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Titan's Dunes
by B J 23 Jan '12

23 Jan '12

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-021&cid=release_2012-021 http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=49878 http://www.onorbit.com/node/4274 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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ARISSat-1 voice messages
by Mineo Wakita 23 Jan '12

23 Jan '12

All audio files of the message by children of all the countries of the world sent to by ARISSat-1 and the translated sentence were uploaded in SatBlog of the DK3WN station. I can guess that it would be hard to collect these messages. This is a laborious work. Please hear all once. A password appears in the last of the message of each country, but already I thinks this to be statute of limitations. http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=25476 JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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AO-27 at 2122 UTC
by Bryan Herbert 23 Jan '12

23 Jan '12

My phone rebooted during the pass so I lost the audio recording. I'm pretty sure the station I QSOed with was N0JA but I cant recall the grid square (DN?) If anyone has audio they can send or if the operator I QSOed with could contact me it would be greatly appreciated. -- Bryan Herbert - KE6ZGP Newhall, CA. DM04RJ USA http://bryanherbert.com http://twitter.com/ke6zgp

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More satellite videos....
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 22 Jan '12

22 Jan '12

Hi! After the positive reaction to the videos I posted to YouTube yesterday, I added three more from passes I worked today. The first video was from the 1527 UTC VO-52 pass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K10RiIEyjfE Then the 1936 UTC AO-27 pass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0IdEPsajkU I then tried FO-29's 2043 UTC pass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP80fVF9Lek I used the same equipment on today's VO-52 and AO-27 passes as I used yesterday. For the FO-29 pass, I swapped out the TH-F6A and used my second FT-817ND with its better receiver for the weaker downlink. The antenna on all of these passes was the same Elk handheld 2m/70cm log periodic I normally use. Videos were recorded with a Sony DSC-H70 camera which makes 720p videos. If you want to have an idea of how much adjusting I do to the VFOs on my radios, just watch closely when I reach for the radios on the table (or whatever other location I have them set up in my other videos). I always set my transmitting radio on the left, and the receiver on the right. This has let me get to the point where working SSB/CW satellites with a portable two-radio setup has become essentially automatic, wherever I happen to be operating, over the past 3+ years - determine which way is North, set up my gear, and start making QSOs. Even with being comfortable with my current portable setup, I'm always looking to experiment. I've been using different radios for the SSB/CW downlinks, and I know I should get a tripod to hold my antenna. I also want to get around to trying SatPC32 with my two FT-817NDs, since I have the software and the cables to connect both radios to my netbook. Then there's more operating from wherever I happen to go. More for the satellite to-do list... :-) 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Full Duplex, Pre-amplifiers, LIDs, and Know-it-all's
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 22 Jan '12

22 Jan '12

Having a computer controlled, full duplex station with azimuth and elevation rotation, receiver pre-amplifiers, and high gain antennas is nice. Being able to point your small yagi antenna at the sky and work an FM transponder anywhere in the world with a HT is nice. Both scenarios require a common element for success: the operator's skill. Rather than attack others' ideas of a "perfect satellite station," why not try to support each other in becoming better operators? Having the right equipment is truly important. Having the right skills to operate, in my opinion, is much more important. It is doubtful that everyone on this mailing list will ever agree what comprises "the ultimate satellite station." While some favor flexibility of portable operation, others may strictly utilize the highest gain antennas available. Next time you hear some bad operating practices, consider writing a kind note to the offending station. Be considerate that the station may be unaware of their satellite faux-pas. Perhaps they are new and have had little guidance from an Elmer. Take the opportunity to welcome the station and introduce them to the "right way" of doing things even if they are not using your favorite radio or antenna. Good ham radio operating skills are not typically an inherent quality of man -- it takes time to develop them. At some point in history, you made your first contact. 73 Clayton W5PFG Still learning 20 years after receiving my novice class license.

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looking for DE and WV
by davekn4ok＠aol.com 22 Jan '12

22 Jan '12

Looking for DE and WV on the birds for WAS. Please reply by email. Thanks, Dave, kn4ok

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Hawaii for WAS
by Wyatt Dirks 22 Jan '12

22 Jan '12

Still looking for someone in Hawaii to work for my last state for satellite WAS. From EN41 either AO7 or FO29 would have to be used to make contact. While FO29 is operation it might be the better choice as it is quite a bit easier to work at low elevations and it in my opinion is easier to work portable. If anyone could help that would be great! 73 Wyatt AC0RA

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5 in EM55
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 22 Jan '12

22 Jan '12

Congrats to Mark WB8TGY for 5 in em 55 award #44 and Your $$$ donation will be forwarded to Martha at Amsat in your name WA4HFN em55 Damon

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Re: Working VO-52 with an FT-817ND and TH-F6A
by Joe Krepps 22 Jan '12

22 Jan '12

Patrick, How did you manage doppler shift between the FT-817ND and TH-F6A? 73, Joe Krepps WB3CFN (FM19pw08)

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Quadrifilar antenna
by Dave Guimont 21 Jan '12

21 Jan '12

I've used them with great success at 435 and 2 m. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/wb6lloOscar and see quadrifilar antenna articles...happy to answer any questions.. Follow dimensions carefully on 435.. 73, Dave, WB6LLO dguimon1(a)san.rr.com Disagree: I learn.... Pulling for P3E...

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Re: Testing a UHF antenna
by normn3ykf＠stny.rr.com 21 Jan '12

21 Jan '12

Domenico: Thank you so much for sending the article on your experiments in the 2400MHz band. The author of the page does provide some information on connecting the infinite balun. It's here: http://jcoppens.com/ant/qfh/img/v2/012.jpeg He also does provide a clue of performance of inverse connection of the loops in simulation here: http://jcoppens.com/ant/qfh/sim.en.php It's in the n'th column labeled as .44inv Re the meter and the cable: I need to find some connectors so that I can make up a cable. Just finished a move and am still in the process of decimating the boxes. Will report back when I get a cable made. 73 de Norm n3ykf > Hi Norm > > I was looking at http://jcoppens.com/ant/qfh/calc.en.php . > > but unfortunately there are not informations on how to connect the > 4 by 1/2 wavelength loops to get End-Fire or Back-Fire radiation > from the quadrifiliar helix antenna as well no information to get a > 50 ohm match properly connecting the 4 terminals of the loops to > the infinite balun so that I suggest you to read the article: > > "Experimental Investigation of Quadrifilar Helix Antennas for > 2400 MHz" published into the AMSAT-Journal May-June 2004 > > BTW, about your question the lenght of coax cable between the device > under test and the antenna analyzer must be any even or odd numbar of > 1/2 electrical waveleght of coax cable for the frequency in use where > the 1/2 electrical wavelenght of the coax cable is the 1/2 free wave > multiplied by the velocity factor Vf of the coax used i.e.Vf = 0.66 for > RG-213 > > When the lenght of any transmission line is 1/2 electrical waveleght the > impedance at one end of it is the same at the other end of it i.e. the > impedance of the antenna will be seen unchanged at the antenna analyzer > input connector no matter the value of the VSWR. > > 73" de > > i8CVS Domenico > > > > > > >

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Re: Thanks for all the ...
by Clint Bradford 21 Jan '12

21 Jan '12

>> ... >> ... what is essential for a successful and pleasant satellite operation, YOU NEED A PREAMP! One thing that I have shown to about a hundred audiences LIVE as I work passes in front of them is there is absolutely NO NEED to spend money on pre-amp to successfully work the FM LEOs. AO-27 and SO-50 are received wonderfully with just improved antennas on handheld radios/scanners. If you cannot hear '27 and '50 and the ISS - nor worked '51 and heard ARISSat-1 when they were available - with just a "better" antenna (suggestions on the ANTENNAS page at work-sat.com), then something is wrong with your setup. Might a pre-amp be on one's list as a future purchase to work other birds? Quite possibly. Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com >> ... what is essential for a successful and pleasant satellite operation, YOU NEED A PREAMP!

