worked very well . Only thing I would like to see added would be Beacon Frequiencies fo each satellite . Thanks Guys for a great APP.

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New Pictures Of Martian Landers
by B J 08 Feb '12

08 Feb '12

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-037&cid=release_2012-037…

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Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 7, Issue 65
by Burns Fisher 08 Feb '12

08 Feb '12

Here are a couple things that were less than obvious to me about the ARR 70CM switched preamp. If you are going to power it with phantom power (i.e. up the feed line) you need to add a -C to the part number so they will add in the required choke from the feed line to the power input. But note that once you do this, you can't just use either phantom or external power. In my case, I got the choke ("I might need it someday") but used the external power. Oops...a nice short. It turns out that unless your transceiver has a high-pass filter (or just a cap!) you are probably going to be shorting out back through the feed line. When you do that, you may blow the choke and have to remove it anyway, depending on how much current got through it. (I'm not sure why they did not put a diode in, but hey...) The other thing is that I was going to get one of their phantom power injectors also. The problem there is that they only work with receive-only. So unless you can find one elsewhere, phantom power may be useful mainly if you transceiver supplies it (sigh, mine does not). And finally, another inobvious thing: The power connector has a third pin which, if you ground it, switches to transmit mode. So if you hook this up to the transciever, that's a way of getting around the "minimum power to switch" spec. (I think minimum power to switch is maybe 5W; my transceiver goes down to 5W, but with a 75' feed line, it's not gong to be 5W by the time it gets to the pre amp. The SSB preamp (or at least the 2M one that I have) comes with the choke, diode, etc and has a lower minimum switching power. It is more expensive, though. I hope this helps! Burns, W2BFJ > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2012 22:56:04 -0500 > From: "Mike Ryan" <mryan301(a)comcast.net> > To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Receive Pre-Amps for 70cm > Message-ID: <89830E8A0C73460A9F511377C4656703@MikeClone> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="UTF-8"; > reply-type=original > > I second the comment about getting a switched one. Unless you have a > dedicated RX or have disabled the TX, you will certainly pop a RX only amp. > Its just a matter of when. Happened to me twice before admitting my > clumsiness. > > I've had very good luck with the ARR switched amps. I have two for 70 cm > (one for the shack and one for my Arrow) and a 2M version as well. If the > unit is to be in the attic, you can save some money by going for the inside > 25 watt switched model (SP432VDG). Just don?t exceed the 25 watts. Also be > aware that the FETs in these amps are sensitive, even on a switched model. > Make sure your rig is completed powered off and your body grounded (to > bleed > off static electricity) before connecting or disconnecting antenna > connectors. Its tempting to save a trip to the shack by leaving the rig > on > and do a quick swap, but don?t do it :( > > > ----- > > Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 15:40:37 -0600 > From: "Alan P. Biddle" <APBIDDLE(a)UNITED.NET> > To: "'PETER SIMONSEN'" <pureenduro(a)msn.com>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Receive Pre-Amps for 70cm > Message-ID: <86B0819F8E944465B5B0C98010D7AAB7@WA4SCA> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Peter, > > A 70 cm preamp is always useful! There are a lot of them out there, but my > experience is that ARR and SSB Electronics make the best. Definitely not > the cheapest, though. > > http://advancedreceiver.com/page2.html > > http://www.ssbusa.com/gaasfet.html > > Be certain to get one which is RF switched, and which will handle your > rig's > power. No matter how careful you are, you WILL transmit into it someday. > Been there, done that. > > You will need to split your single antenna jack on the rig to two lines. > Almost any diplexer gives 50 db+ separation, but there are a few which are > only 30 db or so. Worth checking. > > 73s, > > Alan > WA4SCA > > > >

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Re: So50 Ao27
by Clint Bradford 08 Feb '12

08 Feb '12

Here's a Web site to get you back on the FM LEOs with your HT ... http://www.work-sat.com SO-50 should be workable for you, as well as the ISS. Checking passes of AO-27 is a two-step process - pass data AND checking its schedule. All the links you need are on that Web site! Clint Bradford, K6LCS

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So50 Ao27
by mm0kjg 08 Feb '12

08 Feb '12

Hello everyone. Can someone please tell me if So50 or Ao27 can be accessed with a Ht in the UK . My satellite usage is very limited at the moment due to the arrival of my Baby daughter last November and all my radio's got disconnected. Had worked Ao51 many times from car and garden but have never managed the other 2 fm birds. Any tips to get back on air with handy would be great. Cheers and 73's Kev De MM0KJG

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Vega satellite video + Live Launch feed
by Trevor . 08 Feb '12

08 Feb '12

Video about the Vega satellites http://www.uk.amsat.org/4476 Student Satellite Launch To Be Broadcast Live http://www.uk.amsat.org/4460 73 Trevor M5AKA

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2012 Orlando Hamcation
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 08 Feb '12

08 Feb '12

This weekend, Orlando, Florida is the place to be !!! We invite everyone to the 66th annual Orlando Hamcation at the Orlando Fairgrounds. Hamcation kicks off on Friday, Feb.10th at noon and ends 14:00 ET, Sunday, Feb. 12th. AMSAT will be well represented with adjoining booths in the Commercial 1 building (main entrance). We also plan to have a working satellite station live from the AMSAT booth operated by John Papay, K8YSE Others present throughout the weekend will be ARISS Hardware Mgr.and sat.designer Lou McFadin, W5DID, AMSAT VP of Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, Dave Jordan, AA4KN-AMSAT/ARISS, and on Friday, AMSAT President, Barry Baines, not to mention many other familiar faces from AMSAT. Along with the usual AMSAT goodies, look for a working model of an ARISSat amateur satellite on display. ... and don't forget there will be an AMSAT Forum beginning at 13:00 ET on Saturday in Classroom II reviewing AMSAT's newest project, the FOX cubesat and other related topics. Orlando Hamcation is growing bigger and better every year, so don't miss out and plan to attend. For more event details, go to ... http://www.hamcation.com Dave, AA4KN an AMSAT area coordinator for Central Florida

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Re: Receive Pre-Amps for 70cm
by Mike Ryan 08 Feb '12

