- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

IRENE Is Coming
by Doug Kuitula 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

Hi All, It looks like you hams on the east coast of North America, from North Carolina to Quebec and Nova Scotia, are going to have some problems with antennas this weekend. I hope you have had time to take down the towers and have made the proper plans. I hope we will hear you with a hand held antenna and an HT. I was just thinking if any hams have any health and welfare communications via satellite in the next weekend. Do we have any procedures that we should use on the birds? And are there any procedures that should be used on the digital satellites? Quite obviously do not break up any emergency communication while on the birds. Just wondering anyway..................73 de Doug KA8QCU

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Aluma Tower and Yaesu G5400 Azimuth Rotor
by Joe Leikhim 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

Hi; I am in the market for an Aluma Tower T-40H, I found one which needs a few parts and DLC, (anyone else selling similar in Florida, speak up). My question is the installation of the G5400 azimuth rotor. I didn't have the tower and rotor in same place at same time, so I made up a 7 1/2" diameter template simulating the bolt hole placement and outer "corners" of the bolt bosses on the rotor bell. It seems that it "might just fit" with about 1/16 inch uncertainty. Has anyone else installed this rotor inside of an Aluma Tower T-40H? Some say it interferes with fully retracting with some rotors. Experience good or bad, please share. Thanks -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446

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Re: ISS Re-supply Spacecraft Fails
by Trevor . 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

--- On Wed, 24/8/11, R Oler <orbitjet(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > Trevor with all due respect...no > The Progress failure is a reminder that anything that has to do > with technology is hazardous and if you do not deal with it by > appropriate methods or get sloppy then failure will occur. The thing is launches are done by human beings and humans do get sloppy at times or turn a blind eye to short comings because they believe with good reason that if they don't they won't get promotion or may even be sacked. Submarines have the advantage of never exploding less than a minute after leaving harbor. > I know that its a big deal to say "space is hard" and that excuses > all sorts of things including mediocrity or failure to follow > established technical procedures and guidelines. Yes in space mediocrity or failure to follow established technical procedures and guidelines kills - for most earth bound activities people can get away with it most of the time. When we look at the video of the deployment of ARISSat-1, were the Cosmonouts deliberately knocking the satellite against the ISS structure or was maneuvering a satellite in a weighless environment very difficult? Thinking back about the deployment it doesn't suprise me that it was the 70cm antenna that broke off. The 2 meter antenna is big and conspicuous so you'd try your best to ensure it didn't hit anything. The 70cm antenna is small, inconspicuous and on the opposite side of the satellite to the 2 meter antenna that you're taking care not to knock - result the 70cm antenna is the one that gets clobbered. 73 Trevor M5AKA

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ISS Re-supply Spacecraft Fails
by B J 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/index.html http://www.universetoday.com/88409/breaking-emergency-situation-as-russian-… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Re: ISS Re-supply Spacecraft Fails
by B J 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

<snip> Goober, > Very Bad news. > Farrell > <snip> > http://www.nasa.gov/mission_**pages/station/living/index.**html<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/index.html> >> >> >> http://www.universetoday.com/88409/breaking-emergency-situation-as-russian-… >> > <snip> There are more links about it at: http://www.spacetoday.net/Summary/5375 There hasn't been much success in launching satellites lately: http://www.spacetoday.net/Summary/5370 http://www.spacetoday.net/Summary/5371 http://www.spacetoday.net/Summary/5372 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33

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dn46/dn56
by kl 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

All, I plan to operate from DN46/56 starting with SO50 at 1823Z 8/24/2011. I will work one or two passes of AO27 and AO51 also. 73 WC7V Kerry

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Re: ARISSat-1 and Orbitron
by Zachary Beougher 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

Never mind... I found it. I was looking under the wrong name. Zack KD8KSN From: Zachary Beougher Sent: Wednesday, August 24, 2011 11:56 AM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: ARISSat-1 and Orbitron I apologize if this has already been brought up, but does anyone know if Orbitron is, or is going to support ARISSat-1? 73, Zack KD8KSN

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NASA News Conference NOW on NASA-TV
by Clint Bradford 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

ISS status news conference 9AM PDT - NOW - on NASA-TV. Clint Bradford clintbradford(a)mac.com

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ARISSat-1 and Orbitron
by Zachary Beougher 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

I apologize if this has already been brought up, but does anyone know if Orbitron is, or is going to support ARISSat-1? 73, Zack KD8KSN

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Re: 5 in em 55
by K5OE 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

Well, I finally got my fifth one and sent in the report to Damon. I think I am going to propose tonight on the Houston AMSAT Net that we offer a 29 in EL29 award. I am sure over the years there probably have been that many sat ops in this grid. Bruce, KK5DO, is an experienced awards manager, so I am sure he will know how to organize this... 73, Jerry, K5OE

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Soyuz-U - Progress M-12M
by Luc Leblanc 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

excerpt from SPACEFLIGHT NOW An "emergency situation" occurred during today's launch of a robotic Russian resupply ship headed for the International Space Station, preventing the Soyuz rocket from placing the freighter into orbit. Liftoff of the Soyuz booster carrying the Progress vessel from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan occurred at 9:00 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT), beginning Russia's 44th such cargo delivery mission to the space station. But the Russian space agency says a problem with the upper stage propulsion system caused a premature shutdown and the vehicle's catastrophic failure. Heard that the remains crashed about 300KM from launc pad? "-" Luc Leblanc VE2DWE Skype VE2DWE www.qsl.net/ve2dwe DSTAR urcall VE2DWE WAC BASIC CW PHONE SATELLITE

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29 in EL29
by K5OE 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

Bruce didn't take me seriously about wanting to draft him for the "29 in EL29" award manager, so I hereby submit my list of ops worked in EL29. My list doesn't go back to the glory days of (early) AO-7, AO-10, and AO-13, but it surprised me how many ops there have been in the greater Houston/Galveston area during the "P3D" era : 1 AB5A 2 AB5SD 3 AG5RS 4 AK5Q 5 K5DX 6 K5EM 7 K5ENG 8 K5FNW 9 K5WH 10 K5WNO 11 KA4HW 12 KB5OBJ 13 KB5VHG 14 KC2HVY 15 KC5JAR 16 KD5AU 17 KD5CEV 18 KD5DFB 19 KD5FBA 20 KD5JBR 21 KD5KWL 22 KD5KWL 23 KD5LZU 24 KD5NDZ 25 KK5DO 26 KK5ET 27 KK5W 28 N5AFV 29 N5FNH 30 N5SUB 31 N5UGI 32 N5UXT 33 N7XX 34 VK5ZAI/W5 35 W5ACM 36 W5BTS 37 W5EUB 38 W5GCX 39 W5IOO 40 W5MMX 41 W5NC 42 W5PGZ 43 W5VGR 44 WA5SAJ 45 WB5HJV 46 WB5PJK 47 WB5YYQ 48 WD5DZC The ops in Dallas (EM12/13) and San Antonio (EL09) are going to have an easier time, but the ops in NorCal (CM87) and NFL (EL88/98/99) will have a tough time keeping up with this "competition." 73, Jerry, K5OE

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Edusat after a week..
by giuliop70＠aol.com 24 Aug '11

24 Aug '11

Hi to all, I'm looking for any reports about the operations on the new mission of Edusat satellite, I've tried to receive TLM or other signals in the period of coverage of the bird ( over US and EU) in UHF freq. But nothing heard.. is there a possible failure in the mission? Thanks and 73 Giulio AB2VY Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

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SSB electronics EMAIL
by Alvaro Gaviria 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

Hello all I am looking for the SSB electronic USA email I need a spare GaFet MGF1302 for my SSB 7000 so I need contact them 73 HK4MKE algaviri1(a)une.net.co

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Sequencers and pre-amp sold.
by David Reinhart 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

Thanks to all who inquired. Dave WA6ILT/1

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5 in em55
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

Congrats to Jerry K5OE for award #26 5 in EM55 WA4HFN Damon

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Space Launches Over Time
by B J 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/38339/ Note the distribution of amateur spacecraft. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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HO-68 & SO-67 status ?
by Ted 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

With all the ARISSAT-1 reporting here, the other 'sick' little buggers have been forgotten. Any updates on the current status or these birds and any hope of coming back on line. Informed opinions welcomed 73, Ted K7TRK