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Re: Hamtronics receive converters
by WILLIAMS MICHAEL 21 Jan '12

21 Jan '12

John, A big concern is transmitting into it. In the beginning, I used the Hamtronics converter into a Ten Tec Corsair II HF rig. The Corsair has a aux receiver input that can be selected which will completely eliminate any possibility of RF damage to the converter. I've done my share of burning up preamps so a person has to be careful. I used the converter/TenTec, an IC-251A (2M/10W), and an 11 turn helix with no preamp on FO20/29. It worked really well, but a preamp does help. In fact, I used this original rig setup today to make three QSOs on FO-29. It's still working well although there is now a SSB preamp out at the antenna. If you have a two rig setup operating both "U" and "V" uplinks and switching back and forth between rigs, somewhere along the line you'll make an error and screw up. An aux receive input to the transceiver would be nice or just setting the HF transceiver up so it can't be transmitted would be a second choice. If your interested in my Hamtronics CC432-5 converter (435-437 MHz to 28-30 MHz), give me an email or phone me. 73, Mike (K9QHO)

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High sierra converters
by Joe Leikhim 21 Jan '12

21 Jan '12

Is there a typo in the specs of their 435 and 145 MHz converters? The frequency stabilities are specified at a whopping 25 ppm. Sent from my iPod

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Hamtronics receive converters
by John Geiger 21 Jan '12

21 Jan '12

Does anyone know if Hamstronics has made a UHF receive converter? The currently make one for 2m, but I would like one to use for FO29, if possible. 73s John AA5JG

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Working VO-52 with an FT-817ND and TH-F6A
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 21 Jan '12

21 Jan '12

Hi! I worke up early this morning and set up my portable satellite station in the back yard to work VO-52. Since I have written about working the non-FM satellites with two radios, I decided to make a couple of videos showing me working VO-52 on the 1511 UTC pass this morning and a closer look at the equipment I used on that pass. On this pass, I used a Yaesu FT-817ND as my transmitter, a Kenwood TH-F6A as the receiver (it has an all-mode receiver), and my Elk Antennas handheld 2m/70cm log periodic for the antenna. The video of me working the pass is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpLw3stcxWY and the close-up view of my station is at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Og1P2fjmTs I have used this FT-817ND/TH-F6A combination at a few hamfests, and for many of the passes I worked in Australia a few months ago. I now have three radios that can serve as the downlink receiver when working SSB/CW via satellite - my second FT-817ND, an Icom IC-R20 handheld all-mode receiver, and the TH-F6A HT. The TH-F6A is not capable of being controlled by software like SatPC32. The other two radios I use for receiving SSB/CW downlinks can be controlled by software. All of these radios are portable, and can be used almost anywhere I can hear the satellite downlinks. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Thanks for all the personal Emails!
by K4FEG 21 Jan '12

21 Jan '12

It is nice to know that I am not alone in my way of thinking. While we all want to encourage new people to come into the ranks of Amateur radio, we most of all want the to do it successfully and to enjoy their experiences. I will offer one last Southern Folk Wisdom on the subject with regards as to what is essential for a successful and pleasant satellite operation, YOU NEED A PREAMP! IF YOU CAN'T HEAR YOURSELF ON THE SATELLITE YOU ARE PROBABLY CAUSING QRM! Now for the Southern Folk Wisdom: /"Even a blind hog finds a hickory nut every once in a while....."/ In other words, you may occasionally hear the satellite under ideal conditions WITHOUT a preamp, but WITH a preamp you will have a much more pleasant experience on the satellite and so will all the others that are on that pass with you! Yah'll all have a nice day! I have a schedule on FO29 with Ireland! I will be using a preamp! 73's Frank K4FEG

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RS-39 (Chibis-M) Deploys January 25
by Trevor . 21 Jan '12

21 Jan '12

The team of RS-39 will very much appreciate any reception reports of “Chibis-M”. Special attention is requested for the first orbits as these are outside of control stations for “Chibis-M”. Each report will be confirmed by special QSL card. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/3910 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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Testing a UHF antenna
by normn3ykf＠stny.rr.com 21 Jan '12

21 Jan '12

Hi all. Am in the process of building a quadrifiliar helix antenna using this page: http://jcoppens.com/ant/qfh/calc.en.php . How much cable should I use between the device under test and the antenna analyzer? I've got a Times T-100 73 de Norm

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HI4/AJ5C update
by Bob Herrell 20 Jan '12

20 Jan '12

Good contacts for 1/20/12 AO-27 1853z de HI4/AJ5C: N9AMW, KB0RZD, W5PFG/m, K5OE/m, K0BAM, NX9B, N4ZQ and K8BL/4. 73 Bob

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getting "cheep" on the birds! (Pun intended)
by K4FEG 20 Jan '12

20 Jan '12

There seems to have been a rash of postings lately about how to get on the the "birds" for "cheep" ( yes the pun is implied!). IMHO cheap is not always equated with good. No one wants the "cheapest" Doctor around or the "cheapest" lawyer or the "cheapest" anything. With the demise of AO51 and the loss of its simple operating characteristics, there has been a migration to the "less" popular satellites. Most of the other FM satellites are no where near as "user friendly" as AO51 was. With people suggesting that people can get on to the satellites with an inexpensive Chinese made dual band HT and a "telescoping" antenna and nothing else, they are creating a perception that that is all you need to have a successful satellite station. Nothing could be further from the truth! AO27 has a 7 minute timer, there are increasing numbers of people who will call CQ the entire satellite pass over North America and never answer a single response to their "CQ's", and for some unknown reason these stations NEVER have an email address listed on their QRZ listing. Some of us actually use the satellites and do not like it when operators have been told they do not need a preamp or a good antenna or a good radio. It is much simpler to get into the uplink of the satellite than it is to hear it. I wish some of the "self-proclaimed" experts would tell these people that if they cannot hear themselves on the downlink that does not mean that they are not keying the satellite. If people are going to encourage people to get on the satellites, teach them how to use the satellites, not how they can get on the satellites for less than $100.00. They are getting on the satellite and causing interference for those that have invested in the equipment to take proper advantage of what the satellites have to offer. Some of the people that are pontificating profusely on the subject of operating "for cheap" I have never heard on the satellites. Encouraging people to become active is one thing, but giving people the impression that all they have to do is get a basic $80.00 radio and a telescoping antenna and they will have a top notch satellite station tantamount to turning an untrained Doctor loose to do surgery. For those that want to encourage people to get active, how about teaching or recommending proper operating techniques, before you tell them how "cheaply" they can get on the satellites. AO27 has such a short timer that good technique is paramount for getting the best use out of it, and SO50 has plenty of "quirks" to make it a challenge at times for the "seasoned" operator. I hope some of those promoting their own ideas of satellite use on a budget would spend more teaching rather than recommending how much money they can save by getting the least expensive gear available. good radio, receive preamp, decent antenna & Patience = a good beginner satellite station! If you can't hear the bird, doesn't mean it's not hearing you! I am happy to speak to anyone that is interested in satellite communications, you can check out my QRZ page. 73's Frank K4FEG

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SpaceX Flight Delayed Again
by B J 20 Jan '12

20 Jan '12

http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/003/120120delay/ 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Re: Getting "Cheep" ...
by Clint Bradford 20 Jan '12

20 Jan '12

>> ... I wish some of the "self-proclaimed" experts would tell these people that if they cannot hear themselves on the downlink that does not mean that they are not keying the satellite. I know of no "self-proclaimed expert" who is teaching anything other than "working full-duplex on the FM LEOs is the preferred method of operation ... " And I am still finding audiences who appreciate knowing that they already own most of the equipment necessary to successfully work these birds. One of the very first reception reports of the ARISSat-1 project was from a gentleman using a handheld radio - and its stock antenna. I know of MANY "self-proclaimed experts" who advise that that is not the best way to go ... (grin) I am very proud of the on-the-air operations that I hear here on the West Coast. I mean, I am in the most-populous region of the nation's most populous state - so the potential for poor operating methods are greater. But we're doing quite fine. Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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Re: Hamtronics converter
by David Reinhart 20 Jan '12

20 Jan '12

One thing I learned the hard way about Hamtronics converters is that they can't take any transitory transmit RF. Just powering up my old TS-440S with a UHF Hamtronics converter attached would blow the MMIC. David Reinhart WA6ILT

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Building a Distributed Satellite Ground Station Network
by Trevor . 20 Jan '12

20 Jan '12

There was a presentation on building a distributed satellite ground station network at the Chaos Communication Congress held December 27-30 and the video is now available. The AMSAT-UK FUNcube Dongle VHF/UHF Software Defined Radio gets a brief mention at 39:26 into the video. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/3892 73 Trevor M5AKA ----

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Re: ALERT
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 20 Jan '12

20 Jan '12

A solar flare will disrupt all HF and some satellites,While the flare is hitting the earth ,it can cause the VHF bands to open up .After the flare passes then the HF bands will be very active for F2 and maybe even some on 6 meters too ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ted" <k7trkradio(a)charter.net> To: wa4hfn(a)comcast.net Sent: Friday, January 20, 2012 1:00:58 PM Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] ALERT Does that help HF? -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of wa4hfn(a)comcast.net Sent: Friday, January 20, 2012 6:23 AM To: AMSAT Subject: [amsat-bb] ALERT INCOMING CME: Active sunspot 1401 erupted yesterday, Jan. 19th around 16:30 UT, producing an M3-class solar flare and a full-halo coronal mass ejection (CME). The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded the cloud expanding almost directly toward Earth: SEE spaceweather.com WA4HFN Damon _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: Hamtronics receive converters
by Andrew Glasbrenner 20 Jan '12