08 Feb '12

I second the comment about getting a switched one. Unless you have a dedicated RX or have disabled the TX, you will certainly pop a RX only amp. Its just a matter of when. Happened to me twice before admitting my clumsiness. I've had very good luck with the ARR switched amps. I have two for 70 cm (one for the shack and one for my Arrow) and a 2M version as well. If the unit is to be in the attic, you can save some money by going for the inside 25 watt switched model (SP432VDG). Just don’t exceed the 25 watts. Also be aware that the FETs in these amps are sensitive, even on a switched model. Make sure your rig is completed powered off and your body grounded (to bleed off static electricity) before connecting or disconnecting antenna connectors. Its tempting to save a trip to the shack by leaving the rig on and do a quick swap, but don’t do it :( ----- Date: Mon, 6 Feb 2012 15:40:37 -0600 From: "Alan P. Biddle" <APBIDDLE(a)UNITED.NET> To: "'PETER SIMONSEN'" <pureenduro(a)msn.com>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Receive Pre-Amps for 70cm Message-ID: <86B0819F8E944465B5B0C98010D7AAB7@WA4SCA> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Peter, A 70 cm preamp is always useful! There are a lot of them out there, but my experience is that ARR and SSB Electronics make the best. Definitely not the cheapest, though. http://advancedreceiver.com/page2.html http://www.ssbusa.com/gaasfet.html Be certain to get one which is RF switched, and which will handle your rig's power. No matter how careful you are, you WILL transmit into it someday. Been there, done that. You will need to split your single antenna jack on the rig to two lines. Almost any diplexer gives 50 db+ separation, but there are a few which are only 30 db or so. Worth checking. 73s, Alan WA4SCA

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Re: HamSatDroid Version 0.8 (SDP4)
by Ernie Howard 07 Feb '12

07 Feb '12

Thank you for the HamSatDroid. I am happy with it, nice features. Hope to seem some new features that take advantage of the tablet format. I use it on the Acer Iconia A500 tablet. Ernie On 2/7/2012 3:28 PM, David Johnson wrote: > Hi, > > We've targeted the small form factor of the rather a tablet, at the moment. > If there is enough interest we will make it multi-platform. > > Yes, the next release (0.9) will have landscape capability, orientation > changed using the sensors. Again, targeted at phone use. > > We've had a few people mention the Kindle Fire and the B&N tablet (sorry we > don't have it in the UK) and the use of side-loading the app. There are > some limitations with these devices as they do not have the richer features > of other Android tablets and we will have to make some changes to > accommodate them. > > Many thanks to all for the feedback, keep it coming. > > 73 > > Dave Johnson / Juan Ranuarez

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Re: HamSatDroid Version 0.8 (SDP4)
by David Moisan 07 Feb '12

07 Feb '12

+1 for Nook Tablet support. I'm using the "old" version on the Nook. It's fine. The problem with the Nook right now is that shortly after the Nook Tablet was released, BN released a firmware update that blocked the ability to "sideload" applications (in other words, bypass the BN app store) which I was able to do shortly after I got mine in December. It didn't last long, so I only have the few sideloaded apps I could get on there before my firmware was updated, including HamSatDroid. So for the moment I have HamSatDroid but I can't take advantage of the new version. Even with the limitations of the Nook compared to a full tablet (no camera or GPS), HamSatDroid worked very well and would do nicely in the field. I'm not happy with BN, of course, but my tablet does everything else I expected (universal ebook reader), so I have no good reason nor budget to get a new tablet. Thanks for HamSatDroid.

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HamSatDroid Version 0.8 (SDP4)
by David Johnson 07 Feb '12

07 Feb '12

Hi, We are pleased to announce that we've released a new version of the app! This now uses my Java port of John Magliacane's Predict SDP4 to support the elliptical orbit CubeSats to be launched on VEGA. The app is free and is available for download from the Android Marketplace. 73 Dave Johnson, G4DPZ AMSAT-NA Life Member AMSAT-UK Committee Member FUNcube Data Warehouse Dev.

4 3

Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop
by Rodrigo Zeledon 07 Feb '12

07 Feb '12

Dear AMSAT community, I am writing to inform you of a new conference that may be of interest to you. Cornell/JA/MIT are organizing the 1st Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop. The conference will be held at the end of May this year at MIT, and abstracts are now being accepted for technical talks. The event website describing keynote speakers, program details and other information can be accessed at: www.iCubeSat.org Thanks, Rodrigo

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Re: Receive Pre-Amps for 70cm
by K5OE 07 Feb '12

07 Feb '12

Peter, An omni antenna with the current crop of LEO's is at the margin for an effective station. A preamp will help substantially in two cases: 1) the antenna and radio are far enough apart the RF losses in the coax cable degrade the signal (and more importantly, the NF), or 2) your radio's front end is not very sensitive (more of a problem with "classic" rigs than today's offerings like your FT-8800). To get the most out of your eggbeater(s), follow these guidelines: - put the best (lowest loss) coax you can between the antenna and the preamp - keep the coax between the antenna and the preamp as short as possible (use this criterion to determine whether you mount the preamp right at the antenna (preferable) or inside the attic using an indooor unit) - as suggested by Alan, use a 50 dB diplexer to split the signal to the V/U antennas - use a second diplexer (with the lowest insertion loss you can find) between UHF antenna and the preamp (UHF side only) - put as much physical separation as you can between the UHF and VHF antennas Other useable preamps, besides those mentioned already by Peter and Alan, include Mirage, Landwehr, and even Icom. I saw a pair of nice Mirage preamps go on ebay last week for less than $50 each. If you do buy one that is not RF switched, you can power it or switch it (with a relay) driven by the FT-8800's data jack (usually pin 3 on late model Yaesu rigs). 73, Jerry, K5OE --- original posting --- I recently purchased an M2 Satellite Eggbeater antenna kit with the intention of working satellites from my shack. I think this antenna will work best with a pre-amp for the 70cm band that perhaps I can put in my attic close to the antennas. Who makes a good pre-amp for this situation to mate with my FT-8800 radio. Thanks, Peter KC2RBX

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Re: HamSatDroid Version 0.8 (SDP4)
by John Wright 07 Feb '12

07 Feb '12

At 09:03 07/02/2012, you wrote: >Cool, > >just wondering which Android tablet people are using and what is their >experience in portable use. > >Tx Stefan VE4NSA I'm using Hamsatdroid on my Samsung Galaxy S2 Smartphone. It's compact and very quick, The phone is equipped with GPS so it even gets your location and displays the Maidenhead locator . An exceptional FREE bit of software!