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THD 72 HT
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

Thanks to all that send me info on the Kenwood THD72.This link works http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/amsat-bb/200901/msg13011.html Thanks again WA4HFN Damon

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ARISSat1 Report
by Stuart Balanger 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

*Stuart Ballinger(WA2BSS) Date: 8/23/11 2137 UTC Telemetry: Battery Volts: 36.77V Signal Strength: varied bet. 0 & S5 to S7 Rig: Kenwood TM-255A Telemetry Freq.: 145.95 MHz. Antenna: 2 Meter "Squalo" E-Mail: WA2BSS(a)gmail.com Poughkeepsie,NY (USA) Grid Square: FN31 PS: Couldnt Copy the rest of the Telemetry, the noise floor came up & covered the rest! 73,.Stu Ballinger (WA2BSS) *

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SSB Electronic E-Mail
by Tom Lubbers K8TL 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

HK4MKE, SSB Electronic USA doesn't have an e-mail!! Too bad it isn't a 1202 you are looking for!! 73 and good luck Tom K8TL

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Kenwood THD 72A full duplex question
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

Is there a way to listen on 440 while TXing on 144. If they say full duplex, I want it to do it for satellite operations. The 710 rig will and has alot of the same settings as the new 72 HT. WA4HFN Damon please reply direct not on the BBS Thanks

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Re: Fibreglass tube for G5500?
by i8cvs 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Bloy" <chris(a)photofuture.co.uk> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 11:01 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Fibreglass tube for G5500? > Hi All, > So, I was wondering, can I get say a 1 ½ fibreglass pole and then slip the > slightly small aluminium pole inside to give extra strength without > affecting the radiation pattern? Hi Chris,M0DQO You cannot because a fibreglass tubing fitted over an aluminium tubing is like to have a single aluminium tubing and the radiation pattern will be affected. > I have google'd a couple of places and it appears I need to get tubing but > not sure if anyone has any experience in this department? Read please the following article written by G6LVB http://www.g6lvb.com/fibermetalboom.htm > Many Thanks, > Chris - M0DQO 73" de i8CVS Domenico

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Mini-Circuits ZHL-5W-1A Amplifier For Sale
by Greg B 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

Mini-Circuits ZHL-5W-1A, 5 Watt Power Amplifier, 40dB Gain, 5-500 MHz. SMA connectors. Non-Heat Sink Version. Great for HF-UHF driver projects. New In Box. $200ea, 30 available Features • High power, 5 Watt • Wideband, 5 to 500 MHz • High power output, +37dBm min. • High gain, 40 dB Min. • Low noise figure, 4 dB typ. • High IP3, +49 dBm typ. Applications • VHF/UHF • Instrumentation • Laboratory SEE SPECS HERE: http://www.minicircuits.com/pdfs/ZHL-5W-1.pdf

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E7/9A5YY , E77AA and E71ABC satellite operations planned
by Neven 9A5YY 23 Aug '11

23 Aug '11

Neven, 9A5YY is pleased to announce the activation of E7 (Bosnia-Herzegovina) on the radio amateur satellites. Neven, 9A5YY plans to operate the amateur radio satellites from Cazin, Bosnia-Herzegovina (grid JN75WB) together with Enver, E77AA (ex E74QA) from Thursday 25th August until Sunday 28th August 2011. It will be used the following callsigns: E7/9A5YY, E77AA and E71ABC ( http://www.nikolatesla-cazin.com). During these four days these callsigns will be active during the day on the majority of passes. It will be used all active radio amateur satellites in SSB and FM modes. At this moment the active radio amateur satellites are AO-7, AO-27, FO-29, SO-50, AO-51 and VO-52. Please, visit Live OSCAR Satellite Status Page http://oscar.dcarr.org/ to see which satellites are operational. Read the QSL information for callsigns E7/9A5YY, E77AA and E71ABC on the http://www.qrz.com/. During satellite operation it will be used Neven's portable satellite station. It will be our pleasure, if you answer on our satellite CQs and you work satellite QSOs with E7 (Bosnia-Herzegovina)! 73 de Neven, 9A5YY

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5 in em 55
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

Congrats to Brandon K7BBR for 5 in EM 55 award #25 WA4HFN em55

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Re: Satellite gear for sale
by David Reinhart 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

I'm sorry, I should also have stated that I'll only ship to U.S. addresses. My apologies. Dave WA6ILT

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Satellite gear for sale
by David Reinhart 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

It's been more than two years since our move to the new QTH and it's very plain now that I'm not getting back on the birds, so I'm putting the following equipment up for sale: SSB Electronics 70cm GaAsFET preamp--$200 SSB Electronics DCW-15B Bias Tee/Preamp sequencer (Qty. 2) w/N connectors--$75/each. Above items are plus shipping and insurance from Zip Code 01520 (Holden, MA). Your choice of UPS or USPS. For local pickup, I also have a M^2 436CP30 in good shape for $150. Also only for pickup, the big item: US Tower TMM-433HD tower. This is a four section crank up, 33 ft. tower. It is complete with the base plate, lowering and crank-down fixtures (so you can both retract it and then lay it on the ground), four coax arms, and the inverted vee arm. The only thing it doesn't have are the "J" bolts that go into the foundation. I also have a 10 ft. fiberglass crossbeam that I will inlcude. The whole package for $1,750, way less than half the new price. Email me at wa6ilt(a)amsat.org 73, Dave

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Fwd: eHam.net ad
by Bob- W7LRD 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

I am just fowarding this email to the amsat-bb list. The IC-910H has the 1.2Ghz module in it. Jim told me he would be willing to ship the "shipable" items. 73 Bob W7LRD ----- Original Message ----- From: 57JNDenneny(a)comcast.net To: w7lrd(a)comcast.net Sent: Monday, August 22, 2011 10:39:27 AM Subject: eHam.net ad Bob Johnson Jim Denneny (K7EG) has sent you a ad for you to review. ----- start of message ----- Hello Bob I see you are WWDXC member. I am selling out satellite station. This ad plus an Icom 910H ad were just posted in Eham website. If you know of anyone in the area (or a better way to get the word out in our AMSAT region) that would be interested in a first class satellite station, let me know. Thanks /73 Jim K7EG Auburn WA 253-939-6107 The following is a ad from eHam.net: Title: VHF/UHF Satellite Antenna System Description: Complete Satellite Antenna System with G5500 AZ-EL rotator. Sell complete only. $1950. Pickup only Seattle area - too bulky to ship. Everything in excellent condition. X-Quads 144 & 430 with GasFET preamps. Helix antenna on 1200 Mhz with GasFET preamp. Parabolic small dish on 2400 with UEK 3000 down-convertor. Hardline, phasing networks. 253-939-6107 ----- end of message ----- You can see this ad in full at: http://eham.net/classifieds/detail/353061 This email was sent to you from Jim Denneny (K7EG) through a notification system on eHam.net.

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NASA to Carry ISS Cargo Ship Arrival
by Clint Bradford 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

Aug. 22, 2011 Michael Curie Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 michael.curie(a)nasa.gov Kelly Humphries Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 kelly.o.humphries(a)nasa.gov MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-174 NASA TELEVISION TO AIR SPACE STATION CARGO SHIP ARRIVAL HOUSTON -- NASA Television will provide live coverage as a Russian Progress cargo spacecraft arrives at the International Space Station at 9:38 a.m. CDT on Friday, Aug. 26. NASA TV coverage will begin at 9 a.m., in lieu of the day's "ISS Update" program. The unpiloted Progress 44 spacecraft will automatically dock to the rear port of the station's Zvezda service module. The cargo ship will carry three tons of food, fuel and other supplies for the six crew members, Expedition 28 Commander Andrey Borisenko and Flight Engineers Ron Garan, Mike Fossum, Satoshi Furukawa, Alexander Samokutyaev and Sergei Volkov. It will be launched at 8 a.m. (7 p.m. Baikonur time) on Wednesday, Aug. 24, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. NASA TV will not air the launch live, but will show replays during the regularly scheduled 10 a.m. "ISS Update" program. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station -end- Clint Bradford clintbradford(a)mac.com

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ARISSat-1 CW2 beacon active
by Francisco Costa, CT1EAT 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

Hi all Last pass over EU (1622-1631) CW2 beacon was active. BPSK TLM decoded fine. 73 F.Costa, CT1EAT http://ct1eat.no.sapo.pt