20 Jan '12

High Sierra Microwave makes receive converters, and they are very high performance IMO. http://www.hsmicrowave.com/page12.html 73, Drew KO4MA -----Original Message----- >From: John Geiger <aa5jg(a)fidmail.com> >Sent: Jan 20, 2012 11:26 AM >To: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >Subject: [amsat-bb] Hamtronics receive converters > >Does anyone know if Hamstronics has made a UHF receive converter? The >currently make one for 2m, but I would like one to use for FO29, if >possible. > >73s John AA5JG >_______________________________________________ >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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Linear birds with an IC-706MkIIG
by Bob Herrell 20 Jan '12

20 Jan '12

Hi all, Does anyone have experience working the linear birds with a single IC-706MkIIG? Thanks Bob Herrell HI4/AJ5C

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Student CubeSat Aalto-1
by Trevor . 20 Jan '12

20 Jan '12

Students working on the Aalto-1 CubeSat have released a 4 minute video showing a visualization of the launch and deployment of the satellite, see http://www.uk.amsat.org/3883 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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ALERT
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 20 Jan '12

20 Jan '12

INCOMING CME: Active sunspot 1401 erupted yesterday, Jan. 19th around 16:30 UT, producing an M3-class solar flare and a full-halo coronal mass ejection (CME). The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded the cloud expanding almost directly toward Earth: SEE spaceweather.com WA4HFN Damon

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Fw: AMSAT- Journal (Losted article "Modification of a CDETailtwister Control Unit for Satellite Automatic Tracking" by i8CVS
by i8cvs 20 Jan '12

20 Jan '12

Hi JoAnne ,K9JKM Thank you very much ! But I have to send this message to you via AMSAT-BB because your @comcast.net rejects back all emails coming from my provider @tin.it 73" de i8CVS Domenico ----- Original Message ----- From: "JoAnne Maenpaa" <k9jkm(a)comcast.net> To: "'i8cvs'" <domenico.i8cvs(a)tin.it> Sent: Friday, January 20, 2012 3:27 AM Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] AMSAT- Journal (Losted article "Modification of a CDETailtwister Control Unit for Satellite Automatic Tracking" by i8CVS > Hi Domenico, > > The most recent e-mail address I have for Ed Long is > texasmgr2000(a)yahoo.com. > I forwarded your request this address for Ed. > > -- > 73 de JoAnne K9JKM > k9jkm(a)amsat.org > Editor, AMSAT News Service

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Re: Man on a Mission
by aj9n 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

NEAR REAL TIME REVIEW JUST GOT OUT. I give it 4 stars. Lots of behind the scenes stuff. Shows about 1 minute of him on the radio. Pretty good music. Sent from my HTC on the Now Network from Sprint! ----- Reply message ----- From: n4csitwo(a)bellsouth.net Date: Wed, Jan 18, 2012 5:19 pm Subject: [amsat-bb] Man on a Mission To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> I see that Richard Garriot has released a documentary of his trip. See the trailer at http://firstrunfeatures.com/intheaters.html Web site is http://firstrunfeatures.com/manonamission/ Dave, AA4KN _______________________________________________ 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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AMSAT- Journal (Losted article "Modification of a CDETailtwister Control Unit for Satellite Automatic Tracking" by i8CVS
by i8cvs 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

Hi Ed Long ,WA4SWJ Unfortunately all my messages to you sent to wa4swj(a)hotmail.com were rejected to me several time with about 1 MB of attachements so that I hope you read this letter sent to you via AMSA-BB BTW I have asked Ed KL7UW to relay from Alaska this message to you. This is the problem: In March 11, 2008 I sent to you text and pictures for my article to be published into the AMSAT-journal March/April 2008 "Modification of a CDE Tailtwister Control Unit for Satellite Automatic Tracking" You publisced the article and sent to me by email a pdf file of it from the AMSAT-Journal March/April 2008 Unfortunately I got a crash in my HD and I lost your pdf file with my article. Can you please send back again to me a new pdf file of it ? It has been publisched in AMSAT Journal March/April 2008 Thank you very much in advance ! 73" de i8CVS Domenico email: domenico.i8cvs(a)tin.it

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Re: Linear birds with an IC-706MkIIG
by K5OE 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

Bob, I have often worked the linear birds mobile using an FT-100 (Yaesu's similar rig). Obviously, working a linear satellite in half-duplex mode is not the easiests of ventures, but it is not all that hard either. FO-29 is the easiest of the LEOs to work in this mode as it is easy to mentally adjust for the easily estimated Doppler shift. I have also worked both AO-40 and AO-51 using this rig in mode L/S (using a downconverter and a trippler for the uplink). I find the easiest method is to find a clear spot, approximately the middle of the passband, estimate the Doppler for the uplink and call CQ, then tune around for someone coming back to me. This is not perfect, and runs the risk of interfering with an adjacent QSO, but will work in a pinch. Just set your rig to "split" and give it a try. 73, Jerry, K5OE > Hi all, > > Does anyone have experience working the linear birds with a single > IC-706MkIIG? > > Thanks > > Bob Herrell HI4/AJ5C

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AMSAT- Journal (Losted article "Modification of a CDE Tailtwister Control Unit for Satellite Automatic Tracking" by i8CVS
by i8cvs 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

Hi Ed Long ,WA4SWJ Unfortunately all my messages to you sent to wa4swj(a)hotmail.com were rejected to me several time with about 1 MB of attachements so that I hope you read this letter sent to you via AMSA-BB This is the problem: In March 11, 2008 I sent to you text and pictures for my article to be published into the AMSAT-journal: "Modification of a CDE Tailtwister Control Unit for Satellite Automatic Tracking" You publisced the article and sent to me by email a pdf file of it from the AMSAT-Journal Unfortunately I got a crash in my HD and I lost your pdf file with my article. Can you please send back again to me a new pdf file of it ? It has been publisched in AMSAT Journal beginning from 2008 Thank you very much in advance ! 73" de i8CVS Domenico

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Re: Probably a silly idea...
by G0MRF＠aol.com 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

Hi Ed / Dave / Group. It seems a very long time ago now, but in the dim and distant pass ESA approved a plan to have a permanent amateur station installed inside the European Columbus module. As a European (Well, on a little island over here) I'm almost embarrassed to mention this because having spent a lot of contributors money...and a lot of ESA's money on some very nice antennas, the organisers of this project seem to have gone into hibernation. Occasionally, you hear rumours of plans and rumours of rumours but the reality probably is that they don't have the ability to do the job. - I always think of the scene from Life of Brian where small ineffective groups sit around plotting the overthrow of the Romans and just have endless meetings. Sad. Very sad. David G0MRF In a message dated 18/01/2012 21:04:43 GMT Standard Time, kl7uw(a)acsalaska.net writes: AS I understand there are four antennas on the ISS available for ham use. So why does a package have to go outside? It can be installed inside, use ISS power, be turned on/off by astronauts at will or even unplugged? No batteries, no rocket propulsion, dangerous chemicals, no space-rated enclosure, no EVA. Last time I propose this I was told to shut my mouth and go away. 73, Ed - KL7UW At 08:02 AM 1/18/2012, Trevor . wrote: >PCSAT-2 did exactly that on the ISS in July 2005, however, it was >returned to Earth Sep 2006. > >It requires an expensive EVA to install and there may be frequency >coordination issues with the two amateur radio stations already on the ISS. > >I wonder what the capabilities of the Kibo Robot Arm are ? I believe >it can attach payloads to the exterior Exposed Facility (EF) with >the need for an EVA. > >73 Trevor M5AKA > >--- On Wed, 18/1/12, Raidel Abreu Espinet <cl2esp(a)frcuba.co.cu> wrote: > > > From: Raidel Abreu Espinet <cl2esp(a)frcuba.co.cu> > > Subject: [amsat-bb] Probably a silly idea... > > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > > Date: Wednesday, 18 January, 2012, 16:06 > > Hi all, > > > > This is probably a silly idea but who knows.... > > > > ARRISat-1 was a wonderfull satellite but with a short life. > > The ISS instead is a wonderfull platform, of course I know > > how difficult is to install inside it new radios and > > antennas for cross-repeaters, but how difficult is really to > > take a small box and firmly attach it to some low risk part > > of the ISS, the satellite-box will use its own power solar > > cells and antennas and the ISS is just the carrier. > > > > It may be something silly but probably not difficult, if > > the astronauts made a "hand launch" with ARISSat-1/KEDR why > > can not them just hold it with latches in a low risk part of > > the ISS. Of course if a battery is a risk we can just design > > a simple system capable of work only in sun light. > > > > If you think this is a bad idea, just ignore it, if not, > > well who knows, may be some day an astronaut attach an small > > satellite in the ISS side.... > > > > 73, > > Raydel, > > CM2ESP > > Este mensaje ha sido enviado mediante el servicio de correo > > electronico que ofrece la Federacion de Radioaficionados de > > Cuba a sus miembros para respaldar el cumplimiento de los > > objetivos de la organizacion y su politica informativa. La > > persona que envia este correo asume el compromiso de usar el > > servicio a tales fines y cumplir con las regulaciones > > establecidas. > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 ====================================== BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com EME: 50-1.1kw?, 144-1.4kw, 432-QRT, 1296-?, 3400-? DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubususa(a)gmail.com Coming Soon - "Kits made by KL7UW" ====================================== _______________________________________________ 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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HVSatcomGroupNet tonightJan19@8PM Eastern on N2EYH-L
by cotejaune2＠aol.com 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