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URI
by Kevin Deane 07 Feb '12

07 Feb '12

Just want to say that I missed the heck out of URI, I can not, still, by listening to him, even by the Recoding's, CO6CBF is plenty clear... URI....Is Loud as ever. EVERYONE does not sound like that... Point being made I Still Love the Regular's hope to make a another contact with URI......:) Kevin KF7MYK

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Chibis-M?
by John Heath 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

Hi, Any UK stations copied Chibis-M ? 73 John G7HIA

3 2

Kenwood TM251 memory battery replacement
by John Geiger 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

I have a Kenwood TM251A FM radio I use on the FM satellites, and the memory battery is going to need to be replaced. I figure sending it to Kenwood for replacement is going to cost more than the radio is worth. The only thing the manual says about it is to send it to Kenwood for replacement. Does anyone have more information on replacing it yourself? How hard of a job is it, and is the battery avaiable? 73s John AA5JG

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NASA Seeks Proposals for Small Satellite Demonstrations
by Trevor . 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

See http://www.uk.amsat.org/4451

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Receive Pre-Amps for 70cm
by PETER SIMONSEN 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

I recently purchased an M2 Satellite Eggbeater antenna kit with the intention of working satellites from my shack. I think this antenna will work best with a pre-amp for the 70cm band that perhaps I can put in my attic close to the antennas. Who makes a good pre-amp for this situation to mate with my FT-8800 radio. Thanks, Peter KC2RBX

3 2

SSB Birds fm Hawaii
by Robert Smith 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

Aloha All de NH7WN I have been working the FM birds for years and now have the capability to QSO via AO7 and other SSB sats. As a "newbie" I am still learning how to "find myself," along with overcoming the other challenges of a somewhat more difficult art. It has been a desire of mine to work longer distances from here in Hawaii and of course the SSB birds offer that opportunity. As fate would have it however, I am in a valley with ridges of 20 degs. elevation east and west of me. Still, It appears that I may be able to work as far east as Nebraska, and Japan remains a remote possibility. Eventually I hope to be mobile in order to solve the above problem but in the mean time, I would welcome any and all QSO opportunities. I try to be on the air during the afternoons and evenings in Hawaii. So, if you happen to hear an operator who appears to be in the embryonic stages of SSB ops, please give me a call and as always, all tips gracefully accepted. Mahalo and 73. Respectfully, robert, NH7WN Honolulu, Hawaii

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Office Closed
by Martha 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

Due to a transformer failure, the office is closed. All power to the office will be shut off in 20 minutes! -- 73- Martha

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Professorship Available
by Bob Bruninga 06 Feb '12

06 Feb '12

The Naval Academy is advertising a tenure track position for PHD professor with strong EE background in the Aerospace Dept. IE, help build small satellites... And they do mean "build" not theorize about it... http://www.usna.edu/JobInfo/ Bob, WB4APR

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G5400 on Ebay
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 05 Feb '12

05 Feb '12

I just found this on Ebay if anyone is looking for a brand new G5400. http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330682606640+ Dave - KB1PVH

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K8YSE at 1005 grids!
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 05 Feb '12

05 Feb '12

Hi! Congratulations to John Papay K8YSE for reaching 1005 confirmed grids for his satellite VUCC award! John has been on the birds for the past few years, missing out on the days of HEO satellites, yet he has spent many days - and nights - chasing stations to add to his log. His Cleveland QTH has a very capable satellite station, which he has continually improved over the years. If he is in the footprint, he has been able to work anyone he hears. In fact, he has not stopped in his quest to log more satellite QSOs and grids to this day, as he tries to work Yuri UT1FG/MM wherever he happens to be sailing right now. With the wet-grid operators like Yuri and Jim ND9M/MM, coupled with others going to other dry places that aren't normally heard on the birds, who knows how many more grids John can add to his satellite log. Along with his home station, he has also worked from many locations away from home to help the rest of us get more QSOs and grids in our logs. In particular, his summer 2010 road trip around Lake Superior with a fully-capable satellite station in the back of his truck. In 2009, he helped a bunch of us with a trip to the rarely-heard state of Delaware. His Delaware QSL card was the last card I needed to file for my satellite WAS award. He has also worked from other locations to help put rare grids on the birds over the past few years. Good luck on getting many more grids, John. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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AMSAT-UK 80m Net
by Trevor . 05 Feb '12

05 Feb '12

The AMSAT-UK 80m net is held every Sunday morning at 10am local time on a nominal frequency of 3.780 MHz (+/- QRM). A YouTube clip of the net can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEhwOYOqjdo An MP3 recording of the net can be heard at http://www.ham-radio.ch/kits/sdr-radio.com/mp3/05-Feb-2012-1058%203.725MHz.… You can listen to the Sunday AMSAT-UK net remotely using the web radio of Paul M0EYT in Poole, Dorset, UK via the Web Servers (Free) page at http://www.sdr-radio.com/ 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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UT1FG Pileup
by Craig Gagner 05 Feb '12

05 Feb '12

Worked UT1FG this morning on VO-52 and then there was a pile up.. http://livestre.am/1gVqW He does a Great job out there bobbing in the ocean !