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Turn off AGC when receiving BPSK-1000
by Phil Karn 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

I forgot to offer some advice when receiving the ARISSat-1 BPSK-1000 telemetry beacon: turn off your receiver AGC if at all possible. If you can only choose between fast and slow, pick slow. If this causes a large variation in audio level, reduce the gain to avoid clipping on the peaks. A sound card A/D is 16 bits so you have plenty of dynamic range; don't be afraid to use it. Ideally the background noise level should be constant with the signal going up and down. This greatly helps the demodulator and decoder to distinguish signal from noise. The error correction uses the Viterbi algorithm, and one of its big features is the ability to distinguish between "strong" and "weak" bits; a strong '1' or '0' is considered less likely to be in error than a weak '1' or '0'. The decoder can even accept "I don't know" for a limited number of bits. The decoder can still fix errors in strong bits. But it can fix more of them in the weak bits and still more in the "I don't knows" (known technically as "erasures"). This is especially important when the signal fades deeply, as it often does with ARISSat-1. With the AGC off, the audio signal level falls during a fade and the decoder can recognize it as a burst of erasures or near-erasures. As with many questions in life, "I don't know" or "I think it's X but I'm not sure" are better answers than being sure of the wrong answer. 73, Phil

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Seriously Get Over It!
by Kevin Deane 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

Enough with the friggin ARISSAT-1 reports, gee I heard it too. Post your reports here http://oscar.dcarr.org/ I mean really . Kevin KF7MYK

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Keps
by Carl Rimmer W8KRF 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

Thank you Mark, Alan, and Erich. It is now working as I wanted. I see that I have two options now. I can load my file OR load the keps "live" from Celetrack. I was finally able to copy some of the telemetry last night and SatPC did a very nice job of keeping up with the Doppler. I have to fine tune it but it was exciting to finally copy something and be able to upload it to the website. Thank you all again for the very timely response. 73, -- *Carl W8KRF *

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Flex 5000
by Nick Pugh K5QXJ 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

I am struggling to get my Flex 5000 and satpc32 to work. Has anyone on the list been able to get this combination to get the performance we get with the vintage radios? My best success has come with version 2.0.2.2 . The latest release Friday make thing worse. Thanks nick Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School

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ARISSAT & FCD dongle I/Q recording
by Bernard f6bvp 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

Hello, Bonjour, ARISSAT satellite was received 2011-08-21 around 1906 UTC via FCD dongle on a vertical VHF antenna (+13dB), 35 metres long coaxial feedline and indoor SSB electronics preamp. Location in Paris, JN18DV. I/Q signal were saved using Audacity (stereo 96000 samples/sec 16 bits .wav file. Size 45MB) http://f6bvp.free.fr/ARISSAT-FCD-dongle/HDSDR_20110821_190634Z_145922kHz_RF… SpectraVue replay of .wav file analysis screen capture http://f6bvp.free.fr/ARISSAT-FCD-dongle/ARISSAT_FCD_20110821_1906UTC_ORB_27… 73s de Bernard, f6bvp

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AMSAT at Chaos Communication Camp 2011
by Trevor . 22 Aug '11

22 Aug '11

Today Mario Lorenz DL5MLO from AMSAT-DL gave a presentation on Amateur Radio Space Communications as part of the Hacker Space Program track at the Chaos Communication Camp 2011. Mario's talk titled 'From OSCAR 1 to Mars and beyond - Amateur Space Exploration – The last 50 years, now, and the future' was given to hackers at the Chaos Communication Camp which ran from August 10-14 at Finowfurt near Berlin, Germany. He described how Radio Amateurs have been building and operating satellites for almost fifty years now, and we are aiming for more. Building satellites has always been challenging and involves using technology in creative ways. He explained what AMSAT is, what has been achieved in the last fifty years, and what is being worked on now such as the Amateur Radio Mars orbiter P5A. Hacker Space Program track http://events.ccc.de/camp/2011/Fahrplan/track/Hacker%20Space%20Program/inde… Chaos Communication Camp 2011 http://events.ccc.de/camp/2011/ --- 73 Trevor M5AKA

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satellite tracking problem (stb)
by wstw＠juno.com 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

using the uni_trac 2003 control my icom 910h xcvr switches between vfo a and vfo b (via the split function in the radio when) I try to track the iss. Is there a known fix for this satellite and any other amateur radio satellites. I am having a problem with nova allowing the 2003 to tune the 910h radio as well as control the az el function of my g5500 rotors. I have talked with Mr. John Bealand just this week about these problems and his suggestion was to post them on the amsat-bb. help on how to overcome these problems is greatly appreciated, Al T. ____________________________________________________________ Penny Stock Jumping 3000% Sign up to the #1 voted penny stock newsletter for free today! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4e5062613ba837a71c5st03vuc

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TAPR/ARR DCC (Digital Communications Conference), Baltimore, MD, 9/16-18
by Mark Thompson 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

The 30th Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference September 16-18, 2011 - Baltimore, MD http://www.tapr.org/dcc - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Final preparations are being made for the 30th Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference. Are you ready? Here's a check list to help you out: Check List: - Have you booked your travel? - Have you booked your hotel room? (see below for special rates and deadline) - Have you registered for the DCC? Go to http://www.tapr.org/dcc to sign up. Below is the list of submitted papers. The speakers schedule is being assembled. We have a an exciting list of paper talks, guest speakers, and Introductory Seminars. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hotel: Four Points by Sheraton BWI Airport, Baltimore, MD. A block of rooms at the special DCC room rate of $90.00 single/double. This special rate is good until August 25, 2011 after that you will pay the regular room rate. To book your room, use the reservation link below or call the hotel directly (phone numbers below) and mention the group code DCC (Digital Communications Conference) when making reservations. Be sure to book your rooms early! Four Points by Sheraton BWI Airport 7032 Elm Road Baltimore, Maryland 21240 Reservations: 1-800-368-7764 Phone: 410-859-3300 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Submitted Papers: DATV-express: A Lower Cost Approach to DATV Charles Brain, G4GUO and Ken Konechy, W6HHC A Shadow Ad-Hoc TEMPn-N Network Bob Bruninga, WB4APR CW Mode for the NUE-PSK Digital Modem Dave Collins, AD7JT and George Heron, N2APB APRS and the Android Smartphone Sagar Gupta, KC2VSG Practical Implementations of Bluetooth in Microcontroller Circuits John A. Hansen, Ph.D. W2FS Public Service Event APRS Web Mapping for Wireless Devices Ted Jacobson, W8KVK and Rob Jacobson, KB9AFT WRC-12 Agenda Item 1.19: Regulatory Considerations for Software Defined and Cognitive Radio Systems Brennan Price, N4QX More experiments with Delay and Disruption Tolerant Networking over AX.25 Networks John Ronan, EI7IG, Darren Long, GØHHW and Kristian Walsh A Further Comparison of Different TCP/IP and DTN Protocols over the D-STAR Digital Data Mode John Ronan, EI7IG and Cathal O’Connor Codec 2 – Open Source Speech Coding at 2400 bit/s and Below David Rowe, VK5DGR PhoneSat: Balloon Testing Results Mike Safyan Modulation – Demodulation Software Radio (MDSR) Software for the BiLiF computer interface Alex Schwarz, VE7DXW - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Introductory Talks (Saturday): Introduction to Digital Voice Introduction to Digital Modes Introduction to D-STAR Digital Voice & Data - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Demo Room: Be sure to bring your projects to show in the demo room. Even if you are not speaking. Each year at the DCC a separate (and lockable) room is provided for people to bring and show off their latest projects. Tables and power will be provided. Bring your equipment and display for all to see, learn, and ask questions about. Be sure to bring a small sign and/or flyer naming and describing your project. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Saturday Night Banquet Speaker: The Village TELCO David Rowe, VK5DGR There are now billions of mobile phones all over the world. However in many developing countries, mobile phones are simply too expensive to use. For example, in a country where people earn $1.50/day, a phone call can cost 21 cents/minute. This is a huge tax on communications. David Rowe, VK5DGR, will describe how a community of people from around the world set out to fix this problem, using a mix of Wi-Fi and open source software. The result is the Village Telco - a DIY telephone company that anyone can set up. A Village Telco is constructed from a network of "Mesh Potatoes" - small Wi-Fi boxes that are mounted on homes in a village. They form a mesh network, relaying telephone calls for each other. Each Mesh Potato connects to a regular telephone inside village homes. Phone calls on the network are free. A local person in the Village can be trained in a few hours to set up and maintain the network. To build the Village Telco we borrowed many ideas from Ham Radio, such as sharing hardware designs and community networks. The talk will include real world stories of how Village Telcos are helping people in several developing countries, and explain why a simple phone call that we take for granted can be so important. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sunday Seminar: Stay tuned. We are assembling an exciting seminar. Details will be released this week. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Schedule: Friday 8:15 AM Conference Registration and Demonstration Room Open 9:00 AM Welcome and Introductions 9:30 AM Technical Presentations Noon Lunch 1:00 PM Technical Presentations 6:00 PM Break 7:00 PM Social 11:00 PM Demonstration Room Closed Saturday 7:15 AM Conference Registration and Demonstration Room Open 8:00 AM Welcome 8:15 AM Technical Presentations Noon Lunch 1:00 PM Technical Presentations 3:15 PM TAPR Membership Meeting 6:00 PM Break 7:00 PM Dinner Banquet 11:00 PM Demonstration Room Closed Sunday 8:00 AM to Noon Sunday Seminar - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - We hope to see you there! 73, Steve N7HPR President TAPR

