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sat for emergencies
by jerry keeton 28 Jun '11

28 Jun '11

Actually the net control station would only have to confirm each station calling.Station info passed when calling and net control confirms station info . Much more organized than 50 operators calling 50 other operators. Checking into a net is very organized . I can't see where it would be a waste of time. Guess I'm dense. Jerry WB5LHD

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FD Mess
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 28 Jun '11

28 Jun '11

It took me 5 satellite passes before I could make 1 contact There were too many ops making what sounded like HI POWER multi contacts .This should not have happened. Maybe someone with good writting skills could send the ARRL world above 50 an artical on how to work the birds during FD WA4HFN em55 Damon

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Re: FD Mess
by Joe 28 Jun '11

28 Jun '11

On 6/27/2011 11:17 PM, Gary "Joe" Mayfield wrote: > Is it fair he gets to make more contacts with his bigger better station? I think I would argue it is. It is his reward for all of that effort. Did he make it possible for stations that may not have otherwise made a contact 80 to make a contact? Yes, he did. He was monopolizing the frequency, but it seemed to make for a lot of contacts.... > > Joe kk0sd All good and true, BUT.... did he monopolize the whole 80 meter band so no one else could use it? NO. There is a BIG difference there. Joe WB9SBD

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Re: FD Mess
by k6yk 28 Jun '11

28 Jun '11

FD is a mess every year. No matter what bird(s) you try. Most of the FD stations have no clue about satellites, they just get the idea they need to make 1 satellite contact or as many as they can. They don't know about all the rules particular to AMSAT, and they dont' care. They ask somebody what frequency to transmit and listen on and then they get their 500 watt amp, big beam or no beam, no preamp, and start calling and calling. They don't hear anything so they just mess up the whole works. Happens every year. You either have to bear with it and make your one contact or give up. 73, K6YK On Mon, 27 Jun 2011 21:33:34 +0100 Gordon JC Pearce <gordonjcp(a)gjcp.net> writes: > On Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:48:48 -0500 > Patrick Green <pagreen(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > > The ARRL should impose an ERP limit for satellite contacts. That > > would solve the problem. I don't see how running amplifiers on FD > is > > in the spirit of what FD is all about. I've made contacts using > 50 mw > > so why do stations use 100+ watts *before* the antenna.. I > wouldn't > > want my kids playing around a FD site with this time of setup. > > Wouldn't that be AMSAT's job? It's certainly possible to work an FM > bird with 5W from a handie, and a hand-held yagi. > > I don't understand the obsession with having all-singing-all-dancing > computer-controlled setups, where it automatically updates its > orbital elements, automatically calculates when the next pass is, > automatically calculates where to steer the aerial and what to tune > the radio to and leaving the operator to just push the PTT and shout > over the top of the QRP/P stations. > > All the computer-controlled stuff just plain isn't amateur radio. > If you want to sit in front of a computer and talk to people, use > Skype. > > Gordon MM0YEQ > _______________________________________________ > 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 > ____________________________________________________________ Groupon&#8482 Official Site 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. Get 50-90% off your city's best! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4e08f240241f6c2ab4st04vuc

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AMSAT-BB MESS
by Kevin Deane 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

I tried my hardest all day to stay out of the "MESS" and after reading through a hundred or so messages I just cant help myself. Now this one and done "rule"... I was driving from southern Cal back to Nevada on Sat. and I didnt even think to try and make a contact mobile, glad I didnt from what I have read...but I did make a contact or two on Sun. Sometimes people are so well mannered I cant even believe it, all kinds of contacts, no one stepping on each other just fantastic. Other times its just like CH 19 as my friend in Oregon would say... I am guilty of making more than one contact per pass, I say hi to the regulars and try for unfamiliar calls and have fun everytime, sometimes I get walked on, a couple times I have not even plugged in the rught coax, so what I am human. Sure I get frustrated sometimes but then I realize that this is just a hobby and everyone makes mistakes and might not operate properly. You people who make up these "rules" I am sure they are well thought out and meant for good reasons...such and such power, this many contacts, use this type of modulation, only operate on this mode, WHATEVER people spend their whole life building a station and they are gonna be heard, I say good for them! If the world was perfect it sure would be BORING!!! Kevin KF7MYK