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Re: Aeneas cubesat
by Nick Pugh 05 Feb '12

05 Feb '12

Hi Bill Here is the url http://www.ntia.doc.gov/page/frequency-assignment-subcommittee-fas Some years back I got an experimental license for non sat use. Several universitys have obtained sat license this way. They are assigned on the same frequency as the ham sats and I don't know if they coordinate with the IRAU. The experimental license allows the organizations to make money . nick -----Original Message----- From: Bill Ress [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Saturday, February 04, 2012 1:56 PM To: Nick Pugh Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: Aeneas cubesat Hi Nick, I'm having trouble Goggling IRAC. What is IRAC...Bill - N6GHz

2 1

UKSEDS - myPocketQub442 Project
by Trevor . 05 Feb '12

05 Feb '12

Members of UKSEDS are developing a satellite payload called myPocketQub442 (437.425-437.525 MHz) that will fly on the UKube-1 satellite. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/4369 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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SUMBANDILASAT IS NOT DEAD
by WOZANE 05 Feb '12

05 Feb '12

Hi SumbandilaSat is not dead and may resume amateur operation end February/early March. Read about the rescue operation on www.amsatsa.org.za <http://www.amsatsa.org.za/> . You can also downlink an audio report from Johann Lochner ZR1CBC 73 Hans

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Re: SUMBANDILASAT IS NOT DEAD
by Mal Pizzey 05 Feb '12

05 Feb '12

Great news Hans Congratulations to all the Control team at of SO-67. Sounds like there has been a lot of Ingenuity in the diagnosis and recovery process. I know that SO-67 has been missed down here. Thanks for the update and all the best, 73s Mal Pizzey VK2MAL / Amsat-VK

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The official end of CW service at Palo Alto Radio Stations /KPH/KFS/KSM
by i8cvs 05 Feb '12

05 Feb '12

Hi All, Please look at the following interesting page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=RYhrSEERvbI The woman who transmit on CW is Denise one of the Radio Operators at Palo Alto Radio/KPH station. This official message states the end of the Maritime Radio Service on CW at KPH/KFS/KSM This message has been received by hears thanks to my friend IK8PPT a professional Radio Operator that you can see operating at work looking at IK8PPT in QRZ.com Text: CQ CQ CQ DE KPH/KFS/KSM NW PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE TRADITIONAL CLOSING MESSAGE = DEAR GODDESS THE MEMBERS OF THE MARITIME RADIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARE YOUR HUMBLE SERVANTS AND WE THANK YOU FOR PROTECTING US THIS PAST YEAR AS WE CONTINUED OUR STEWARDSHIP OF THE STATIONS KPH AND KSM THE MUSIC OF MORSE HAS GLADDENED THE HEARTS OF MANY AS WE HAVE CROSSED THE BARRIERS OF TIME AND SPACE WE ASK YOUR AID AND GUIDANCE IN OUR DECISIONS AND ACTIONS DURING THE COMING YEAR THAT WE MAY BE WORTHY OF THE EQUIPMENT AND TRADITION THAT HAS BEEN ENTRUSTED INTO OUR HUMBLE HANDS BLESS ALSO THE EARS AROUND THE WORLD THAT SHARE THE FRUITS OF OUR LABOURS 73 / 88 DE KPH/KFS/KSM CL AR. 73" de i8CVS Domenico

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ANS-036 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 04 Feb '12