1 0

Yes, more ARISSat-1 telemetry
by Greg D. 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

Hi folks, More from a couple of passes over CM98 01:05z pass start, 8/22/11 66 degree pass Apparently in high power mode. MET ?? >QSB> probably 45min IHU Temp = +31c Control Panel temp = +38c Battery = 36.06v Current = -8ma MET 47 min IHU Temp = +32c Control Panel temp = +39c Battery = 35.94v Current = - ?? <QSB> MET 49 min IHU temp = +32c Control Panel temp = +40c Battery = 35.94v Current = -8ma After the kids' chanting, the satellite turned off for 2 min. SSTV, greetings, etc... MET 54 min IHU Temp = +34c Control Panel temp = +24c (did I hear that right? Was +40 a few minutes earlier! Need parity bits on the eardrums Battery = <QSB> Current = -20ma After more greetings and a live SSTV picture the satellite turned off again through LOS --------------------------- Next pass: 17 degrees 02:38z start, 8/22/11 MET 47 IHU Temp +32c Control Panel temp = +44c Battery = 35.93v Current = -20ma MET 49 IHU Temp = +33c Control panel temp = 45c Battery = 35.90v Current = -16ma Greg KO6TH

1 0

Re: Seriously Get Over It!
by Mike Schaffer 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

Enough with the friggin ARISSAT-1 reports, gee I heard it too. Post your reports here http://oscar.dcarr.org/ I mean really . Kevin KF7MYK ------------- I believe somebody needs a refresher on the Radio Amateur's Code under considerate and friendly operation. Mike Schaffer KA3JAW Tampa, Florida EL87

1 0

ARISSAT-1 Pass over VK 3:15 UTC - Alive and well
by Andy Kellner 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

Satellite is high power mode. Strong Signal on VHF downlink. MET: 1 minute (must just come out of reset ?) Battery Voltage: 35.7 V Current: - 4 mA Temp: 26.5 Deg. Heard several greeting messages, voice telemetry and 2 very nice sstv pictures. Attached one, but not sure if that goes thru to the mailing list. Andreas - VK4FHAW

2 1

ARISSat-1 heard over Gainsville, FL
by Mike Schaffer 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

ARISSat-1 heard at 2200 UTC on 145.950 FM in SSTV. Signal was weak with only one quarter demodulated screen showing one of the fixed images. Satellite was in low power mode north of Gainsville, FL with AZ: 349, EL: +56 from Tampa, Florida. 73's Mike Schaffer KA3JAW Tampa, Florida EL87

2 1

SATPC32 - Keps Path
by Carl Rimmer W8KRF 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

Is there a way I can change the default PATH for my Keps files in SatPC? I like to keep one Kep file on one computer and load them over my LAN to the other computers/programs. I want to start using SatPC again after not being very successful using HRD Sat Tracker on ARISSat-1. It seems that the program of choice here on this bulletin board is SatPC. It has been ages since I have used it so I am trying to get it up-to-date and configured for ARISSat-1. I have spent hours searching the archives and I think I have all the SQF files setup. It is controlling the radio (TS-2000) and rotor. Thanks, -- *Carl W8KRF *

4 3

ArissatTlm for the Mac
by Gilbert Mackall 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

All, I would like to find one or two testers for a new version of ArissatTlm for the Mac. This version should resolve the hangup that happens on some systems, while playing back WAV files.

1 0

ARISSatTLM Soundcard Re-Start
by Larry Phelps 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

I have noticed that if the soundcard is stopped and then re-started within ARISSatTLM, that there is no further decode of telemetry. Upon soundcard re-start the audio level resumes activity and proper level, the CW search marker (blue) hops around as usual and locks onto the CW beacon, but the data search marker (red) freezes in a random position and there is no decode from this point on. Only by re-starting the whole ARISSatTLM program can decode be re-established. The program decodes nicely with ARISSat-1 at two degrees or less above my horizon (with C.P. Yagi at 6 feet), so absolutely no issues there. Is this a known "feature" of this version, or should I question my machine? 73-Larry. K4OZS

2 1

Southwest Texas Grids - August 22/23
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

August 22 I will be in transit and likely to activate EL09, EL08, and possibly EL07. August 23 In the afternoon I am planning to work from DL98/DL99. I cannot be more specific as to which passes because this trip's primary focus is business. I'm expecting to be on passes after 15:00 CDT. As always I will be glad to QSL via post or LotW. 73 Clayton W5PFG

1 0

Re: I heard it! (Was frustrated!)
by Clint Bradford 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

>> ... my F6a and a slightly-better-than-stock ducky ... You can get into the world of much higher gain for under $20 ... Build yourself a tape measure beam! That scratchy signal you heard from ARISSat-1 would have been BOOMING into your TH-F6a! Plans all over the Web ... My visitors have enjoyed the one I have posted on the ANTENNAS page at ... http://www.work-sat.com Clint Bradford, K6LCS 909-241-7666

2 1

N. Eu. AO-7
by Bob- W7LRD 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

Hello Northern Europe The next pass of AO-7 at about 2026Z keep an ear out for me on about 145.950. I am located in CN 87 near Seattle Wa. If this were easy, everyone would be doing it. Very low elevation. 73 Bob W7LRD CN-87

1 0

ARISSat telemetry and Doppler tuning
by Ronald G. Parsons 21 Aug '11

21 Aug '11

Last evening, after having several days experience capturing ARISSat telemetry, I sat at my radio and watched carefully how SatPC32 and ARISSatTLM played together. I had settled on a tuning correction value of –540 HZ to get the CW signal to center around the CW tuning point as the Doppler correction was handled by SatPC32. The approach of the satellite seemed normal. but as the satellite passed by, I noticed the CW signal average “position” to be creeping upward, needing a reduction of the tuning correction by about 40 Hz to –500 Hz. This lasted for a couple minutes and then the CW signal started creeping down and I had to go back to my –540 Hz value. The first explanation I could think of is that the Doppler correction computed by SatPC32 from my position and the keps was in error. But of course, it could have been a change in my radio (unlikely as it had been on for hours) or a change in the frequency of the CW signal from the satellite. I’ll keep watching this and wonder if others have noticed something similar. Ron W5RKN

5 6

ARISSat-1 Pass In DO33 2011-08-21 @ 0342 UTC
by B J 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

The FM telemetry signal was acquired at 0342. The following was heard: - End of ID ("...01S") - Speech in unknown language - MET = 54 minutes - IHU temp. = +34 deg. C - Control panel temp. = +24 deg. C - Battery voltage = +35.54 V - Battery current = -20 mA - ID - Speech in another unknown language - Tones (SSTV?) Reception ended at 0345. The signal was generally clear with strength of at least S7. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ

1 0

I heard it! (Was frustrated!)
by Burns Fisher 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