Hello all. Please join us for the Net tonight @ 8 PM Eastern Jan 19 on Echolink N2EYH-L and MtBeacon repeater 146.970 pl100.Hope to hear there.73 Garywa2aqh/Tomkc2dtq

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Space Debris
by Joe Leikhim 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

I think the US itself declined to adhere to this for the latest DOD global communications satellite. That being said, the FCC has requirements. -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 Note to GMail Account users. Due to an abnormally high volume of spam originating from bogus GMail accounts, I have found it necessary to block certain GMail traffic. Please phone me if you believe your message was not received.

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Re: LOTW Help
by Rsoifer＠aol.com 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

Kevin, Once you have received your certificate, you can upload QSOs in two ways. You can enter them manually with the TQSL software (that's what I do) or, if you are using a compatible logging program (if it generates Cabrillo files, it is), you can do it automatically by uploading the Cabrillo file as a .tq8. If the other station uploads a matching QSO, it will produce a QSL in LOTW. 73 Ray W2RS

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LOTW
by Kevin Deane 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

Went through no problem Good Deal!!! Pretty easy like I said I was discouraged for a long time but now I am glad I tried it. Now can I search for stuff others have uploaded that I may not have logged and match theirs??? Kevin KF7MYK

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Oscar 1 Mentioned in Oc.t Milsat Magazine
by Edwin M. "EMike" McCardel, KC8YLD 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

There is a good article on Early U.S. Recon Satellites in the October 2011 issue of Milsat Magazine http://www.milsatmagazine.com/2011/MSM_Oct_2011.pdf It mentions Oscar-1 as a hitchhiker onboard Discoverr -36. Lance Ginner K6GSJ talked about this in his Keynote address during the last AMSAT Symposium. EMike, KC8YLD E. Michael McCardel, KC8YLD Ohio Section Affiliated Club Coordinator, ARRL AMSAT-Edu Moderator NO CODE REQUIRED When All Else Fails... There's Amateur Radio Learn more via www.ARRL.org

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Space Debris
by Trevor . 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

US joins effort to draw up space 'code of conduct' http://www.space-travel.com/reports/US_joins_effort_to_draw_up_space_code_o… Appears an aim is to prevent other countries developing and testing anti-satellite weapons. 73 Trevor M5AKA

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LOTW Help
by Kevin Deane 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

Is there anyone intersted in helping me with LOTW? I did all the requirements, do I upload all my qso's individually? and how do I know if the other guy is going to do the same? Maybe someone on here could do an old qso we have together and I could see how it works? Thanks for any help! :) Kevin KF7MYK

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VUCC #226
by Ted 19 Jan '12

19 Jan '12

Finally arrived today. My thanks to all who contributed with contacts and cards. Most of the blame goes to John, K8YSE, who got me started on the venture and to Loren, K7CWQ for continuing encouragement and advice. 73, Ted K7TRK

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Re: Probably a silly idea...
by charlie Cantrill 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

A fantastic idea! Thank you for suggesting this! This is just what is needed to promote ARISS and STEM. How about just like ARISSAT with telemetry and SSTV with a schedule switching between SSB and FM transponder like HO-68 did? My students would love to get pictures and data from the ISS on orbit plus take advantage of an easy to use transponder. How about having cameras, one inside and one outside. I know this is a tall order, but this would be a killer app for the ARISS program. Charlie Cantrill KI4RDT ----- Mensaje original ----- De: Edward R. Cole <kl7uw(a)acsalaska.net> Para: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Enviado: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:43:43 +0100 (CET) Asunto: [amsat-bb] Re: Probably a silly idea... My thinking is this package could be designed as the (needed) upgrade/replacement for the existing digi-peater/ham radio equipment used in the "school contact" program. The advantage is a long-term orbiting transponder with much easier maintenance access. As with most of the advanced satellites being put up one would have a fully functional spare. Since the environment would be much more friendly so the unit could be built modular for additional ease in maintenance. To aid in the "selling to NASA", I propose the telemetry system be provided with data-ports for connection of school experiments in support of STEM. Thus Amsat would be providing comm support in those programs. A local mic, power on/off and channel selector would enable astronaut use (both for ham and personal use). So we hams would get part of what we want while providing support of what NASA wants. Get creative on what this could do. 73, Ed - KL7UW

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Record for # QSO in space?
by Don Hoover (WS4E) 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

Anyone know who has the record for the most ham QSO's in space? Astronaut Doug Wheelock maybe? Just curious. It would be a nice record to have some other people try to break and incentive to keep the activity going.

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Man on a Mission
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

I see that Richard Garriot has released a documentary of his trip. See the trailer at http://firstrunfeatures.com/intheaters.html Web site is http://firstrunfeatures.com/manonamission/ Dave, AA4KN

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Ebb and Flow
by Clint Bradford 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

NSASA has a marvelous public relations / marketing team in place. From yesterday's media alerts ... MONTANA STUDENTS SUBMIT WINNING NAMES FOR NASA LUNAR SPACECRAFT WASHINGTON -- Twin NASA spacecraft that achieved orbit around the moon New Year's Eve and New Year's Day have new names thanks to elementary students in Bozeman, Montana. Their winning entry, "Ebb and Flow," was selected as part of a nation-wide school contest that began in October 2011. The names were submitted by fourth graders from the Emily Dickinson Elementary School. Nearly 900 classrooms with more than 11,000 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, participated in the contest. Previously named Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory, or GRAIL A and B, the washing machine-sized spacecraft begin science operations in March. "The 28 students of Nina DiMauro's class at the Emily Dickinson Elementary School have really hit the nail on the head," said Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "We were really impressed that the students drew their inspiration by researching GRAIL and its goal of measuring gravity. Ebb and Flow truly capture the spirit and excitement of our mission." Zuber and Sally Ride, America's first woman in space and CEO of Sally Ride Science in San Diego, selected the names following the contest, which attracted 890 proposals via the Internet and mail. The contest invited ideas from students ages 5 to 18 enrolled in U.S. schools. Although everything from spelling and grammar to creativity were considered, Zuber and Ride primarily took into account the quality of submitted essays. "With submissions from all over the United States and even some from abroad, there were a lot of great entries to review," Ride said. "This contest generated a great deal of excitement in classrooms across America, and along with it an opportunity to use that excitement to teach science." GRAIL is NASA's first planetary mission carrying instruments fully dedicated to education and public outreach. Each spacecraft carries a small camera called GRAIL MoonKAM (Moon Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students). Thousands of students in grades five through eight will select target areas on the lunar surface and send requests for study to the GRAIL MoonKAM Mission Operations Center in San Diego. The winning prize for the Dickinson students is to choose the first camera images. Dickinson is one of nearly 2,000 schools registered for the MoonKAM program, which is led by Ride and her team at Sally Ride Science in collaboration with undergraduate students at the University of California in San Diego. "These spacecraft represent not only great science but great inspiration for our future," said Jim Green, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division in Washington. "As they study our lunar neighbor, Ebb and Flow will undergo nearly the same motion as the tides we feel here on Earth." Launched in September 2011, Ebb and Flow will be placed in a near-polar, near-circular orbit with an altitude of about 34 miles (55 kilometers). During their science mission, the duo will answer longstanding questions about the moon and give scientists a better understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the GRAIL mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The GRAIL mission is part of the Discovery Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft. To read the winning submission visit: https://moonkam.ucsd.edu/about/spacecraft_names Information about MoonKAM is available online at: https://moonkam.ucsd.edu For more information about GRAIL visit: http://www.nasa.gov/grail or http://grail.nasa.gov -end- Clint Bradford clintbradford(a)mac.com