04 Feb '12

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-036 ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS 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. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org In this edition: * Vega Launch on February 13 With Eight Amateur Band Cubesats * SKN On OSCAR 2012 Best Fist Winners * Remembering Mr. Smith - SuitSat-1 February 3, 2006 * New Version HamSatDroid App is Available * Budapest University Masat-1 Telemetry Decoder Software Released * February Arizona Centennial Special Event Plans Satellite Operation * Can It Already Be That Time of Year For Field Day Planning? * NASA Extends Deadline for Student Summer Internships * Successful ARISS Contact with El Dorado County Students SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-036.01 ANS-036 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 036.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. February 5, 2012 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-036.01 Vega Launch on February 13 With Eight Amateur Band Cubesats Vega is scheduled to launch on Monday, February 13, at 1000 UTC with eight student built amateur radio satellites. The launcher will first deploy the main payload, the LARES the Laser relativity Spacecraft and will then make an additional firing of the final OVUM stage before deploying the secondary cubesat payloads. The planned timing for these deployments are as follows: = T0+ 4245.30secs first PPOD, with (in order of ejection) XatCobeo, e-st@r, and Goliat = T0+ 4255.30secs second PPOD, with (in order of ejection) Robusta, MaSat-1 and PW-Sat = T0+ 4265.30secs third PPOD, with UniCubeSat only (These Cubesats will not deploy their antennas until >1800 seconds after they leave their PODS.) = T0+ 4275.30secs AlmaSat-1 - it is not known how soon this space- craft will start transmitting after deployment Frequencies for the satellites on the Vega Launch are: + ALMASat-1 - University of Bologna, Italy 437.465 MHz 1200 bps FSK and 2407.850 MHz + Xatcobeo (a collaboration of the University of Vigo and INTA, Spain) to demonstrate software-defined radio and solar panel deployment. 437.365 MHz FFSK with AX.25 and 145.940 MHz SSR + Robusta (University of Montpellier 2, France) to test and evaluate radiation effects (low dose rate) on bipolar transistor electronic components. 437.325 MHz 1200 bps FM telemetry with one data burst of 20 seconds every 3 minutes. + e-st@r (Politecnico di Torino, Italy) to demonstration of an active 3-axis Attitude Determination and Control system including an inertial measurement unit. 437.445 MHz 1200 bps AFSK. + Goliat (University of Bucharest, Romania) to provide imaging of the Earth surface using a digital camera and in-situ measurement of radiation dose and micrometeoroid flux. 437.485 MHz 1200 bps AFSK. + PW-Sat (Warsaw University of Technology, Poland) to test a deploy- able atmospheric drag augmentation device for de-orbiting CubeSats. PW-Sat carries an FM to DSB amateur radio transponder with an FM input on 435.020 MHz and DSB output on 145.900 MHz. There are 5 modes of operation: - Receive only - no downlink - CW Beacon CW - On-Off Keying (OOK) CW 12 WPM 435.020 MHz - BPSK Beacon - BPSK 1200 bps AX25 (1 frame on 20 sec) 435.020 MHz - Control communication mode. Downlink BPSK 1200 bps AX25 435.020 MHz - Voice Repeater mode (aka "AO-16 mode) - uplink 435.020 MHz FM and downlink 145.900 MHz DSB + MaSat-1 (Budapest University of Technology and Economics): to dem- onstrate various spacecraft avionics, including a power condition- ing system, transceiver and on-board data handling. 437.345 MHz GFSK 625/1250 bps, CW. See the related article in these bulletins describing the downloadable GFSK demodulator software. + UniCubeSat GG - (University of Rome): The UNICubeSat mission goal is the in situ measurement of atmospheric density. Downlink fre- quencies are 437.305 MHz or 437.345 MHz 9k6 FSK. Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL provides complete coverage of the Vega launch on his 'ESA CubeSats Update' web pages. You'll find an overview of each of the satellite missions, frequencies, modulation/protocols, and links to the developers home web pages posted at: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/esa9cubf.htm AMSAT-UK covers the Vega launch at: http://www.uk.amsat.org/4180 An ESA time-lapse showing the full assembly of the first Vega launch- er at the launch pad at the ESA Spaceport in Kourou is posted at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YaUMSLU0aig The university cubesat teams have requested reception reports. All observers are being encouraged to join the CubeSat IRC chat channel to pass on their news and comments in realtime. You will need an IRC client such as ChatZilla or mIRC to join the cubesat chat. Use the irc.freenode.net server. Then join the #cubesat channel. Many users set their chat nickname to "name_callsign". [ANS thanks the cubesat teams, Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL, and AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- SKN On OSCAR 2012 Best Fist Winners Many thanks to all who participated in AMSAT's Straight Key Night on OSCAR 2012, held in memory of Don Brown, W1JSM. Activity was down this year, owing largely to there being only two satellites available for use: AMSAT-OSCAR 7 -- which remained in Mode A throughout the event -- and VUSAT-OSCAR 52. Eight participants each received at least one Best Fist nomination: AA5PK, N4ZQ, N6EV, WA6ARA, WB2SIH, WB4LHD, WB8TGY, and WC7V. Congratulations to 2012's Best Fist winners, and we'll see you in 2013! [ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Remembering Mr. Smith - SuitSat-1 February 3, 2006 February 3 marks the sixth anniversary of the first ARISS satellite, SuitSat-1, which captured the imagination of students, radio amateurs, and people all around the world. During a scheduled EVA outside the International Space Station, Val- ery Tokarev and Bill McArthur, KC5ACR deployed a retired Russian Orlan spacesuit with a radio transmitter and battery stuffed inside and antenna mounted on its helmet. The deployment took place just after 23:05 UTC on February 3, 2006. Transmissions were soon heard on 145.990 MHz. SuitSat-1, also known as Mr. Smith, Ivan Ivanovich, RadioSkaf, Radio Sputnik and AMSAT-OSCAR 54, was an idea proposed by the ARISS-Russia team as a commemorative gesture celebrating the 175th anniversary of the Moscow State Technical University. SuitSat-1 was programmed to continuously transmit recorded voice messages in several languages from students around the world. The signal began transmission approximately 15 minutes after SuitSat-1 was jettisoned. The downlink signal was noted to be weaker than ex- pected, possibly due to a mechanical problem with the antenna. SuitSat-1 re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on September 7, 2006, at 16:00 UTC about 1400 km south-southwest of Western Australia. SuitSat-2 was planned following the public relations success of the first suit. Originally, it was to have solar cells strapped to the outside of the suit to provide charge for internal batteries and ex- tend its life during orbit. When the Orlan suit planned to be used for this mission was no longer available, SuitSat-2 was redesigned into a satellite built into a deployable spaceframe with the solar cells and cameras for Slow Scan Television (SSTV) mounted on the outside of the box. The spacecraft was named ARISSat-1/KEDR which recently completed its successful mission. [ANS thanks the ARISS and AMSAT archives for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- New Version HamSatDroid App is Available Dave Johnson, G4DPZ announced a new version of the free HamSatDroid app now available on the Android Market. Upates to the app include: + tracking algorithm uses Dave's SGP4 implementation, as GENSO. + plot three orbits ahead on the map + plot the footprint + take keps from Celestrak Dave says, "Thanks to the feedback we've had from the existing users, I've got quite a few more changes in development. Opinions are sought about making a small charge and paying the income into satellite building funds and supporting a server which might be introduced to improve functionality of the app." See the HamSatDroid web page at: https://sites.google.com/site/hamsatdroid/ Dave is the FUNcube Data Warehouse Developer and is also an AMSAT-NA Life Member and AMSAT-UK Committee Member. [ANS thanks Dave Johnson, G4DPZ for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Budapest University Masat-1 Telemetry Decoder Software Released Dr. Bandi Gschwindt HA5WH, Project Director of the Masat-1 CubeSat, the first Hungarian satellite, built in Hungary by students at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, reports that their satellite is expected to be launched on the Vega maiden flight on February 9 with a planned deployment window between 10:00-13:00 UTC. Masat-1's website is at: http://cubesat.bme.hu/?lang=en The students are looking for hams to help with the reception of tele- metry data on 437.345 MHz at 625/1250 bps baud rate GFSK, especially in the first two weeks after launch. The satellite's callsign is HA5MASAT. The Masat-1 amateur radio webpage is at: http://cubesat.bme.hu/radioamatoroknek/?lang=en You can register on that page. The Masat-1 Ground Station Client Software was prepared to process the 437.345 MHz GFSK 625/1250 bps transmission received from the satellite. The software provides the following functions: + Audio demodulation + Packet decoding + Packet data visualization + Frequency waterfall plot to aid radio tuning Download the software and a test WAV file from: http://cubesat.bme.hu/en/foldi-allomas/kliens-szoftver/ Planned orbit will be 300x1500 km, inclination 70deg. Launch will be by ESA from Kourou. A video showing Masat-1's elliptical orbit is posted online at: http://www.uk.amsat.org/4119 [ANS thanks Dr. Bandi Gschwindt, HA5WH and Perry Klein, W3PK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- February Arizona Centennial Special Event Plans Satellite Operation The Central Arizona DX Association (CADXA) is very pleased to announce their special event operation in celebration of the Arizona Centennial during the week of February 13-19th, 2012. K7UGA Satellite Operation ------------------------- Using the callsign of the late Senior Senator, Barry M. Goldwater, K7UGA, CADXA members will be operating from stations located throughout Arizona during that week. Special operating locations from Tucson, Prescott and Phoenix will be on the air celebrating the 100th anniversary on Tuesday, February 14, 2012. They will be on all amateur bands (160-2 meters) and will be using CW, SSB, RTTY, PSK31 and Satellite modes. Arizona's AMSAT Field Ops coordinator Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK announced satellite operations using the K7UGA callsign: + Watch for announcements on amsat-bb for the specific passes WD9EWK plans to operate using the K7UGA callsign on February 14. + Patrick plans to use the K7UGA call sign for his on-air satellite demonstrations from the Yuma, Arizona Hamfest on February 17-18, 2012. More information about this is on AMSAT's online calendar of events: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fieldops/eventDetail.php?eID=629 + Also refer to http://www.qrz.com/db/k7uga for additional info. All K7UGA QSL requests go to Bob Davies - K7BHM (qrz.com) with an SASE. Additional information is posted on the CADXA Web site at: http://www.cadxa.org Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club W7A Satellite Operation ------------------------------------------------------ Rick Tejera, K7TEJ says the Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club will be operating a special event station for the Arizona Centennial as well the weekend of Feb 11-12, 2012. Rick plans to operating on as many FM satellite passes as possible during the event using the W7A call. [ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK and Rick Tejera, K7TEJ for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Can It Already Be That Time of Year For Field Day Planning? AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO reminds you that time of year is once again approaching - Field Day! Each year the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field Day as an emergency preparedness exercise. The event takes place during a 24-hour period on the fourth weekend of June. For 2012 the event takes place during a 27-hour period between 1800 UTC on Saturday, June 23, 2012 and 2100 UTC on Sunday June 24, 2012. Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 23 can operate only 24 hours. The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own ver- sion of Field Day for operation via the amateur satellites, held con- currently with the ARRL event. With the loss of AO-51 and SO-67 field day this year is going to be most challenging. If you are considering ONLY the FM voice satellites like AMRAD-OSCAR-27 or SaudiSat-Oscar-50 for your primary AMSAT Field Day focus: Don't, unless you are simply hoping to make one contact for the ARRL rules bonus points. The congestion on FM LEO satellites was so intense in prior years that we must continue to limit their use to one-QSO-per-FM-satellite. This includes the International Space Station. You will be allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating Voice. You will also be allowed one digital QSO with the ISS or any other digital, non-store-and-forward, packet satellite (if operational). 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 some of the less-populated, low-earth-orbit satellites like VUSat OSCAR-52,Fuji-OSCAR 29 (may or may not be operational), AMSAT-OSCAR 7. During Field Day the transponders come alive like 20 meters on a weekend. The good news is that the transponders on these satellites will support multiple simultaneous contacts. The bad news is that you can't use FM, just low dutycycle modes like SSB and CW. The AMSAT Field Day 2012 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 sat- ellites, 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/fd2012.doc http://www.amsatnet.com/fd2012.pdf [ANS thanks AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Extends Deadline for Student Summer Internships College Level Internships Deadline Extended ------------------------------------------- NASA says they will continue accepting applications for college level summer internship positions among several NASA Centers around the country until March 16, 2012. Students can view opportunities and apply for them all in one place. To start, the prospective student should go to: http://intern.nasa.gov/ then Student Opportunities tab then select Internships which will bring you to the OSSI:SOLAR page describing the program. Using the Search Tab on the OSSI:SOLAR page selecting Goddard in Maryland, Internship, Summer 2012, Engineering - Electrical Eng., or Engineering - Computer Eng., and a keyword search using "PICetSat" reveals an opportunity titled "PICetSat Module Development." which will develop a high-altitude balloon experiment module and related ground station components. This internship is open for Junior, Sen- ior, and Masters level students. A description of this particular internship opportunity can be found at: http://simsat.net/Internship-PICetSatModuleDevelopment-PKilroy.pdf as sponsored by Pat Kilroy, N8PK, an AMSAT member and engineer at NASA in Greenbelt, Maryland. High School Level Internships Applications Now Open --------------------------------------------------- On February 1, NASA opened the application process for high school students to apply for a summer internship. The application page is at: https://education.gsfc.nasa-telophase.com/ The deadline for high school student applications is March 2, 2012. Click on "Browse Available Projects" for students in the greater Maryland/DC/Northern Virginia area. An opportunity exists for a high school student/intern to also participate on the SimSat high- altitude balloon experiment sponsored by Pat Kilroy, N8PK. The direct link for this internship is: http://tinyurl.com/NASA-PICetSat-Internship The application process must be completed at the NASA intern web site. Students do not specify a specific internship program when they submit an application. The NASA Education community will de- termine which internship programs you are eligible for according to the information you provide in your application. [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Successful ARISS Contact with El Dorado County Students On Tuesday, January 24, on-orbit astronaut Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX participated in an ARISS contact with students from El Dorado County in Placerville, California. The students, who came from several schools within the county, were able to get answers to many of their questions about space. Approximately 250 people were in attendance and another 160 watched as the contact was streamed over the internet. The radio connection was provided by telebridge station W6SRJ in California. The station, located on the campus of Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC), hosted another 15 observers. In addition, the college sent a reporter and photographer from its newspaper, The Oak Leaf, to cover the event. The ARISS contact was part of a comprehensive education plan used to pique students' interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). More on the event, including video and photos may be found on the El Dorado County Web site. See: http://general.edcoe.org/nasaqa/default.html [ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, 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 additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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Telemetry demodulator board AO-10/AO-13
by Jack Colson 04 Feb '12