Thanks to everyone for the encouragement. Tonight for the 7PM pass of ARISSat I went up on a hill where I had a good view of the horizon, taking my F6a and a slightly-better-than-stock ducky. I actually heard the bird! Not strongly, and (surprisingly) not until it was way down on the horizon toward the end of the pass. I thought I heard a carrier on and off but slightly before LOS, I hear a tone, followed by a woman speaking telemetry values. I could actually understand it mostly even though it was pretty much down in the noise. Interestingly, holding the antenna VERTICALLY gave the best results. Since I heard a woman, I guess that means it is reading the SD card again...or is that just for the messages? I'm wondering whether the direct-overhead time that I heard nothing the bird's antenna was actually pointing away. Has anyone had any estimates of how fast it is tumbling now? Anyway, I know now that my radio can do it. Next I have to mange to get a better signal to it. Thanks again! Burns, W2BFJ

1 0

EduSat active?
by Giulio P. AOL 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

Hi to everyboby , are there any news/reports about reception of EDUSAT ? Thanks Giulio AB2VY

1 0

ARISSat-1 Voice Telemetry 02:01z 8/21/2011 CM98
by Greg D. 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

Wow, a nearly overhead pass, apparently mostly in high power mode (a first here at KO6TH) 02:01z 8/21/2011 as received in CM98 Voice announcement (possibly Chinese or similar) Telemetry: MET = 45 min IHU Temp = +33c Control panel temp = +21c Battery = 35.70v Current = ?? (QSB) Voice announcement (English) Canned SSTV picture More voice (Spanish, I believe) 02:04 telemetry MET = 47 IHU Temp = +34c Control panel temp = +22c Battery = 35.85v Current = -12ma more voice (Spanish, reference to Puerto Rico?) Live SSTV More Spanish Telemetry MET = 49 IHU temp = +34c Control panel temp = +22c Battery = 35.78v Current = -20ma English announcement Voice (Chinese?) Live SSTV picture English announcement Telemetry MET = 51 IHU temp = +35c Control panel temp = +23c Battery = 35.90v Current = -20ma At this point the satellite turned off for the first time during the pass. Then LOS. Great pass, but why did it turn off? Greg KO6TH

1 0

Arissat-1 Comic
by Kevin Deane 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

By request a new comic is on my QRZ page for veiwing... Kevin KF7MYK

1 0

2 to 10 meter converter
by Richard Lawn 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

I've been making an effort to downsize a bit a found an old treasure, or it might be to someone. It is a downconverter made by parks electronics laboratory in Beaverton, or. Its labeled as Model 144-1 two meter converter. 144 = 28mhz and 145=29mhz. Has a self contained power supply. It is quite well made and last time I fired it up it worked. Any body want it? I could send a picture so email me off list. Rick W2JAZ

1 0

Re: Hamspeak - Satspeak
by Mike Schaffer 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

Tom: You probably made contact with W2GSB. Here is the message he had posted on this board earlier. Hello, I will be operating, as W2GSB, from the historic Fire Island Lighthouse, FN30, for the Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club tomorrow, 8-20 and 8-21st, the first pass will be with SO-50, 16:30 U and all the subsequent FM passes. A special certificate is available, mail to W2GSB Lighthouse, PO Box 1356, West Babylon, NY 11704, thank you. Do not send envelope, club will supply. 73's Pete WB2OQQ www.massapequanyweather.com 73's Mike Schaffer KA3JAW Tampa, Florida EL87

1 0

HamSpeak - SatSpeak
by Thomas Doyle 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

QST adds a Hamspeak sidebar to articles to explain some of the jargon in the article. I feel the need for a SatSpeak sidebar. Today I heard a station working an FM pileup giving his grid location as "The Lighthouse". I thought I understood the grid system but "The Lighthouse" is a new one for me. Perhaps it is another mystery word. W9KE tom LM 0875

1 0

FUNcube received ARISSAT stereo I/Q recording for SDR
by Bernard f6bvp 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

Hello, This was a "proof of concept" i.e. recording under Linux with Audacity, ARISSAT signal received with an FUNcube dongle. Signals were weak for the record was performed at the end of the night pass. wav file can be transferred on an iPad an then read with the very nice application iSDR. I will try to do a better recording next time. The 14MB file can be downloaded from : http://f6bvp.free.fr/videos/Audacity_FCD_41000_Stereo_16bits_19_08_11_1930U… 73 de Bernard, f6bvp

1 0

ARISSat-1 TLM
by Nader Omer 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

HI UTC 13:32 - 13:43 . Orbit # 253. Good signal the entire pass. The spacecraft in High Power Mode. MET was 2666. 58 frames grabbed and forwarded. 73’s Nader

1 0

Fwd: ARISSAT heard on FUNcube Dongle - I/Q wav file read with iSDR on iPad
by Bernard Pidouxx 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

> > Hello, > > Last night Aug 19, I captured ARISSAT VHF transmission using FCD and Audacity audio software to save I/Q wide band signal on my Mandriva Linux system. > I monitored the signals using quisk. Doppler shift was not too fast at the end of a nearly overhead pass in Paris. > For this first attempt I could note manage to listen ARISSAT and save the signal simultaneously. > At the end of the pass, ARISSAT was very week but I decided to record the FCD output blindly. > I saved stereo .wav file with 44100 samples per seconds for compatibility with iPad iSDR application. I could then play back recorded file with iSDR. Despite the faint signals Waterfall display showed clearly CW and BPSK beacons and fine tuning the listening frequency through the touch screen sensitivity of the iPad application let me decode parts of CW beacon with iSDR 200 Hz filter. > > I will upload soon recorded wav file and screen capture of waterfall on my site. > > 73 de Bernard, f6bvp > > Envoyé de mon iPad > >>

1 0

ARISSat-1 Not Heard
by Nader Omer 20 Aug '11

20 Aug '11

HI ARISSat-1 Not Heard Orbit #245 00:19 - 00:30 UTC 73 Nader st2nh

2 1

Re: Turn off AGC when receiving BPSK-1000
by i8cvs 19 Aug '11

19 Aug '11

----- Original Message ----- From: i8cvs To: Dave Guimont Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2011 6:54 AM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: Turn off AGC when receiving BPSK-1000 Hi Dave, WB6LLO Please look also at my article "Experimental Investigation of 2400 MHz Quadrifilar Helix Antennas" publisched on AMSAT-Journal May/June 2004 Best 73" de i8CVS Domenico Pulling for P3E... ----- Original Message ----- From: Dave Guimont To: i8cvs ; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 11:40 PM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: Turn off AGC when receiving BPSK-1000 For additional information read http://www.w2du.com/r2ch22.pdf and look at Fig 22-7 page 10 of 20 Radiation Pattern of the 1 1/2 turn 1,25 wavelenght Quadrifilar Antennas. Tnx, Dom for that info. I received a number of requests for quadfilar information, again. Goto http://cid-1973adc8c1d3207c.skydrive.live.com/summary.aspx?sa=140581470 and see the five files starting with the pic Quad2.4gigs Be very precise with the measurements, particularly on the 435... I scaled it from the 2 meter, made a slight measuring error on the driven filar, shortened it by 1/4" and the swr went from 3 to 1 to 1.6 to 1.... And use the BEST "N" connectors and coax that you can find, the most expensive part of the antenna.... 73, Dave, WB6LLO dguimon1(a)san.rr.com Disagree: I learn.... Pulling for P3E...

1 0

Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 6, Issue 478
by Burns Fisher 19 Aug '11

19 Aug '11

Thanks for the ideas, Mike. I am using FM for sure, and no I was never able to receive ARISSat-1 with the stock antenna in the shack. I'll certainly try removing the duplexer. And thank for the info about the roofing material. I don't have aluminum siding, but I don't know about that kind of roofing material. The roof was replaced recently, is all I can tell you at the moment. I'll also try outside. Thanks again Burns, W2BFJ ------------------- Burns: ? Make sure your receive mode for frequency 145.950 is FM on your Kenwood F6A handheld. ? Before you?upgraded with additional hardware could you receive ARISSat-1 signals using the stock antenna inside your shack? ? If you can, the next step is to?remove the Diamond 2m/70cm duplexer as it might be blocking the amplified signal from your SSB? 2m pre-amp. ? If that does not?help, then?it could be that?the satellite signal are being degraded more than 75 percent or blocked entirely by the orient strand board (OSB) radiant barrier roof sheathing which is backed with a specially designed aluminum foil. The same goes if your dwelling exterior is fabricated with aluminum siding. ? It that is the case, then your only hope is to mount the antenna outside. ? ? 73's ? Mike Schaffer KA3JAW Tampa, Florida EL87

1 0

Official Word for the 70cm Antenna?
by Mike Schaffer 19 Aug '11

19 Aug '11

Mike Schaffer KA3JAW Tampa, Florida EL87 What is the official AMSAT/ARISSat1 team finding on the ARISSat-1 70cm quarter-wave receive antenna on the bottom of the satellite? I have not heard updated news about that since the jettison occurred. Was it the dummy load or was the dummy load taken off and the flight antenna installed to deployment while in the ISS ,but later accidentally broken off when the cosmonauts hand carried it through the Pirus hatch?