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Need ID, ND, NV, UT, WA States
by Bryan Herbert 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

Im working on my WAS and VUCC awards and am currently half way done with WAS Basic via LOTW, a little more than half way if I combine with QSL cards but still have a long ways to go for WAS Satellite and VUCC. I'm usually on any pass with a max elevation of 50+ degrees however the following passes are ideal to help me get Idaho, North Dakota, Nevada, Utah and Washington. AO-27 January 19th 2100-2110 UTC January 22nd 2114-2124 UTC January 26th 2100-2110 UTC SO-50 January 27th 0037-0046 UTC Obviously the pass times of the later dates may vary but if any of you can help it would be greatly appreciated. -- Bryan Herbert - KE6ZGP Newhall, CA. DM04RJ USA http://bryanherbert.com http://twitter.com/ke6zgp

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Probably a silly idea...
by Raidel Abreu Espinet 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

Hi all, This is probably a silly idea but who knows.... ARRISat-1 was a wonderfull satellite but with a short life. The ISS instead is a wonderfull platform, of course I know how difficult is to install inside it new radios and antennas for cross-repeaters, but how difficult is really to take a small box and firmly attach it to some low risk part of the ISS, the satellite-box will use its own power solar cells and antennas and the ISS is just the carrier. It may be something silly but probably not difficult, if the astronauts made a "hand launch" with ARISSat-1/KEDR why can not them just hold it with latches in a low risk part of the ISS. Of course if a battery is a risk we can just design a simple system capable of work only in sun light. If you think this is a bad idea, just ignore it, if not, well who knows, may be some day an astronaut attach an small satellite in the ISS side.... 73, Raydel, CM2ESP Este mensaje ha sido enviado mediante el servicio de correo electronico que ofrece la Federacion de Radioaficionados de Cuba a sus miembros para respaldar el cumplimiento de los objetivos de la organizacion y su politica informativa. La persona que envia este correo asume el compromiso de usar el servicio a tales fines y cumplir con las regulaciones establecidas.

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Re: Probably a silly idea...
by Edward R. Cole 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

AS I understand there are four antennas on the ISS available for ham use. So why does a package have to go outside? It can be installed inside, use ISS power, be turned on/off by astronauts at will or even unplugged? No batteries, no rocket propulsion, dangerous chemicals, no space-rated enclosure, no EVA. Last time I propose this I was told to shut my mouth and go away. 73, Ed - KL7UW At 08:02 AM 1/18/2012, Trevor . wrote: >PCSAT-2 did exactly that on the ISS in July 2005, however, it was >returned to Earth Sep 2006. > >It requires an expensive EVA to install and there may be frequency >coordination issues with the two amateur radio stations already on the ISS. > >I wonder what the capabilities of the Kibo Robot Arm are ? I believe >it can attach payloads to the exterior Exposed Facility (EF) with >the need for an EVA. > >73 Trevor M5AKA > >--- On Wed, 18/1/12, Raidel Abreu Espinet <cl2esp(a)frcuba.co.cu> wrote: > > > From: Raidel Abreu Espinet <cl2esp(a)frcuba.co.cu> > > Subject: [amsat-bb] Probably a silly idea... > > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > > Date: Wednesday, 18 January, 2012, 16:06 > > Hi all, > > > > This is probably a silly idea but who knows.... > > > > ARRISat-1 was a wonderfull satellite but with a short life. > > The ISS instead is a wonderfull platform, of course I know > > how difficult is to install inside it new radios and > > antennas for cross-repeaters, but how difficult is really to > > take a small box and firmly attach it to some low risk part > > of the ISS, the satellite-box will use its own power solar > > cells and antennas and the ISS is just the carrier. > > > > It may be something silly but probably not difficult, if > > the astronauts made a "hand launch" with ARISSat-1/KEDR why > > can not them just hold it with latches in a low risk part of > > the ISS. Of course if a battery is a risk we can just design > > a simple system capable of work only in sun light. > > > > If you think this is a bad idea, just ignore it, if not, > > well who knows, may be some day an astronaut attach an small > > satellite in the ISS side.... > > > > 73, > > Raydel, > > CM2ESP > > Este mensaje ha sido enviado mediante el servicio de correo > > electronico que ofrece la Federacion de Radioaficionados de > > Cuba a sus miembros para respaldar el cumplimiento de los > > objetivos de la organizacion y su politica informativa. La > > persona que envia este correo asume el compromiso de usar el > > servicio a tales fines y cumplir con las regulaciones > > establecidas. > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 ====================================== BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com EME: 50-1.1kw?, 144-1.4kw, 432-QRT, 1296-?, 3400-? DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubususa(a)gmail.com Coming Soon - "Kits made by KL7UW" ======================================

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Re: Model Rocket Booster Engine for Picosatellite
by G0MRF＠aol.com 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

Thanks Joe. What an exciting concept. Having got really enthusiastic, I thought I would roughly calculate how high one of these little rockets could raise the orbit. Given that one rocket reload pack has 40 Newtons of thrust and lasts for about one second We have 40 Newton seconds of specific impulse. The mass flow rate is 18.6g in one second or 0.0168kg/s So.....the ISP (a bit vague here) is around 219 seconds (ave thrust / mass flow rate / 9.81ms^2) Which should get a 3.7kg satellite's apogee about..... 40km higher. So...Not enough for P3E then Oh well, not so exciting after all. Time for a beer. 73 David G0MRF In a message dated 17/01/2012 03:56:37 GMT Standard Time, rhyolite(a)nettally.com writes: Has anyone seen this. I am surprised a shuttle mission permitted this type of booster. From what I believed, safety concerns prevented most types of boosters. http://www.rocketryplanet.com/content/view/3706/30/#axzz1jgQ85qx1 -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 Note to GMail Account users. Due to an abnormally high volume of spam originating from bogus GMail accounts, I have found it necessary to block certain GMail traffic. Please phone me if you believe your message was not received. _______________________________________________ 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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SKN Participants
by Rsoifer＠aol.com 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

Hi, Further to the ANS bulletin, if you worked someone in AMSAT's SKN on OSCAR 2012 and haven't yet done so, please send a Best Fist nomination to me at w2rs(a)amsat.org. Tnx & 73, Ray W2RS

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HI4/AJ5C update for 1-18-12
by Bob Herrell 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

Good contacts AO-27 01/18/12 1811z de HI4AJ5C: K9OIM, K4FEG/M, W4MPS, KB0RZD, KD0QAF, KE3LB, WA8SME and KD8QBA. 73, Bob HI4/AJ5C

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Seeking contact info for JA8TCH
by Alan P. Biddle 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

Hi, I am looking for information, particularly an email address, for JA8TCH. He(?) was one of the last to receive telemetry from ARISSat-1. Unfortunately there is no listing in English sources such as QRZ.COM, though I got several hits from Japanese language sites, including an Echolink node. Alan WA4SCA

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Re: Model Rocket Booster Engine for Picosatellite
by Joe Leikhim 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

Like any design a cost-benefit analysis would be required to determine if the Gatling arrangement is even necessary. I am sure there are about a dozen ways to "skin the cat". (My apologies to my pet cat Mac) On 1/17/2012 11:04 PM, Gary "Joe" Mayfield wrote: > This is a fun thought exercise. The gatling gun is one option. I prefer > something with no moving parts. It should be possible (not easy) to center > one engine on each side. That would be six engines. Once in orbit take the > time to stabilize the satellite along the first axis before firing the first > engine to boost the orbit. Repeat the process up to 5 times. Wow - This is > rocket science! > > 73, > Joe kk0sd > > -----Original Message----- > From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Joe Leikhim > Sent: Tuesday, January 17, 2012 5:33 PM > To: Ken Ernandes > Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Model Rocket Booster Engine for Picosatellite > > I have developed the perfect solution; > > A gatling gun type canister for the rocket motors would solve all of > your objections per below: > > On 1/17/2012 4:22 PM, Ken Ernandes wrote: >> How would attitude be controlled so the thrust is in the correct > direction? Spin stabilization about the maximum moment off inertia axis is > probably the best choice. This would require a magnetic torquing system. > > Yes just like other missions. >> Another issue is the thrust needs to be directed through the spacecraft's > center-of-mass or there will be stability problems. How would a cluster be > fired individually with each, in turn, directed through the center of mass? > That's a complex design problem. > > A motorized canister with 6 to 8 motors aligned such that the active > motor is aligned through the COM. Picture a revolver or gatling gun. >> One more issue is that when you carry multiple motors, the first must > accelerate the mass of the unfired motors, so the early firing will be less > effective. The mass of the spent casings will need to be accelerated buy > the subsequent motor firings. > > Spent casings would be ejected using the ejection charge normally used > for deploying a parachute. Just as with any fuel, the mass of the > unfired fuel will create mass for the initial firings. >> You do have some work to do before you have a practical solution. > Work is done. Took about 4 minutes. Coffee break now! >> 73, Ken N2WWD >> >> Sent from my iPad >> >> >> >> On Jan 17, 2012, at 3:44 PM, Joe Leikhim<rhyolite(a)nettally.com> wrote: >> >>> David; >>> There are some much bigger motors! Ask the Level-3 rocketry folks! Anyway > a cluster of medium sized motors could be fired individually as required to > raise altitude. I would think that SRB's would be more reliable and safer > than hypergolic used on previous Oscars. There would of course be a lot of > heat in the rocket casings that would need to be dissipated. >>> -- >>> Joe Leikhim >>> >>> Leikhim and Associates >>> Communications Consultants >>> Oviedo, Florida >>> >>> www.Leikhim.com >>> >>> JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com >>> >>> 407-982-0446 >>> >>> Note to GMail Account users. Due to an abnormally high volume of spam > originating from bogus GMail accounts, I have found it necessary to block > certain GMail traffic. Please phone me if you believe your message was not > received. >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 Note to GMail Account users. Due to an abnormally high volume of spam originating from bogus GMail accounts, I have found it necessary to block certain GMail traffic. Please phone me if you believe your message was not received.