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Re: FD Mess
by Bill Acito W1PA 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

I did not participate in FD this year, but I have certainly heard my share of them in recent years. I think we have to let go of the mantra that “any use of the bandwidth is good use” with respect to “encouraging more satellite activity”. Wasn’t that the original intent of the “100 point bonus” items? To encourage specific activities – traffic handling, promotion, emergency power, etc. The FM birds have fixed bandwidth -- nothing we can do. There is no mechanism to restrict FD stations to only one QSO on any FM bird. If you read the FD rules, you can make multiple contacts on the SSB birds, and they do count for QSO credit beyond the 100 point bonus – you can only make one QSO on any FM bird: 7.3.7. Satellite QSO: 100 bonus points for successfully completing at least one QSO via an amateur radio satellite during the Field Day period. "General Rules for All ARRL Contests" (Rule 3.7.2.), (the no-repeater QSO stipulation) is waived for satellite QSOs. Groups are allowed one dedicated satellite transmitter station without increasing their entry category. Satellite QSOs also count for regular QSO credit. Show them listed separately on the summary sheet as a separate "band." You do not receive an additional bonus for contacting different satellites, though the additional QSOs may be counted for QSO credit unless prohibited under Rule 7.3.7.1. The QSO must be between two Earth stations through a satellite. Available to Classes A, B, and F. 7.3.7.1 Stations are limited to one (1) completed QSO on any single channel FM satellite. And there is certainly no mechanism to restrict the ERP that gets used. Is anyone really surprised it sounds like it does? IMHO, I think it does more harm than good in promoting this aspect of the hobby, for a potential newbie to hear the FM birds on FD... restrict activity to the transponder (SSB/CW) birds and be done with it – no FM satellite QSO’s at all during FD. Or have it like the ARRL Bulletin --- RX only; copy some valid telemetry to get points. Bill W1PA

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Re: Hams Embarrass Again
by Clint Bradford 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

>> ... and as you said, the pass was populated by well behaved operators. >> ... And thanks for doing all those presentations. One of these days we'll get you on a linear bird! Just yesterday a visitor to my "Work the FM Sats" left me a message" "Hey, how 'bout the OTHER sats we can work?" He was an honest-to-gawd satellite scientist from the 60s and 70s. WAY TOO ADVANCED (pardon the pun) for my meager Web site's offerings. But I am still finding appreciative audiences for the "basics" of working the FM birds - even after giving 60+ presentations the past three or so years. Clint, K6LCS P.S. - If any of you live in CA and have personalized license plates, watch for my next post ...

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Hams Embarrass Again
by Clint Bradford 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

I am so glad there are so few actually involved in this list. Fellow hams here are again becoming an embarrassment to the hobby. Whining and moaning about the lack of use of the FM birds 364 days out of the year ... Now hams are complaining that the FM birds were too busy for them to access for Field Day. Additionally, it's been sad to see how many illiterate hams we have in this group - as few cannot read the Field Day rules and properly interpret some pretty basic sentences as they apply to working the satellites. Then we have the "The odds of getting a "real ham" on the ISS are pretty small in my view" folks - truly a "view" of ignorance. It's like complaining, "How DARE the astronauts aboard not come out and play with me on amateur radio." Yes, there was fifteen minutes scheduled for amateur radio contacts last weekend. (Very few actually read the daily schedules for the astronauts - if they did, they'd realize that those aboard the ISS complete more tasks before lunch each day than you and I perform in many times that time.) But to moan that they chose to perform another task and now demeaning them as "not REAL hams" is insulting. I witnessed similar immature behavior from my fellow hams last April 12, when we were hoping that ARISSat-1 would be activated for the Yuri Gagarin commemorations world-wide. Hams were screaming bloody murder when Web sites weren't being updated second-by-second to meet their demands for information. I repeat myself from an earlier post (same sentiment as a subsequent post by another) - Hams on the west coast of the United States performed well on the FM satellites last weekend. I am proud to live on this "left coast," as I read that others had "problems" elsewhere. I am giving my 13th formal satellite presentation of the year to a group tomorrow night ... Seems I do not have to change a thing that is taught to fellow hams out here. Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com 909-241-7666

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Re: How to get started on SSB birds (antennas)
by Joe Krepps 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