04 Feb '12

Does anyone have an interest in a complete telemetry demodulator which was used for AO10/13. The PCB/design was done by G3RUH. I have a complete unit available with metering and power supply, RS-232 data output. Photo available on request. Thank you for looking. 73 Jack, W3TMZ

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Another Delay For Next SpaceX Flight
by B J 04 Feb '12

04 Feb '12

http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/003/120203update/ 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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AO-7 Mode A antenna
by Andrew Glasbrenner 04 Feb '12

04 Feb '12

I recently put together a rotatable dipole for 10m for mode A reception. There isn't room for it on the satellite tower, which is a MA-40 with 2m, 222, 435, and 23cm yagis already. I do have a push up pole with a 5 element CC 6m yagi and G450 that I'm sure would handle the additional load, but I'm debating the best way to mount it without seriously degrading the pattern. Any ideas or comments? 73, Drew KO4MA Sent from my iPhone

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Oops... 1006 grids for K8YSE
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 04 Feb '12

04 Feb '12

Hi again.... A correction... K8YSE's grid count for his satellite VUCC award is actually at 1006 grids. So much for trying to read the VUCC standings sheet early in the morning. Everything I just wrote about John is still true, a great accomplishment for 1006 grids all worked on LEO satellites in the past few years. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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UKube-1 in The Register
by Trevor . 04 Feb '12