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Re: Model Rocket Booster Engine for Picosatellite
by Joe Leikhim 18 Jan '12

18 Jan '12

David; There are some much bigger motors! Ask the Level-3 rocketry folks! Anyway a cluster of medium sized motors could be fired individually as required to raise altitude. I would think that SRB's would be more reliable and safer than hypergolic used on previous Oscars. There would of course be a lot of heat in the rocket casings that would need to be dissipated. -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 Note to GMail Account users. Due to an abnormally high volume of spam originating from bogus GMail accounts, I have found it necessary to block certain GMail traffic. Please phone me if you believe your message was not received.

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You remember KC9ROI braving the cold
by Bruce 17 Jan '12

17 Jan '12

If you remember a few weeks ago KC9ROI braving the cold to work ARISSat-1. I thought that was pretty neat and I had to get a Satellite Communicators Club Certificate to him and what better way than at one of their club meetings. I sent the certificate out the next day for a meeting they had Saturday, Jan 14. They framed the certificate and presented it to him. Here is a picture on their website. http://www.n9xh.org/ You never know where that spark of enthusiasm is, this might just be it. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0200z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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Re: Radio Pirates
by Gordon JC Pearce 17 Jan '12

17 Jan '12

On 16/01/12 00:27, Ted wrote: > > 'I'd take the cheapie chinese radios any day'. > > Perhaps that is the mentality that makes the EU economic model the mess that > it is today. Also, any, and I mean any economist will tell you that in hard > times the average consumer (which includes notoriously cheap hams) will shop > price above all else. That is why the chinese have everyone by the fortune > cookies... No, it's more to do with the standard of construction, performance and availability of parts and service information. The Chinese are streets ahead here. It's particularly galling when you realise you could buy five cheapy Chinese radios for the cost of one from a major American manufacturer - and still expect to have all five working in two year's time! > ANY of these POS non type certified radios have no place in our community. It's CEPT and CE approved, good enough for me. > But since the US FCC has turned into nothing more than a bunch of political The FCC is not relevant to my interests. I love breaking FCC regulations. -- Gordon MM0YEQ

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Multifunction Portable Tracker / USB Rotor Controller
by Thomas Doyle 17 Jan '12

17 Jan '12

You might find this interesting. http://www.tomdoyle.org/SimpleSatTracker Sent from my computer. 73 W9KE tom ...

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Re: Model Rocket Booster Engine for Picosatellite ([email protected])
by Burns Fisher 17 Jan '12

17 Jan '12

Pretty cool idea! Of course Aerotech sells much larger engines with hundreds of newton-seconds of total impulse, and somewhere close to 100 pounds of instantaneous thrust when it is first lit! And even if it stays in LEO, this certainly prolongs its life... What I wonder about is how the 3-axis stabilization on this bird works...I don't see any additional nozzles in the picture and if they use a momentum wheel, they have to unload it at some point. I suppose you could spin it instead of active stabilization, but then you can only use one engine (on the spin axis). As someone commented earlier in another thread, you need two firings to go from one circular orbit to another one at a different altitude. Thanks for posting! Burns > Thanks Joe. > > What an exciting concept. > > Having got really enthusiastic, I thought I would roughly calculate how > high one of these little rockets could raise the orbit. > > Given that one rocket reload pack has > > 40 Newtons of thrust > and lasts for about one second > We have 40 Newton seconds of specific impulse. > > > The mass flow rate is 18.6g in one second or 0.0168kg/s > > So.....the ISP (a bit vague here) is around 219 seconds (ave thrust / mass > flow rate / 9.81ms^2) > > Which should get a 3.7kg satellite's apogee about..... 40km higher. > > So...Not enough for P3E then > > Oh well, not so exciting after all. Time for a beer. > > 73 David G0MRF > > > > > In a message dated 17/01/2012 03:56:37 GMT Standard Time, > rhyolite(a)nettally.com writes: > > Has anyone seen this. I am surprised a shuttle mission permitted this > type of booster. From what I believed, safety concerns prevented most > types of boosters. > > http://www.rocketryplanet.com/content/view/3706/30/#axzz1jgQ85qx1 > > -- > Joe Leikhim > > Leikhim and Associates > Communications Consultants > Oviedo, Florida > > www.Leikhim.com <http://www.leikhim.com/> > > JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com > > 407-982-0446 > > Note to GMail Account users. Due to an abnormally high volume of spam > originating from bogus GMail accounts, I have found it necessary to block > certain GMail traffic. Please phone me if you believe your message was not > received. > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite > program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via amsat-bb(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 7, Issue 30 > *************************************** >

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SpaceX WF9XJL STA application
by Tarsala, Jan A (337C) 17 Jan '12

17 Jan '12

https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/els/reports/STA_Print.cfm?mode=current&applicati… 73, Jan WB6VRN MSL Telecom NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

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G3RUH PCB for FO-12 modem and 9600 baud modem
by Jack Colson 17 Jan '12

17 Jan '12

Is there any interest in either of these boards? I have one each available, working the last time I used them. Contact: W3TMZ

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IC910 Main/Sub
by Tom Lubbers K8TL 17 Jan '12

17 Jan '12

Pedro, For 9600B I connect PTT and TX data to the sub jack and receive audio to the Main Jack. This has worked fine for many satellites and several different TNC's. For 1200b I use the aux jack. This works fine for both satellite and simplex. Bom Gia and 73 Tom K8TL

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Model Rocket Booster Engine for Picosatellite
by Joe Leikhim 17 Jan '12

17 Jan '12

Has anyone seen this. I am surprised a shuttle mission permitted this type of booster. From what I believed, safety concerns prevented most types of boosters. http://www.rocketryplanet.com/content/view/3706/30/#axzz1jgQ85qx1 -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 Note to GMail Account users. Due to an abnormally high volume of spam originating from bogus GMail accounts, I have found it necessary to block certain GMail traffic. Please phone me if you believe your message was not received.