All, I appreciate that this topic has been brought up (especially _after_ FD, HiHi!!). If I may inject a question: for the seriously budget minded, is there any value to building a "better antenna" (i.e. more elements for improved gain) versus adding a pre-amp? I realize a higher gain antenna will be more sensitive to positioning/aiming and, unless I go the U-110 rotator route, I won't be doing much elevation adjustment. I'll be using either my current FT-817ND or an eBay all mode 2m transciever, for AO-7. In Mode A, rx with the FT-817ND & tx with a "well loved" 2m all mode. In Mode B, rx with the 2m all mode and Tx with the FT-817ND. Of course, dialing the power down as often as practical! (Now, I kinda' wish I could have held onto my old IC-820H, Yaesu Az/El rotators and "Oscar link" crossed yagis...but I needed $$ at the time. Now, I'm married so, by definition, I'm broke. HiHi!) I appreciate ALL the wisdom shared so far! :) Mny tnx & 73! Joe WB3CFN P.S. I _do_ have an Arrow but not sure how suitable it is for continuous outdoor use.

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Re: FD Mess
by Clint Bradford 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

>> ... There were too many ops making what sounded like HI POWER multi contacts ... I am quite proud of how stations acted out here on the West Coast. I mean, we have the largest potential for problems, since we have the largest number of hams compared to anywhere else in the U.S. Yes, the FM birds were busy ... and I even could call one particular pass a little chaotic (grin) ... but, overall, common sense and reasonable operating techniques prevailed. Clint Bradford, K6LCS

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Re: How to get started on SSB birds
by Edward R. Cole 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

Or Lindenblads or Quadrafillers. Info is on the Amsat webpage for these, right? 73, Ed - KL7uW At 12:09 PM 6/27/2011, wa4hfn(a)comcast.net wrote: >Build Egg beaters > >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Jeremy Widner" <jeremyrwidner(a)gmail.com> >To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org >Sent: Monday, June 27, 2011 3:00:28 PM >Subject: [amsat-bb] How to get started on SSB birds > >I have been doing FM birds for a couple of years now with HTs and Arrow >antennas. I am ready to start messing with the other birds. I have a >Kenwood TS-2000 for a rig. I do NOT currently have a tower up. I was >wondering antenna suggestions you guys might have to jump into the ssb birds >without using a tower. My preference is to build something as money is >always an issue (insert wife). > >-- >73 >Jeremy Widner >K0PDX >http://k0pdx.us >Secretary Raytown Amateur Radio Club - K0GQ >http://k0gq.com/ >_______________________________________________ >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, 432-100w, 1296-60w, 3400-? DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubususa(a)gmail.com ======================================

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WD9EWK - Field Day 2011 report
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