3 2

LIGHTHOUSE WEEKEND
by Peter Portanova 19 Aug '11

19 Aug '11

Hello, I will be operating, as W2GSB, from the historic Fire Island Lighthouse, FN30, for the Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club tomorrow, 8-20 and 8-21st, the first pass will be with SO-50, 16:30 U and all the subsequent FM passes. A special certificate is available, mail to W2GSB Lighthouse, PO Box 1356, West Babylon, NY 11704, thank you. Do not send envelope, club will supply. 73's Pete WB2OQQ www.massapequanyweather.com

1 0

ARISSAT-1 SQF
by Pat McGrath 19 Aug '11

19 Aug '11

Can someone share with me the SATPC SQF file for ARISSAT-1.

3 2

Re: Turn off AGC when receiving BPSK-1000
by Dave Guimont 19 Aug '11

19 Aug '11

> >You don't have to use a narrow beam antenna with maximum gain on axis. >You can always design it with a bowl-shaped pattern that increases gain >toward the edges and lowers it in the middle. That's why the quadrifilars work so well. I measured the pattern some time back, and the "beam width" is about 140 degrees.... Point them straight up and be satisfied with that part of a pass, or mount them at 40 degrees, and rotate AZ with a TV rotor for the entire pass. For 50 degree max passes point them at the center of the pass... 73, Dave, WB6LLO dguimon1(a)san.rr.com Disagree: I learn.... Pulling for P3E...

4 4

ARISSAT telemetry - top submitter list
by Mike Rupprecht 19 Aug '11

19 Aug '11

All, you can find the latest statistic file of all telemetry submitters now here: www.dk3wn.info/files/arissat/submitters.txt There are actually 148 stations who forwarding her telemetry J 73, Mike DK3WN

1 0

Kursk files bug in telemetry software?
by Roland Zurmely 19 Aug '11

19 Aug '11

It seems that there is a bug in telemetry software, perhaps created by the MET reset on each orbit? Each day, recorded files always have the same names: KURSK-944.1 KURSK-944.2 and so on... So I did the following: Every day end, I'm renaming the folder Kursk as kursk1, kursk2,... So I have a folder per day. Next day, when the software is launched, it creates automaticaly a new Kursk folder, that will contains the files from this day, with the same names of past days, but in a new folder. 73 de Roland.

2 1

5 in EM55
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 19 Aug '11

19 Aug '11

Congrats to Clayton for 5 in em55 award #24 WA4HFN em55 Damon

4 3

Re: Frustrated -- not hearing ARRISat
by Mike Schaffer 19 Aug '11

19 Aug '11

Burns: Make sure your receive mode for frequency 145.950 is FM on your Kenwood F6A handheld. Before you upgraded with additional hardware could you receive ARISSat-1 signals using the stock antenna inside your shack? If you can, the next step is to remove the Diamond 2m/70cm duplexer as it might be blocking the amplified signal from your SSB 2m pre-amp. If that does not help, then it could be that the satellite signal are being degraded more than 75 percent or blocked entirely by the orient strand board (OSB) radiant barrier roof sheathing which is backed with a specially designed aluminum foil. The same goes if your dwelling exterior is fabricated with aluminum siding. It that is the case, then your only hope is to mount the antenna outside. 73's Mike Schaffer KA3JAW Tampa, Florida EL87

1 0

Edusat
by Nick Pugh K5QXJ 19 Aug '11

19 Aug '11

Does anyone of the list have the frequencies and keps for Edusat? Thanks nick Office 337 593 8700 Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School

3 2

Re: QSO on Mode A and Invitation
by Rodney Waln 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

hi, thank you for the offer on the amsat-bb, i would really like to work you but we would have to stretch AO-7's foot print out to 9162 km's i hope some day we will have such a satellite? best regards kc0zhf DN-71 WY Amsat area coordinator

1 0

ARISSat-1 Transmissions over North America Thursday PM
by Gould Smith 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

During the 2320Z pass of ARISSat-1 over North America this evening a number of changes to the 2m FM transmissions were noted. 1) Male voice for telemetry means that the female voice files on the SD card could not be read 2) No greetings, mean that the greetings stored on the SD card could not be read. 4) MET of 2M while the satellite was still in a long period of sunlight - satellite must have reset during sunlight 4) FM transmissions consisted of voice ID, male telemetry and SSTV image in rotation Please send your BPSK telemetry into the server. 73, Gould, WA4SXM

5 5

AC0RA/m EN22/EN21
by Wyatt Dirks 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Hi all, This Saturday the 20th of August I am planning on heading to the grid line of en22 and en21. I am going to try and be on all passes of SO-50, AO-51, AO-27, and FO29 between 1800z and 2200z. I don't know if I will be able to bring enough equipment to operate FO-29 yet. The main goal of my trip west is to help my sister move into her apartment for college so nothing is set in stone. If we make contact and you need a Qsl cards just sent me a email and the qso information and i will get a card to you as soon as possible. Also if anyone needs a qsl cards for my brief stay in en53 and when i was mobile in en42 just send me a email of the qso info and i will get a card out. 73 AC0RA Wyatt Dirks

1 0

Decoding wideband recordings
by Phil Karn 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

It's been suggested that I modify my ARISSat-1 BPSK-1000 telemetry demodulator/decoder to accept wideband quadrature (I & Q) recordings like those produced by most of the software defined radios out there. This is fundamentally not that hard, but first I need some information. How many people could actually use this? What is the format of the recorded files? Is there a standard, or does each make of SDR produce its own? If I could get a good sample wideband quadrature recording of the ARISSat-1 downlink that includes the BPSK beacon, I could use it for testing. Ideally there would be no need for any manual tuning because the wideband recording would always contain the beacon regardless of Doppler. All tuning would be in the demodulator software. This might be a little compute-intensive so I can't guarantee that it'll run in real time on older computers. I already make pretty heavy use of the Intel SSE (vector arithmetic) instructions for FIR filtering and Viterbi decoding. The SSE2 set introduced with the Pentium 4 has been especially useful, so I would consider the P4 (or the AMD equivalent) a minimum requirement. Of course, the newer and faster the CPU, the better. I also make use of multiple CPU cores, particularly during the acquisition phase, so the newer CPUs with lots of CPU cores would also be preferred. 73, Phil

9 13

Cubesat workshop with Bob Twiggs Nov 11-12
by charlie Cantrill 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Thought some might be interested in this. Kentucky Space announces the first annual hackerSPACE Workshop...focused on CubeSat class satellites: http://www.kentuckyspace.com/pollydoc/hackerSPACE-2.pdf Charlie KI4RDT

1 0

ARRISsat1 pass
by Jim Cameron "KC9PXZ" 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Hi, just had a pass no SSTV this time. bumer! Did get the voice TLM. Speacking of TLM. when you say send TLM to the servier, thats where? I also used scanner recorder to record the pass. It was wierd all I heard in the play back was loud beeps. any thought. I hate not to record the audio, maybe next time i wont record it and see if its better. I have already sent for all three cerf. So I dont need more than one cerf. for each of the three. I dont understand the secret word. Is it just a way to confirm or do we send them in for a drawning or somthing? So If they want Voice TLM I will be glad to send it when I recieve it just not sure were to send it. Also I have the bug, so I am doing to start monitoring TLM on the birds I work when they pass. just not sure were to send it once I have it. 73 KC9PXZ Jimmy

1 0

QRZ and email address
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

If you don't already have your email address on QRZ.com callsign lookup, PLEASE go there and add it (if you have one) This is very helpful in making skeds for satellite contacts and sharing info with new ops. Thanks WA4HFN Damon EM55