04 Feb '12

An article by Brid-Aine Parnell about the UK Space Agency's first satellite UKube-1 was published in The Register yesterday. UKube-1 will carry a set of AMSAT-UK FUNcube boards providing a 435/145 MHz linear transponder. Read the article at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/02/03/the_uk_in_space/ 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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Aeneas cubesat
by Howie DeFelice 04 Feb '12

04 Feb '12

USC has delivered their Aeneas 3U cubesat for launch preparations later this year. Pretty amazing what they did with a 3U cubesat. http://www.isi.edu/projects/serc/aeneas HowieAB2S

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KN-SAT1 CubeSat Project
by Mineo Wakita 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

I introduce Sudanese first CubeSat 'KN-SAT1'. The scene receiving Japanese satellite FO-29 CW experimentally is taken to the upper video. The scene of the use of OBC is taken to the lower video. It's the satellite which the students of the Sudan Khartoum University made. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JELR_PFl9KI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17hd_a4GpJk It's produced for the purpose of the following objectives. I do not know the launch day. 1. To give students at Sudanese Unversities a hands-on space project experience. 2. To document the process and skills and forward it to more students and post graduated engineers. 3. To promote space engineering and space science education at other Sudanese educational institutes. 4. Building, testing and launching the cube satellite. 5. Monitoring and tracking the cube satellite. 6. Telecommand the cube satellite. 7. Collecting the telemetry and the mission data for analysis and evaluation. KN-SAT1 HP, http://cubesat.uofk.edu/ Sudanese Amateur Radio and SWL History, http://www.st2nh.com/sudanamateurradioandswlhistory ST2NH HP, http://www.st2nh.com/ AMSAT-UK, http://www.uk.amsat.org/4316 JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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Re: Aeneas cubesat
by Howie DeFelice 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

I read the description of the satellite a little more carefully this time and noticed it is being built "on a standard NRO cubesat bus". Very interesting that an organization like NRO is utilizing cubesats. This also probably means they are not using amateur spectrum for this one.

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Re: NASA's Edison Small Satellite Demonstration Program
by Daniel Schultz 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

Bill and Trevor and everybody else, We are studying this request for proposals and will prepare an Amsat proposal in response if it makes sense for us to do so. If you would like to join the proposal team please contact me. It is important that Amsat should submit one coherent proposal, from one team. Thanks Dan Schultz N8FGV

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Re: Aeneas cubesat
by Andrew Glasbrenner 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

No, I don't see it either, and if I recall some of us let them know about coordination after the fact. Some of the groups certainly ignore or are ignorant of coordination, or the rules of the service for that matter. 73, Drew KO4MA >Hi Drew, > >Yah - I didn't see any reference to Amateur radio in the link Howie >posted so you're probably right. But while checking there, I also looked >for their Caerus 1U operating on 437.6 MHz, I couldn't find it on the >IARU list. Did I miss it? > >Regards...Bill - N6GHz >

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Re: Aeneas cubesat
by Andrew Glasbrenner 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

I'm pretty positive this isn't in the amateur service, so no coordination with the IARU would be expected. http://events.eoportal.org/get_announce.php?an_id=10003839 references a 400-450 SS radio, a 400-500 GMSK beacon, and a 2.4GHz feedpoint mounted transceiver. 73, Drew KO4MA -----Original Message----- >From: Bill Ress <bill(a)hsmicrowave.com> >Sent: Feb 3, 2012 1:24 PM >To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org >Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Aeneas cubesat > >Howie, > >A quick check with the IARU satellite frequency coordination list does >not show Aeneas as having been coordinated. Is the IARU not up to date >or was the satellite not coordinated. > >Regards...Bill - N6GHz > >On 2/3/2012 9:29 AM, Howie DeFelice wrote: >> >> USC has delivered their Aeneas 3U cubesat for launch preparations later this year. Pretty amazing what they did with a 3U cubesat. >> http://www.isi.edu/projects/serc/aeneas >> >> HowieAB2S >> _______________________________________________ >> 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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UT1FG/MM
by Angelo Glorioso 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

It looks like Yuri is on the air again. He was heard on A0-27 today, but I did not get his grid. Yesterday's spot shows: WB2SIH-@ 145900.0 UT1FG/MM VO52 SAT - GM50 2321 02 Feb Ukraine 73 de Angelo --------------------------------------------------------- If you don't ask, you will never know!!

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Re: NASA's Edison Small Satellite Demonstration Program
by G0MRF＠aol.com 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

But given that the opportunity is looking for proposals in the field of communications and propulsion, it sounds like a good chance to team up with one of the university groups who are working on miniature Ion engines. They are about 3 inches across and use as little as 36W. A 3U cube could house one of those and you could target orbital transfer and space qualification as the objective. The engine part could be project managed while the comms and structure could be taken on within AMSAT. Thanks David In a message dated 03/02/2012 16:58:34 GMT Standard Time, m5aka(a)yahoo.co.uk writes: Some of the orbits are very short lifetime but there are some useful ones there: DoD (Minotaur I) 350-500 km 40-45° DoD (Minotaur IV)685 km 72° NASA CRS/COTS 300 km 51° EELV 300 x 23,000 km <28° Sun-Synchronous 500 – 1000 km 98° 73 Trevor M5AKA --- On Fri, 3/2/12, Bill Ress <bill(a)hsmicrowave.com> wrote: > From: Bill Ress <bill(a)hsmicrowave.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] NASA's Edison Small Satellite Demonstration Program > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Date: Friday, 3 February, 2012, 16:01 > See the followwing link.......... > http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=2062771302 > > Regards...Bill - N6GHz > _______________________________________________ > 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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NASA's Edison Small Satellite Demonstration Program
by Bill Ress 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

See the followwing link.......... http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=2062771302 Regards...Bill - N6GHz

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Re: CHIBIS-M
by normn3ykf＠stny.rr.com 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