Hi! Glad to see this old-school e-mail list is getting a workout today. :-) Despite all the complaining about how crowded the satellite passes were over the weekend, it was fun to get one. I try to make time to work Field Day, even if it is just the satellites, as a reason to get out of the desert heat. As I have done since 2009, I parked at a Garland Prairie Vista Picnic Ground in the Kaibab National Forest. This is along old US-66, north of the I-40 freeway and 20 miles/32km west of Flagstaff in northern Arizona. I knew of this place from trips to the DM35xg/DM45ag grid boundary just west of this site, and being up in the mountains and trees is a lot better than the desert heat. I brought the two FT-817NDs I normally use on the non-FM satellites, along with a TH-F6A (backup radio for satellite operating, and possibly useful for VHF/UHF FM QSOs during Field Day) and my IC-703 HF/6m transceiver. Besides the Elk 2m/70cm log periodic I use on the satellites, I brought an Outbacker Joey HF/VHF vertical and a Buddipole multiband dipole that would really come in handy during this Field Day. Since 2001, I have generally worked Field Day as a 1B/1-operator/battery station transmitting at 5 watts. I may be a glutton for punishment, but QRP power levels make it easier to power the equipment. I had printed out the pass predictions for the day, so I didn't need a computer running tracking software. The IC-703 is a 10W transceiver, but I dialed it down to the 5W level so I could qualify for the 5x power multiplier under the ARRL rules. The FT-817NDs and TH-F6A are 5W transceivers, so I left their power settings on "high", and hoped for the best. I started out on 15m using the IC-703 and Outbacker Joey, then switched periodically to 6m using the Buddipole dipole. I would jump from band to band as I heard activity, and also worked many Arizona stations on 6m. For the first time in Field Day, I completed a terrestrial 2m FM QSO with a group on a mountain about 40 miles/64km south of me. I used the TH-F6A with a Diamond tri-band antenna on it, and had a nice chat with that group after making the Field Day exchange. As for the satellites, I did not do as well this year. I confined my FM activity to only the west-coast passes. I made one QSO on SO-50 on the 2030 UTC pass Saturday afternoon, but the other station did not offer the Field Day exchange. My first Field Day satellite QSO was on the west-coast AO-27 pass an hour later. After making the QSO that I will score in my log, I also made a couple of other non-point QSOs as I detailed in an earlier post. One of the things I wanted to try this Field Day was AO-7 in mode A. I had one chance to do that, on the pass around 2230 UTC Saturday afternoon before the mode change approximately an hour later. I was unsuccessful in making a QSO on this pass, but I was successful in hearing myself on the 10m downlink using the IC-703 with my Buddipole dipole reconfigured for this pass (one side vertical, the other side horizontal, set for resonance around 29.450 MHz), in CW and SSB. This was a great test, and I hope to make mode A QSOs on AO-7 in the near future. I tried the next AO-7 pass in mode B, but had no luck completing a QSO there. That happens sometimes, and I'm not complaining. On FO-29 a little while later, I had a hard time hearing myself. When I moved up the passband a bit, I could hear myself, but nobody else joined me up there. I was able to make one QSO toward the end of the pass, as other stations wrapped up their activity and there were fewer signals on the uplink. Not too bad. I tried the next FO-29 pass that covered the west coast, but could not get through well enough for a couple of stations to copy my call correctly. Oh well... As was mentioned previously, the AO-51 pass up the west coast just after 0000 UTC was a nice pass. I will try to post my audio recording of that pass, to show how things calmed down toward the end of the pass. I made my points-earning QSO early in the pass, then answered others who were calling WD9EWK, and even worked one station that was not interested in a Field Day exchange. I gave him my grid locator (DM45) in place of "1B-AZ". I tried the shallow VO-52 pass just before 0200 UTC, after copying the W1AW phone bulletin that started at 0145 UTC. I think the mountains to the east didn't let me have more than a couple of minutes to hear the satellite. At this point, I wanted to stick around for the next VO-52 pass, but by then it would be completely dark in the forest except for my flashlights. I also had to return home that evening, due to other things I needed to do Sunday. I still have to put together my log for submission to ARRL and AMSAT, but I know I didn't make as many QSOs - satellite, or overall - this year. For satellites, I had a total of 3 QSOs that will go on my submission. I was disappointed I couldn't get QSOs on AO-7 or VO-52, but being able to hear myself on AO-7 in mode A made up for that. Hearing several familiar voices - some working with their own callsigns, and several others with different calls - was nice. Those experienced operators probably helped their groups get QSOs and the satellite bonus. I posted some photos of my station as part of my "soapbox" submission on the ARRL web site at: http://www.arrl.org/soapboxes/view/7763 I also recorded a short video showing my station, which can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8BGbDVBXTA 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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ISS something not right
by Kevin Deane 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

Ok something is amiss because nobody is getting in, and it sounds more like a beacon or something. If it was working at least the beacon people would be getting in, and maybe some people like me uselessly trying for a digi contact which last month was easy! I know most people are bored with this but I figure if its goin over I might as well try, I am pretty persistant which did pay off on PC-Sat. Must have been lucky on that one cuz nothin for 20+ days. Kevin KF7MYK

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A Big Thank You for your care of the crippled bird!
by James Luhn 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

Yes, FD is always a mess. Usually a good mess of food, friends, bugs, and all. We made a satellite contact through AO-51 running 5-10 watts with an Arrow antenna. We had quite the audience as everyone wanted to see a satellite contact made and the audience was also curious why it took 4 of us to make the contact. We had one to hold the radio, one to operate the microphone and chase the frequency, one to hold and direct the antenna, and one to hold a 50lb battery. Did we need 4? of course not! The excitement of working a satellite simply had everyone focused on making the contact and not on the fact that the equipment did not need to be held. Heck, we even had a tripod for the antenna. I'm sure someone had it in hand too! Through the hard work of those keeping poor old AO-51 together and operating, we were able to add a whole bunch of excitement to our FD mess. A big THANK YOU to all involved. Your efforts are sincerely appreciated. We had a great time at FD. 73, James W5AOO