1 0

Frustrated--not hearing ARRISat
by Burns Fisher 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Hi everyone, Ok, I'm getting very frustrated and I think I need some Elmering. I have not heard ANYTHING from ARRISat-1, at least nothing intelligible. I'm a pretty new ham, so I'm getting into it one piece of equipment at a time. Figured I'd play a bit with a handheld, and then figure out what I needed next step by step. It's been several steps so far with nothing to show for it except some pretty hardware and a smaller bank account. I know a few more things I can do, but I'd really like to know if I have some major problem here. I'll tell you what I'm trying, and I'd like to know if anyone has had success with anything similar. First, I have an M2 2-meter eggbeater antenna. It is inside the house (my shack is on the 2nd floor, sadly). It has an SSB 2-meter pre-amp, followed immediately by a Diamond 2m/70cm duplexer into a 25-foot feed line. At that point it is connected via an adapter to my Kenwood F6A handheld. I also have an FCD, but with its poor 2-meter filtering, I wanted to eliminate one problem. A few minutes ago, there was a nice pass from ARRISat-1 here in FN42 (southern NH ); it was in sunlight and had been for some time, should have been up over 50 degrees elevation. Turned everything on, (oh, yes including a 13.8V power supply for the preamp, fed separately). My radio tunes in .005MHz increments, so I started out at 145.955 and tweaked around up and down, shifting to 145.950 and 145.945 as the sat reached and passed max elevation. I *may* have heard vaguely down in the static a voice. I *may* have heard vaguely down in the static some data that might have been SSTV. I may have imagined it. I *know* I would get better reception outside; I know I would be better off with a directional antenna that had more gain. I can see improving things that way, but is NOTHING a reasonable expectation with this setup? I can receive the NOAA weather station on 162ish MHz (outside the pre-amp's curve but I still get it); I have received the ISS without the preamp (I know that is a lot more power than the sat). So I don't think something is wildly broken. So my question to you is: Have any of you been able to read the sat with anything similar? An eggbeater? I thought I remembered someone receiving on a handheld with a rubber ducky? BTW, someone previous mentioned that I should try listening to some of the other lower-power sats; many of them are 70cm downlink and I have not gotten a 70cm antenna yet. Thanks for any advice or comparisons. Burns W2BFJ

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QSO on Mode A and Invitation
by Luis Quintas 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

I Tnx Keith (N4ZQ) for QSO on CW on AO7 Mode A, Orbit 68221 covering 7041 km betewwn our QTHs. I would like to invite other stations from North America willing to attempt a QSO on AO7 on Mode A. My grid locator is FF66TQ. Tnx agn, Best 73 de --luis LU6QI

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Finally success with hearing Arrisat-1
by Patrick E. Farcon 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

I used my Arrow II antenna from working the satellites and ran outside with a single HT and my recorder and headphones. I caught a nice pass with 64 degrees at peak and recorded some SSTV and voice telemetry cycles. It was awesome! I know I am late in coming around to this but better late than never since work has me usually all locked up away from home. 73 all! Pat N2VYT FN20un

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What the heck was that?
by N0JY 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

ARISSat-1 right now, some very strange sounding telemetry. Started out normal, then a ticking sound not unlike a WWV clock tick, then some CW with an unknown telemetry? signal? I don't have a recorder. Jerry N0JY __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 6390 (20110818) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com

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ARISSat 23:15UTC
by N0JY 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Well, it appears that the satellite did a reset just as it came in range here (EM12dl). My TLM start at MET 10, which was just after I heard the "strange noises" I hastily put in an email hoping that others might grab a listen. I have not witnessed a reset while monitoring, so perhaps that's what it sounds like. Some ticks, some strange telemetry tones, CW beacon underneath the tones, then the usual telemetry sound and data. So the reset would have been in full sunlight, not a good sign I would suppose. Unfortunately, the telemetry frame I was hearing right before the reset the bird was not in range long enough to have captured it all, or perhaps it quit in the middle of it anyway. Jerry N0JY __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 6390 (20110818) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com

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AMSAT NE --Southern NY NET
by Dee 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Relayed from Gary WA2AQH--- Please be advised that the Mt Beacon Repeater AMSAT Net will be held at 00:00 hrs UTC and will also be connected via Echo-Link N2EYH-L. Come with all your reports of Arisssat-1 receptions. There is a pass at 23:19 before the Net - Listen on 145.950 +- Doppler It has an elevation of 55degrees and should be easy to listen to. See you on the Net. 73, Dee, NB2F

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More Info: W5KUB.com Webcast from Huntsville Hamfest Starting on August 19
by JoAnne Maenpaa 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Relay for W5KUB ... received last minute update from Tom: Hello to all the viewers of the W5KUB.COM broadcasts. Live Broadcast this weekend! Aug 19-21 Thank you so much for being with us during the Dayton Hamvention. We had over 30,000 unique hams follow us the 5 days and in about 100 countries. We hoped you enjoyed the broadcast. We will be broadcasting the Huntsville, AL hamfest Aug 20-21. This is a large hamfest that pulls many people from not only the S.E. U.S. but also across the country. We will have prizes again for our viewers. This is a great inside facility and we will have perfect connectivity so will be able to stream great quality video. We will also be able to move around and show you everything plus lots of interviews. Watch for us on Aug 19 (Friday) starting around 9:00 am central time 1400 UTC and you may see us drive the 3 hours and then as we set up our equipment on Friday afternoon. Log into the chat room and talk to others around the world or to the W5KUB staff directly. The website is the same http://w5kub.com Please help pass this information around to other hams that you know. Also please register for the chat room if you have not done so. It takes only about 1 minute to register. Just pick your name, and a password, and then enter your email. You will receive an email (instantly) with a verification code. That will complete your new account and register you. By registering it makes you eligible for our prizes. Thanks and 73, Tom W5KUB Some of the prizes that we are giving out on this broadcast are: Grand prize announcement Yaesu FT-950, G5RV antennas, Yaesu Handi-talkie, LDG auto antenna tuner, baluns, Rollable Solar charger, KPC-3 plus packet communicator, ground radial staple pins, ARRL handbook, Communication Speakers, yearly subscriptions to CQ, CQVHF, and Poplar Communications, Tentec Microphone, ferrites, and QSL cards. http://w5kub.com or http://wa5kub.com -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org Editor, AMSAT News Service

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ARISSat-1 Certificate
by Mike Schaffer 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Today, I received my ARISSat-1 certificate. Everyone check your email! 73's Mike Schaffer KA3JAW Tampa, Florida EL87

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Re: Official Word for 440 Antenna
by Clint Bradford 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

>> ... What is the official AMSAT/ARISSat1 team finding on the ARISSat-1 70cm quarter-wave receive antenna on the bottom of the satellite? Not the "official" word by any means ... but the 440 whip was not there when deployed. SO ... we are working with a 1.5" antenna instead of a 6.5" antenna. But - All modes of ARISSat-1 are operational - FM Downlink 145.950 - Operational Linear Transponder U/V - Operational CW Beacon 145.919 - Operational VHF SSB BPSK-1000 - Operational Clint, K6LCS http://tinyurl.com/ARISSAT1-STATUS

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Re : Kursk files bug in telemetry software?
by Roland Zurmely 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Correction. I have to do this on each pass ! not each day. I'm renaming the folder Kursk as kursk1, kursk2,... So I have a new folder per orbit. 73 de Roland PY4ZBZ