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Re: HNI4/AJ5C follow up
by k6yk 17 Jan '12

17 Jan '12

HI Bob, Well, if we can get the locals on the east coast to be quiet for a minute we could have made it. I heard you a couple of times on the 19:10 pass today, and gave a couple of calls. But the locals were covering everything up. I had a 4 degree elevation pass on that one. 73, John, K6YK On Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:43:15 -0400 Bob Herrell <bob72601(a)gmail.com> writes: > Good contacts for today, Jan 16, 2012 on AO-27 1907z pass: K0BAM, > N8RO, > WA4NVM, and AC0RA. de Bob HI4/AJ5C > _______________________________________________ > 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 > ____________________________________________________________ 53 Year Old Mom Looks 33 The Stunning Results of Her Wrinkle Trick Has Botox Doctors Worried http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4f14dd5cb114430195fst02vuc

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More On SpaceX Delay
by B J 16 Jan '12

16 Jan '12

http://www.spacenews.com/venture_space/011612-spacex-postpones-station-boun… http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/01/dragon-slips-spacex-determined-retur… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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SpaceX Launch Postponed
by B J 16 Jan '12

16 Jan '12

http://moonandback.com/2012/01/16/date-pushed-back-on-spacex-plans-for-drag… No new date was announced. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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QRP to the ISS - KD5PDN
by Clint Bradford 16 Jan '12

16 Jan '12

Doug Cook KD5PDN's first-rate article - "QRP to the ISS" - appears in the February, 2012 issue of QST magazine. Doug walks the reader through building a simple tape measure beam, and how to successfully work the ISS with it and a handheld radio. Not an ARRL member receiving QST magazine? Doug's article is available online on the SAT SKEDS page of my Work-Sat.com Web site ... http://tinyurl.com/QRP-ISS Thanks to the ARRL for permission to re-publish ... and many thanks to Doug for citing my satellite site in the article. Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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Icom 910h
by Pedro Cruz 16 Jan '12

16 Jan '12

Hello to all Any one use the Main and sub data sockets form thew icom 910 in staellite mode .? If yes how it is connected? Best 73! Pedro Cruz - CU2JX

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Student CubeSat "Imagine The Future"
by Trevor . 16 Jan '12

16 Jan '12

ITF-1 (YUI) CubeSat aiming for a 2013 launch, see http://www.uk.amsat.org/3809 73 Trevor M5AKA

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HNI4/AJ5C follow up
by Bob Herrell 16 Jan '12

16 Jan '12

Good contacts for today, Jan 16, 2012 on AO-27 1907z pass: K0BAM, N8RO, WA4NVM, and AC0RA. de Bob HI4/AJ5C

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ARISSat-1 Operation Survey
by Clint Bradford 16 Jan '12

16 Jan '12

The ARISSat-1 team created an "Ops Survey" last September. Have the results been published anywhere? Clint Bradford, K6LCS

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Re: Radio Pirates
by Clint Bradford 15 Jan '12

15 Jan '12

>> ... Motorola, which generally ship massively out-of-spec ... I am so sorry that you do not have first-hand experience as I have (working for Motorola for a couple of years, and supplying radios to not only law enforcement and public service entities in this country, but also to the private sector). Because if you truly did have any legitimate experience with the commercial radio industry, you would very quickly realize why Motorola has the market share in this industry that they have earned the past couple of decades. Clint Bradford clintbradford(a)mac.com

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Phobos-Grunt Re-enters Over Pacific
by B J 15 Jan '12

15 Jan '12

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1201/15reentry/ http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/01/fobus-grunt-ends-its-misery-via-re-e… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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QB50 Video
by Trevor . 15 Jan '12

15 Jan '12

A visualization of the launch and deployment of 50 Cubesats in the QB50 project can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wds7nKVhjs4 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK@ http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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HRD Satellite Tracking vs. SatPC32 (survey)
by Ted 15 Jan '12

15 Jan '12

I am a member of the Yahoo Group 'Ham Radio Deluxe' which group has all manner of discussion regarding various aspects of the HRD Suite. As you may know, Simon sold the rights to the software to a new group of developers. One of the new owners, Rick Ruhl (W4PC) has been active on the Group recently advising the Group on his plans for improving HRD going forward. Rick has advised that there will be a v5.1 release in the near future which will be a free release that basically will be a series of 'bug fixes'. Further releases or updates will be on a fee basis. I posed a question to Rick regarding the HRD Satellite Tracking portion of the program and if there were plans to improve or upgrade that area. I suggested to Rick that it was my impression from comments made here on the AMSAT board that the AMSAT users seemed to prefer SatPC32 over HRD because HRD had performance issues. Well, Rick, quite logically, asked me 'why do they favor SatPC32 and what are the specific problems with HRD (the Satellite portion) and what needs improvement?' Well, I approached Rick and suggested that I pose this question here on the AMSAT board and that I be the conduit for you to vent/praise or whatever. I will compile the responses and get them to Rick. So, with that said, what is your specific issue with HRD Satellite Tracking and or why is SatPC32 'better'. Please leave out comments about HRD basic connectivity, log book or DM780. (if you want to discuss those issues, join the HRD Yahoo Group) Rick would be looking for specifics! ! Certain radio issues? Rotator issues? Doppler control? Kep updating, etc. From what I have seen on the HRD Yahoo Group, Rick and his partners seem committed to improving HRD and will be responsive to the HRD user group. Please send me your comments off list or on list (k7trkradio(a)charter.net Thanks for your input 73, Ted K7TRK (I should state that I have neither ownership nor other financial interest in the new HRD venture)

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Re: Radio Pirates
by Clint Bradford 15 Jan '12

15 Jan '12

>> ... Many of those same radios are being sold through legitimate/commercial dealers ... OK so far ... >> ... for FRS/GMRS rigs ... Not OK - they are not legal for either the GMRS nor the FRS. >> ... the same Puxing ... was bought in large numbers in the Palm Springs area for backup coms between all the gated communities in case of an earthquake ... The day my community uses Wouxun/Puxing products for ANY facet of community service is the day I move. AFTER educating the powers-that-be of the dire consequences of using sub-par equipment to protect their constituents. But when it comes to these matters hams do not care about reliability or dependability or service or parts availability - 'cause the "price is right." You get what you pay for. Clint Bradford, K6LCS

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Sat Presentation in Georgia
by Clint Bradford 15 Jan '12

15 Jan '12

Well, it was "standing room only" in Georgia this morning! I was invited to give my ‘Working Amateur Satellites With Your HT’ session for the Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society's TechFest 2012 in Lawrenceville, Georgia today (01/14/12). Although it snowed earlier this week and was below 40 for the morning, the hamfest was well-attended. And it seems Georgians are interested in the FM LEOs! >From the organizers via email tonight - " ... a standing-room-only forum ... that was a wonderful presentation. The room was packed. We had tables and chairs for about 40 but I think we had at least 60. I heard a lot of good comments and praise about the presentation. The forum was a hit. It seemed you had everyone's attention for the whole hour ... " And from an attendee - "I was there, standing room only - I didn't count but it seemed to me to be about 50 people there. It was a great presentation. Many people were excited about getting ready to work satellites with their handheld ... " THANK YOU, North Georgia! Now, then, thaw out and have a great Spring - so you can walk outside and work the FM LEOs! Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com The hamfest Web site: http://tinyurl.com/GARS-2012

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Update on D-STAR GMSK Satellite OUFTI-1
by Trevor . 15 Jan '12

15 Jan '12

See http://www.uk.amsat.org/3795 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Atlantic Coast and New England
by Mervyn Hecht 15 Jan '12

15 Jan '12

Oscar 7 is working well for me for the east coast. I now have Mass, VT, NY and So Carolina. Is there anyone out there in North Carolina, PA, or New England? Merv

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heads up!
by Bob- W7LRD 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

http://www.spaceflight101.com/phobos-grunt-re-entry-information.html http://www.zarya.info/Diaries/Misc/PhobosGrunt2.php parts of it could make it to your back yard! 73 Bob W7LRD

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Anyone using Heil Traveler w/FT-847?
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Before I make a purchase and construct a custom cable, is anyone using a Yaesu FT-847 with a Heil Traveler headset? If so, would you please share with me your results/feedback of this configuration? Thank you, Clayton W5PFG

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Radio Pirates
by Bob Bruninga 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Went to local flea market today (34F degrees out) for a wwod stove and was shocked to see a guy selling brand-new boxes of VHF and UHF, and Dual band HT's fully programmable from 140 to 170 and 440 to 570 MHz 5 to 7 watts. He had several brands and some were even dual band. Most boxes had chinese instructions. Radios were between $65 to $80 each. I guess I knew that these were available, but now that they are being sold in large quantities at general (non ham) flea markets, I guess the cat is out of the bag. Bob, WB4APR

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Student's Software Defined Radio CubeSat
by Trevor . 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Students at the University of Vigo have built Xatcobeo a CubeSat carrying a Software Defined Radio (SDR) that plans to launch in February. Video and further info at http://www.uk.amsat.org/3775 73 Trevor M5AKA ----

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Very Interesting Radio - Possible Sat Use
by Thomas Doyle 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