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Re: Off Topic AO-27/ISS
by Jeremy Bomkamp 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

Kevin When AO-27 is in digital mode it is transmitting telemetry, I think you can download the program to decode it on the AO-27 website. I haven't heard the digital on AO-51 but it is probably APRS/Packet and who knows why unless someone decodes it, there was a lot of packet on HO-68 when it was in FM mode but a lot was autobeacons meant for the ISS. The ISS sounded normal as far as signal strength on Saturday, but I haven't heard it since, the last pass(2140Z) was a high pass and I didn't hear anything on 145.800 or 145.825, can you decode any of the packets you hear? If they are from the ISS the packet will start with RS0ISS-4(or -3 as has been used recently for whatever reason) or the packet will have RS0ISS-4* or RS0ISS-3* indicating it was digipeated by the ISS. The RS0ISS-3 started being used around June 18, but it did use -4 a couple times since AB9RU

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Field Day Recordings Posted
by John Papay 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

Field Day recordings for AO-51, AO-27 and SO-50 are on my website. The late night-early morning passes were not crowded and could have provided opportunities for those trying to make the 100 point bonus. The recordings were made from my home station on autopilot. Polarity was fixed on left-hand circular to favor AO-51. AO-27 is usually better on right hand but left hand works for most of the pass. SO-50 flops back and forth so it's not all there. We report; you decide. http://www.papays.com/sat 73, John K8YSE

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Re: How to get started on SSB birds (antennas)
by PA3GUO 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

> My preference is to build something Hi Jeremy ! Yesterday I finished constructing my new antenna for 70cm, a 16 elements DK7ZB. My Requirements: - Needs to work for EME at 432 MHz (15.5 dBd / 16 elements has been used successfully by others) - Needs to work for satellite communication (needs to elevate up to 90 degrees: can not be longer as 4 meter) - Avoid complex circular polarization this time (linear polarization had proven to work fine for Cubesats) Selected design: - 16 elements DK7ZB - 15.5 dBd - length 3.86 meter Results: - Fantastic ! - Compared to the 12 elements beam I can decode Cubesats (FO-69, O/OREOS) now much earlier - Decoding (not hearing!) FO-69 improved from 5..7 degrees elevation to 2..3 degrees - Have not done any EME tests yet Here are the photo's: http://www.pa3guo.com/dk7zb_70cm.html Btw: not sure if building is actually cheaper as buying: this antenna costed me ~90$ (but it is more fun !) -- Henk, PA3GUO

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Off Topic AO-27/ISS
by Kevin Deane 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

When AO-27 goes in digital mode what is that D-Star??? I take it if I had that equipment would I be able to communicate with people or is that the sats time for basic telemetry/control operator stuff? Also I have been hearing packet on AO-51, does someone expect a response? I am tempted to have my software loaded and see who it is. I would think responding would piss people off so I wont be doing that. ISS... I have been hearing packet on 145.825 but have not been getting in, 8 hours since anyone has and the signal seems alot weaker than normal??? Thanks for any info/opinions! Kevin KF7MYK

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Re: FD Mess
by Edward R. Cole 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

At 07:13 AM 6/27/2011, wa4hfn(a)comcast.net wrote: >It took me 5 satellite passes before I could make 1 contact There >were too many ops making what sounded like HI POWER multi contacts >.This should not have happened. Maybe someone with good writting >skills could send the ARRL world above 50 an artical on how to work >the birds during FD >WA4HFN em55 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 Good luck on that. But if you are able to reach someone at ARRL, suggest that any log with more than one satellite entry have his 100points disqualified. Do satellite hams actually read "World Above 50 MHz"? Better a separate article on working satellite during FD. A lot of stations working the sats on FD do not work satellites anytime other than that. And BTW there are some SSB transponder satellites for use, the problem is the majority of satellite users today balk at obtaining equipment for anything but working the FM Leos. Its the old saw: "you can lead a horse to water, ...". Another old saw goes: "you asked for it, now live with it"! One last rhetorical question: "does anyone recall the last time they contacted KL7UW on a satellite?" Was it FM or SSB? I'm back to Oscar-Zero where I use JT-65. 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 ====================================== BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com EME: 50-1.1kw?, 144-1.4kw, 432-100w, 1296-60w, 3400-? DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubususa(a)gmail.com ======================================