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AO-51 updates Re: Re: a051 frequencies
by Mark L. Hammond 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Hi John, Just yesterday I was trying to find time to type out a few AO-51 updates; this will be brief, but hopefully informative to those on the list. AO-51 is currently transmitting on 435.150 FM (LHCP) and using a 145.880 FM uplink. We expect the keep this configuration "until futher notice." The power level is just under 1 watt (about 980 mW). The last restart of the satellite was something like 18 days ago!! This stretch of uninterrupted service has been great, and really just "good luck." Because of the failure of one cell of the six-cell battery, the bird remains in "limp mode." By that I mean we are limited to simple commanding and configurations, because a software upload/execution has proven impossible due to the lower voltages resulting from the one dead cell. At least we can set power levels manually, change uplinks/downlinks, etc. But there is no telemetry collection/storage, no BBS, etc. There is a second cell in the battery that looks "sick." We have no idea if it will be the next cell to go (probable though), nor what the result will be (if we lose another cell, "limp mode" probably will no longer be an option, and the mission might be considered over.). It might last a few days, a few months, or who knows...a few years? (doubtful). The current scenario of AO-51 is one reason we need to keep moving AMSAT and satellite development/building/launching moving forward!! We have learned a lot already with ARISSat-1, and FOX looks promising. AMSAT needs the support of its users now more than ever... A little speculation--recently we have been looked upon kindly by the "battery shorting gods." It looks like AO-51's dead cell has failed closed/shorted--which is good for this bird; and it looks like maybe ARISSat-1's battery might be failing/have failed in an "open" fashion--which is good for this bird! 73! Mark N8MH On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 12:39 PM, John Geiger <aa5jg(a)fidmail.com> wrote: > How much power is AO51 currently running? It sure sounded good on the > 2200UTC pass yesterday-much more solid receive here than I was getting for > AO27 or SO 50. > > 73s John AA5JG > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Glasbrenner" < > glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> > To: "Joe" <gjmagee(a)optusnet.com.au> > Cc: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:49 PM > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: a051 frequencies > > > > Currently and for the foreseeable future we are on 145.88 up and 435.150 >> down. >> >> 73, Drew KO4MA >> AMSAT-NA VP Operations >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> On Aug 18, 2011, at 9:24 AM, "Joe" <gjmagee(a)optusnet.com.au> wrote: >> >> I will be trying to work ao-51 during the ILLW this weekend (20-21Aug). I >>> havent operated satellites since ao40, which is a little while ago... >>> I will be using the usual an arrow antenna and ft60r. I am having >>> problems finding the frequencies to tx and rx on. It seems that there have >>> been some changes made and different sites give me different frequencies I >>> should be using. >>> I think the Tx is 145.880. I think the Rx frequency is 435.500. Can >>> anyone please give me a definitive answer? >>> I have only just got the antenna and radio working as a unit in the last >>> 24 hours. >>> I will be operating from Cape Schanck, just south of Melbourne Australia, >>> under the callsign VK3EMF. >>> Thanks >>> Joe VK3BKI >>> ______________________________**_________________ >>> 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<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<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<http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> > -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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a051 frequencies
by Joe 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

I will be trying to work ao-51 during the ILLW this weekend (20-21Aug). I havent operated satellites since ao40, which is a little while ago... I will be using the usual an arrow antenna and ft60r. I am having problems finding the frequencies to tx and rx on. It seems that there have been some changes made and different sites give me different frequencies I should be using. I think the Tx is 145.880. I think the Rx frequency is 435.500. Can anyone please give me a definitive answer? I have only just got the antenna and radio working as a unit in the last 24 hours. I will be operating from Cape Schanck, just south of Melbourne Australia, under the callsign VK3EMF. Thanks Joe VK3BKI

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W5KUB.com Huntsville Hamfest Webcast This Weekend
by JoAnne Maenpaa 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Hello Everyone, This is one item that would be too late if we waited for the weekend ANS news cycle. Tom, W5KUB, famous for his Dayton Hamvention Webcasts, will be on-the-air ... well, on-the-internet with a webcast from the Huntsville Hamfest, live August 20-21. You can tune in at http://www.w5kub.com ... if you sign into the hamradio chat you will be eligible to win the prizes that Tom and his crew periodically draw. Tom usually starts his webcasts with live transmissions during his drive to the hamfest. If you tune in on Friday you'll get the action from the start. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org Editor, AMSAT News Service

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Edusat and Kentucky
by charlie Cantrill 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Looks like Edusat will be partially controlled here from the U.S., right down the road in Kentucky. This is Dr. Ben Malphrus KJ4HJV of the Morehead Space Science program.Sounds like they are preparing to test a Femtosat deployment system. I should point out, this is where Bob Twiggs is currently teaching. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljnK2LVi9hw Charlie Cantrill KI4RDT

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ARISSat clock and TLM records
by Richard Ferryman 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

Now that the ARISSat clock seems to be resetting on a regular basis I am wondering how this will affect the TLM and Kursk data which I am capturing and uploading. It seems to me that the only way of collating the data is by the time of upload to telemetry.arissattlm.org Dick G4BBH

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ISS School QSO
by James Luhn 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

I am portable in Alabama and do not have access to my past e-mail. A post a day or so ago had information about a school that had a scheduled QSO with the ISS on August 18. I am at a camp in Alabama and would love to at least monitor the conversation coming from the ISS. Would someone repost the info or contact me directly with a copy of the post. 73, James W5AOO luhn(a)wt.net

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FUNcube Dongle SDR Available from ML&S
by Trevor . 18 Aug '11

18 Aug '11

The AMSAT-UK FUNcube Dongle VHF/UHF Software Defined Radio can now be purchased online from the Amateur Radio retailer Martin Lynch & Sons, see http://tinyurl.com/MartinLynchFCD A reminder that a link to view videos of the presentations given at the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium can be found at http://www.uk.amsat.org/ AMSAT-UK publishes a color A4 newsletter, OSCAR News, that is full of Amateur Satellite information. The Spring OSCAR News can be seen athttp://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf Join AMSAT-UK online at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK/ 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Re: ARISSat-1 â€“ telemetry top submitters
by Mike Rupprecht 17 Aug '11

17 Aug '11

Hi Jerry, ... let me explain what the graph means. All these data are based on the STP telemetry files from the AMSAT-FTP server (Kursk / Spacecraft). Every telemetry frame exist only once. So the graph represents NOT really the amount of submitted frames per sender. If 10 stations listen to ARISSat and every station is forwarding the telemetry to the server - only one packet wins. Maybe the first one (due to the speed of internet connection or whatever). That means if you live in New Zealand - you have a greater chance to see your submitted packets on the server as we in Europe or you in the US. I can confirm the second issue - regarding the KURSK files. There are no new telemetry data on my hard disk since August 13. I know that I have received KURSK data but they did not appear in the telemetry directory. But you can see on the AMSAT FTP server that the latest KURSK frames are from Aug 16 - so they are transferred to the server... 73, Mike DK3WN -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] Im Auftrag von n0jy(a)lavabit.com Gesendet: Mittwoch, 17. August 2011 15:08 An: Roland Zurmely Cc: AMSAT Betreff: [amsat-bb] Re: ARISSat-1 â€“ telemetry top submitters Thanks Mike and Roland, I was curious about the relative value that our telemetry had to the project (i.e. was there a deluge, not enough, just right). A question for all, for a few days now my ARISSatTLM has been reporting the Kursk as being (I believe, I'm not at home to check right now) something like Kursk-944.x or perhaps it was Kursk-444.x (some real low number compared to previous in my log) and it has not reported any new Kursk frames for the past 3 days or so at least on the ARISSatTLM display. I see from Mike's page that my Kursk to Telem ratio is lower than many. Is the Kursk data affected by the battery state, or is my ARISSatTLM perhaps hung up on that and needs a restart? Anyone else, what are the latest Kursk frames that you are seeing? Thanks and 73, Jerry N0JY > http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=22435 > > 73 de Roland PY4ZBZ > _______________________________________________ > 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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South Texas Grid-peditions & LotW
by Clayton W5PFG 17 Aug '11

17 Aug '11

I've attempted to reconcile recent Texas grid-peditions in Logbook of the World. This includes my operations in EM01, EM02, EM03, EM04, EM10, EM11, EM12, EM22, DM94, DM95, DM96, EL29, and EL39. If you are waiting on a QSL via LotW and you don't see it, send me the QSO data and I will check to see that I uploaded our contact from the right location in TQSL. August 22-24 I am going to be in the "neighborhood" of EL07, DL98, DL99, and DM90 in Southwest Texas. My exact operating times are not ironed out but my intentions are to make passes of AO-27, AO-51, and potentially SO-50. As this is a work trip and satellite operations are a secondary task, I cannot confirm the dates and times where I'll make passes just yet. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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Us Vi
by newsradio6＠gmail.com 17 Aug '11

17 Aug '11

Hi all..a last minute work trip has placed me in St Thomas, us virgin islands for the next 2 days. No arrow but I have the handheld and was on the 2pm pass of ao27. Will try to be on some of the high angle passes of 27, so50 and echo time permitting. Anyone know the grid sqr here? John WP2/VA3BL Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network. Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

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