David, http://tinyurl.com/RS-39-Chibis-M is the project page for Chibis-M (in English) Click on the radiomonitoring link on the left side. It usually tells you which freq (and sometimes if) the satellite is on. Love to listen and hone my cw skills. AO-7 here I come! 73 es be gud Norm ---- David Hopkins <davhop(a)bigpond.net.au> wrote: > Gentlemen, > Anyone heard CHIBIS-M at all today? > > I have listened on three pass today, but heard nothing. > > David > > David G. Hopkins (VK4ZF) > CAPALABA QLD > AUSTRALIA > 27.32.38S 153.12.03E > QG62OL > Skype :- davhop > > _______________________________________________ > 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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Fw: New version - Masat Ground station Client software
by Nitin Muttin 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

The new verion has a bug and the below error is shown the bat file is executed. "Unable to access jar file2010-gndcclient-java3.jar" Java needs to be started manually, double click on the jar file or runjava -jar GNDClient.jar. The final version will be available next week from the MASAT Team. Regards Nitin [VU3TYG] --------- Original Message -------- From: Tibor Mezei <mezei(a)cubesat.bme.hu> To: vu3tyg(a)amsatindia.org <vu3tyg(a)amsatindia.org> Subject: Re: Masat Ground station Client software Date: 01/02/12 19:41 Hello,Sorry, we forget to update the bat, and sh file-s.So you have to double click on the jar file or runjava -jar GNDClient.jarWe collect the bugs to release the final version next week. Thanks for your report. Regards, Tibor MezeiAm 2. Februar 2012 17:06 schrieb Nitin Muttin <vu3tyg(a)amsatindia.org>: Hello Tibor, I installed the new version but the software does not execute, attached is the error. I am using Winxp with service pack 3. 73 Nitin [VU3TYG] -----Original Message----- From: zemei88(a)gmail.com [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tibor Mezei Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2012 6:03 AM To: Nitin Muttin [VU3TYG] Subject: Re: Masat Ground station Client software Dear Nitin, the newest version of the MASAT-1 client software is available on our website: http://cubesat.bme.hu/en/foldi-allomas/kliens-szoftver/ Regards, Tibor

2 1

fox
by Nick Pugh 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

Did Fox win a NASA grant for launch? nick

3 2

CHIBIS-M
by David Hopkins 03 Feb '12

03 Feb '12

Gentlemen, Anyone heard CHIBIS-M at all today? I have listened on three pass today, but heard nothing. David David G. Hopkins (VK4ZF) CAPALABA QLD AUSTRALIA 27.32.38S 153.12.03E QG62OL Skype :- davhop

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USB Rotor Controller - $17.40
by Thomas Doyle 02 Feb '12

02 Feb '12

Someone might find this interesting. http://www.tomdoyle.org/CheapRotorController/ 73 W9KE Tom Doyle

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InstantTrack and windows 7
by Scott Smith 02 Feb '12

02 Feb '12

Hi folks, just updated one of my computers to windows 7. Does InstantTrack work with this version of windows?. Have no problem on my other computers using windows XP. Any help appreciated . 73 de VE6ITV Scott

5 4

GPS Time observation
by Vince Fiscus, KB7ADL 02 Feb '12

02 Feb '12

I have an old GPS unit, a Magellan explorist 210. It's fairly accurate determining position. After it has acquired about eight to ten satellites the position error averages between 20 to 35 feet. Now the question, the other day I was looking at one of the information pages the unit can display and on it, it gives the time in UTC. Just for fun I thought I would see how close the time was to WWV. I was surprised to see the unit was between one to four seconds off over various tests compared to WWV. IS this typical of all GPS units or do some display the time of day more accurately? KB7ADL

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re instanttrack and windows 7
by Scott Smith 02 Feb '12

02 Feb '12

Thanks to Bruce and Alan i now have InstantTrack working on my windows 7 computer appreciate the help guys have a great day. 73 de VE6ITV Scott

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HudsonValleySatcomGroupNetTonight@8PMOnEcholink N2EYH-L OR MtBeacon Repeater 146.970pl100
by cotejaune2＠aol.com 02 Feb '12

02 Feb '12

Please join us for the Net tonight Feb 02 on Echolink N2EYH-L @ 8PM.All the cool people will be there.73 de WA2AQH Garty/KC2DTQ Tom

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SatPC32 rotor question
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 02 Feb '12

02 Feb '12

I had this question posted to me, and I can't seem to figure out if it is possible. >.I want my rotator to stop at about 85 Deg elevation and not go to 90 , 100 , 110 etc etc but to rotate on its asmith by >180 deg and then start to drop elevation from 85 Deg.. I know that the rotor interface unit, ERC can be limited via it's service tool software, but I wasn't sure how SatPC32 would react to the interface unit limiting it. Dave - KB1PVH

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FW: New version - Masat Ground station Client software
by Nitin Muttin 02 Feb '12

02 Feb '12

All, FYI , New version of the telemetry decoding application for MASAT-1 is available at http://cubesat.bme.hu/en/foldi-allomas/kliens-szoftver/ 73 Nitin [VU3TYG] From: zemei88(a)gmail.com [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tibor Mezei Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2012 6:03 AM To: Nitin Muttin [VU3TYG] Subject: Re: Masat Ground station Client software Dear Nitin, the newest version of the MASAT-1 client software is available on our website: http://cubesat.bme.hu/en/foldi-allomas/kliens-szoftver/ Regards, Tibor Mezei 2012/1/31 Nitin Muttin [VU3TYG] <vu3tyg(a)amsatindia.org>: > Thanks Tibor for the update. > -- > Regards > > Nitin [VU3TYG] > Secretary, AMSAT India > vu3tyg(a)amsatindia.org > www.amsatindia.org > > > --------- Original Message -------- > From: Tibor Mezei <mezei(a)cubesat.bme.hu> > To: vu3tyg(a)amsatindia.org <vu3tyg(a)amsatindia.org> > Subject: Re: Masat Ground station Client software > Date: 29/01/12 22:53 > >> Hello,thank you for your interest. The disabled functions are used by our > own ground station.They are not necessary for the reception of MASAT-1.The > recommended sample rates are the multiples of baud rate (like 43750 Hz). >> The baud rate is 625, which can be found at our website: > http://cubesat.bme.hu/en/foldi-allomas/radioamatoroknek/There will be a new > version of the MASAT-1's Ground Station Client Software this week. >> The update is recommended, since it will contain a number of improvements > and fixes.If you find any problem with it please send me a report.Best > regards,Tibor Mezei2012/1/29 Nitin Muttin <vu3tyg(a)amsatindia.org>

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