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How to get started on SSB birds
by Jeremy Widner 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

I have been doing FM birds for a couple of years now with HTs and Arrow antennas. I am ready to start messing with the other birds. I have a Kenwood TS-2000 for a rig. I do NOT currently have a tower up. I was wondering antenna suggestions you guys might have to jump into the ssb birds without using a tower. My preference is to build something as money is always an issue (insert wife). -- 73 Jeremy Widner K0PDX http://k0pdx.us Secretary Raytown Amateur Radio Club - K0GQ http://k0gq.com/

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Mailing List
by David Barber 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

********

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Field Day
by jerry keeton 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

My take on the field day sats: Why not some one on the East Coast and some one on the West Coast volunteer to operate as a net . That way there would not be the 2 way confusion . A net control could confirm the contacts much faster and get many more contacts. Just a thought. Jerry WB5LHD

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Re: FD Mess
by Dee 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

Wow, This certainly brought about heavy criticism from the satellite community. I for one encourage this discussion. It seems to break down to having a satellite that is a linear bird and wide enough to let everyone find a good spot and communicate- something like the HF bands provided this past weekend. It seems that the Field day ops would like to see another HEO or MEO linear since most of them came armed for this type of bird usage. The FM birds are not a useful item for the one QSO that is needed for these 100 points. I had an ARROW that was split up on a Yaesu rotor with LVB tracker controlling the antenna and rig. This was a great conversation demo while waiting for a pass. Many interested operators and satellite user wanabees came to look at the neat stuff. Unfortunately, In order to get another HEO or MEO bird the class of OSCAR 10, 13, and/or 40 will take a campaign that will ask us operators to dig deep into our pockets to produce such a satellite. With ITAR in recent memory as a roadblock to international co-operation, collaboration between AMSAT organizations is at an impasse. Yes, the smaller more compact cubesats are filled with the newest technology and I believe that this is the way to go. ARRISat is due to be dropped off in orbit in July and has this type of electronics. Another LEO. I will be monitoring and keeping track of people that are reminiscing about the linear birds we used in the past and were able to satisfy the needs of all that wanted to have a QSO via Satellites. If you feel like me about a new campaign, it is going to have a big price tag. This is why we assist the higher learning institutions to assemble a linear bird along with their experiments since they have the money to put them together along with a "launch opportunity." This saves the satellite community very hard to find funding. Dee Interdonato, NB2F Dee Interdonato 118 Westervelt Place Lodi, NJ 07644 973-772-8229

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Re: FD Mess
by Reicher, James 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

The ARRL doesn't care! According to them, "Field Day is not a contest; no certificates are awarded" and "ARRL Field Day is not a fully adjudicated contest, which explains much of its popularity" So, no awards, no disqualifications. Just posting your scores on the wall with nothing to back it up. In other words, it's one giant fish story. The biggest liar wins. 73 de W0HV, Jim in Raymore, MO Light travels faster than sound... This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:51:42 -0500 From: Floyd Rodgers <kc5qbc(a)swbell.net> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FD Mess Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Message-ID: <4E08B51E.4090902(a)swbell.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Guys, this seems simple to fix. The arrl gets the logs of everyone. How hard is it to build a table of the sat contacts and check who gets more than the allowed one contact?