Thanks to everyone who shared their opinion of my dual UV-X4 full duplex project. It was very interesting to read the variety of opinions people have. Back in the day we used to say that if you had a room with 10 hams in it there would be at least 20 strongly held opinions on any topic. Glad to see that is still true today. The first UV-X4 is great and has worked out so well that I ordered the second one and hope to work you with the full duplex setup someday soon. 73 W9KE Tom Doyle On Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 9:49 AM, Thomas Doyle <tomdoyle1948(a)gmail.com> wrote: > This may have been discussed previously but just in case it has not. > > I purchased an interesting radio that might be an inexpensive way to > operate full duplex on the FM sats. > The radio cost $65 including shipping and all accessories. It runs 2W on > both 2M and 70cm. It has > almost all the bells and whistles you would expect on a dual band handi. 99 > memories - tone squelch ... > > In addition to the low cost the radio is very small. See pic - I have > fairly normal size hands so you can see how > small it is. > > http://www.tomdoyle.org/UV-X4.jpg > > I purchased it expecting the worst. Much to my surprise it actually works > quite well. The menu system is > the most intuitive I have found on any radio. The only negatives I could > find were > > - no channel lockout when scanning - I put the local weather station in one > of the memories. > Since it is always on you can not use the scan function. > > - I fully expected a radio of such a small size would not have adequate > sound from the speaker. > In fact the sound from the speaker is really loud. Everything is set > using a rotary digital switch > with detents. This works great for selecting channels and using the menu > functions. There are > only 9 detent positions for the volume. The lowest volume setting is > mute, one click up and it is > loud and it keeps getting louder as you go up. There was nothing wrong > with my radio - they > all do it. > > - no DTMF pad > > None of these negatives affect the use of the radio with an FM sat. You > could buy a pair of these > for $130 including shipping. Add a diplexer and Elk/Arrow antenna and I > think you would be good to > go with a very compact low cost full duplex portable FM station. > > I bought mine from http://www.maintradingcompany.com and received excellent > service. In case you > were wondering what the goofy looking LED between the switch and the > antenna is - it is for the > flashlight function the radio offers as a feature. The flashlight feature > is invaluable :-) > > Sent from my computer. > > W9KE Tom Doyle

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FUNcube in Electronics Weekly
by Trevor . 14 Jan '12

14 Jan '12

The FUNcube amateur radio satellite project is featured in the publication Electronics Weekly, see http://www.uk.amsat.org/3752 ---- 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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Video - Kicksat - Zac Manchester Interview
by Trevor . 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

Watch a live interview and Q&A session attended by over 100 people Jan 10, 2012 http://www.uk.amsat.org/3730 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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[amsat-bb] Video - Kicksat – Zac Manchester Interview
by Trevor . 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

Watch a live interview and Q&A session attended by over 100 people Jan 10, 2012 http://www.uk.amsat.org/3730 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/ ----

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Icom 451 questions
by John Geiger 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

A local friend here has an Icom 451A 70cm all mode which he might sell me. What is the typical selling price for these rigs? It is in good physical condition with the mic and power cord. Are there any typical problems that show up with these rigs as they age, that I should be looking out for? 73s John AA5JG

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Office Closed
by Martha 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

The office will be closed on Monday, January 16th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. -- 73- Martha

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HI4/AJ5C Operations follow-up
by Bob Herrell 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

Good contacts today AO-27 1853z: N8RO, KB0RZD, K8YSE/P (EL97), AA5CK, KD0QAF, WD9EWK, KD0QAE, K4MOA (EM85) and N4RQ. Tnx de Bob HI4/AJ5C

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phobosgrunt crashing
by Bob- W7LRD 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21354-the-us-didnt-shoot-phobosgrunt-… this is a big satellite

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Re: ISS Height Profiles @ Heavens-Above.com
by Robert McGwier 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

A picture was requested. The maneuver I described is well known and is called a Hohmann Transfer. Here is a picture http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hohmann_transfer_orbit.png and here is the Wikipedia article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hohmann_transfer_orbit -- Bob McGwier Facebook: N4HYBob ARS: N4HY

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ISS Height Profiles @ Heavens-Above.com
by Fabio Azzarello 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

Hello everybody, ISS heights plots are available at the following link: http://www.heavens-above.com/OrbitHeight.aspx?satid=25544&startMJD=55610&la… I've noticed that Apogee and Perigee heights have different behaviour during reboosts (look at mid September for example), could anybody help me to understand why? Thanks in advance, 73s Fabio iw8qku/5

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Re: Anyone using Heil Traveler w/FT-847?
by Clint Bradford 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

Heil does not recommend the Travelller with the '847, Call them and see why not. 618-257-3000. Clint Bradford clintbradford(a)mac.com

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Re: Very Interesting Radio - Possible Sat Use (maybe not)
by Geert Jan de Groot 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

> I purchased an interesting radio that might be an inexpensive way to > operate full duplex on the FM sats. > The radio cost $65 including shipping and all accessories. It runs 2W on > both 2M and 70cm. It has > almost all the bells and whistles you would expect on a dual band handi. 99 > memories - tone squelch ... > http://www.tomdoyle.org/UV-X4.jpg There have been various postings and publications in QST and Funkamateur about the brother of this radio, the Baofeng UV-3R, and it's very poor harmonics filtering on the 2m band. Harmonic suppression was something like 15-20dB. I recently measured an UV-3R mark 1 (single frequency on display) and confirmed that the very poor filtering was indeed the case. Since these things transmit from 136 - 174 I tuned frequency a bit and found that suppression is OK at 165 MHz and above, and gets worse as the frequency goes down. On 136 MHz (on which I don't transmit except on a dummyload of course), I found that harmonic suppression was *negative* in some cases. Some of the publications confirm this, so my measurements are sound and it's not an incidental case. On request of the owner, I did the "capacitor mod" (adding a capacitor to the lowpass filter) and found that the suppression was still inacceptable. I purchased an UV-3R mark 2 (dual frequency on display) and established that while it was "mark 2", the harmonic suppression was as poor as a Mark 1 radio. I have not voided the warranty yet on this radio to do the capacitor mod on the Mark2 radio, but I'm not hopeful. While some people claim that "it may pass the specs because the Mk1 radio comes with separate antennas for VHF and UHF", the mark2 comes with a dualband antenna and for sat work, with an Arrow antenna or similar, harmonic attenuation of the antenna is nonexistant - we sat hams use good antennas! Mail sent to the manufacturer address in the manual on this issue remains unanswered. The Dutch regs specify '-36 dBm or -60 dBc, whichever is highest' and this radio doesn't even come close. FCC regs may be less tight, but I think our transmissions should be to the highest standards and frankly, this radio doesn't come close. My conclusion so far is that the thing may be good enough for listening, but when you want to transmit then this radio is only useful if your table tips and you need something to remedy that, but not for making QSO's. I have not measured the UV-X4 but have been told the internals are the same - the controls are in the same position, in any case. 73, Geert Jan PE1HZG PS: the separate charger does not have any protection circuitry in it and depends on the protection circuitry in the battary itself to charge (and protect) a dangerous LiIon cell. Personally I would not use this unless I have it in sight and a way to remove power quickly - these cells are temperamentful when overcharged, and the battary protection circuit is not intended to replace a correctly designed charger protection circuit..

2 1

ICUBE-1
by Trevor . 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

ICUBE-1, one of a number of new CubeSats that are capable of acting as an "AO-16 mode" FM-DSB transonder, has arranged a launch with Interorbital Systems, see http://www.uk.amsat.org/3676 73 Trevor M5AKA

1 0

pc sat
by jerry keeton 13 Jan '12

13 Jan '12

are attempts still in the works for restoring pcsat ? Just came over and seen echo s from "command-1 " A couple other calls as well . Jerry WB5LHD

4 3

Very Interesting Radio - Possible Sat Use
by Thomas Doyle 12 Jan '12

12 Jan '12

This may have been discussed previously but just in case it has not. I purchased an interesting radio that might be an inexpensive way to operate full duplex on the FM sats. The radio cost $65 including shipping and all accessories. It runs 2W on both 2M and 70cm. It has almost all the bells and whistles you would expect on a dual band handi. 99 memories - tone squelch ... In addition to the low cost the radio is very small. See pic - I have fairly normal size hands so you can see how small it is. http://www.tomdoyle.org/UV-X4.jpg I purchased it expecting the worst. Much to my surprise it actually works quite well. The menu system is the most intuitive I have found on any radio. The only negatives I could find were - no channel lockout when scanning - I put the local weather station in one of the memories. Since it is always on you can not use the scan function. - I fully expected a radio of such a small size would not have adequate sound from the speaker. In fact the sound from the speaker is really loud. Everything is set using a rotary digital switch with detents. This works great for selecting channels and using the menu functions. There are only 9 detent positions for the volume. The lowest volume setting is mute, one click up and it is loud and it keeps getting louder as you go up. There was nothing wrong with my radio - they all do it. - no DTMF pad None of these negatives affect the use of the radio with an FM sat. You could buy a pair of these for $130 including shipping. Add a diplexer and Elk/Arrow antenna and I think you would be good to go with a very compact low cost full duplex portable FM station. I bought mine from http://www.maintradingcompany.com and received excellent service. In case you were wondering what the goofy looking LED between the switch and the antenna is - it is for the flashlight function the radio offers as a feature. The flashlight feature is invaluable :-) Sent from my computer. W9KE Tom Doyle

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