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Linear Transponder on the ISS.
by Douglas Phelps 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

This is such an obvious question that I think there must be a reason it has not been done. I would like someone to explain why it is not possible or probable. I am not seeking to start a flame war. Why can't we put a SSB/CW linear transponder on the ISS? It could run whenever the ISS FM station is not being used. It could use the same antennas. It would seem to be an easy way to put up another linear transponder with a good signal favoring stations without large antennas. Could this be a way to bring SSB/CW activity to a larger audience. I would appreciate hearing from anyone that could shed some light on this. Thanks, Doug K9DLP

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Field Day Dual-Hop!
by Greg D. 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

Well, one-way, and I didn't have the presence of mind to try to make a cross satellite contact. The end of the last AO-07 pass (which sounded very much like 20 meters!) crossed with the beginning of FO-29's, so the two satellites passed within a couple of hundred miles of each other. Since the downlink for AO-07 is in the middle of the uplink passband for FO-29, I switched over to FO-29 to take a listen. Sure enough, the bottom of FO-29's passband sounded like 20 meters for a few moments. Then it went away. Fleeting chaos. Sweet. Greg KO6TH

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FD- 2011
by Peter Portanova 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

Hello All, I too was disappointed by the pileups on all the satellites, our FD location, W2GSB,is part of our Town Hall facility, it is a great location for the public to experience what we do as amateur radio operators. However it is a very poor location for satellite activity, too much RF leakage from the cell towers buildings and large trees. I was using a hand-held antenna and low power and didn't have a chance. It was the type of chaos we see for a rare DX station or in one of the popular contests, having a mix of CW and SSB in the same space on the linear satellites was an additional challenge. I had visitors during all my passes, we had groups from the Scouts, the Explorers etc., unfortunately they heard what I heard and it was not a good demonstration of what Field Day should be. I really don't know what the solutions if any, to fix it for us. What we do is a challenge during the best of times when you add the FD fuel, with less structure that terrestrial radio has, chaos ensues. I wonder if it's feasible to have a few satellite stations, around the country, that have a good FD location, act as "the DX stations" and set up a call in by numbers for a few designated passes, to demonstrate to the public why we love what we do and maybe interest them enough to join AMSAT and become a satellite operator. 73's Pete WB2OQQ www.massapequanyweather.com

2 1

Satellite Contacts During Field Day
by Carl Rimmer W8KRF 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

I have a comment regarding FD satellite contacts. If I remember correctly, it has been established that a station only make one (1) satellite contact during the FD period so everyone can have a chance. Making a contact or contacts on each of the available satellites during each of their passes is improper and not according to my understanding of the rules. -- *Carl W8KRF *

5 4

Multiple FM satellite QSOs in Field Day (was Re: Re: Field Day Dual-Hop!)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

Hi! I've seen comments like this from several on the list regarding Field Day: > REALLY disappointed at the number of stations making multiple contacts on > the FM birds... what these people don't seem to realize is that every extra > contact they make deprives another station of the opportunity to make their > one FD contact. This is not necessarily true. Yes, there are some stations that treat FM satellites just like a station on 20m SSB - work as many as possible. I did not attempt to work any of the FM passes east of me, figuring my 5W station would not be able to get through. Based on the comments I've read from those in that part of the country, I did better by working HF or 6m during those eastern passes. The "minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications" (from FCC part 97.313a) would have been many times more than the 5W I used. I confined my FM satellite activity to west-coast passes, and - as K6LCS and KO6TH previously mentioned - the AO-51 pass late Saturday afternoon was a pleasant surprise in how easy it was to get through. Much easier for me than the SSB birds! On the west-coast AO-27 and AO-51 passes Saturday afternoon, I logged more than one QSO on each pass. I was not a "big gun" station, working in the forest 20 miles/32km west of Flagstaff AZ as a 1B/1-op/battery station at 5W as I typically do for Field Day. I will post a short video clip showing my station, along with some photos, in the next day or so. Unfortunately, my one SO-50 QSO didn't help for Field Day, as that QSO was with a station that only gave his grid locator instead of a Field Day exchange. As for the extra AO-27 and AO-51 QSOs I logged, they fell into one of two categories - either helping another station get their satellite QSO (and 100-point bonus), or responding to calls from other stations. After making my point-scoring AO-27 QSO, I heard John W9EN on as N6SD. We had chatted on VO-52 Saturday morning before the start of Field Day, and I knew he would be on as N6SD instead of his own call. After some time passed, I never heard anyone call or work N6SD. I called N6SD, and we made a very quick QSO. It was N6SD's first satellite QSO, giving them the 100-point bonus under ARRL Field Day rules. For me, I logged the QSO, but will not score it when I file my log with both ARRL and AMSAT. I was not operating in violation of *FCC* rules in making this contact, and - based on how I have filed my logs in previous Field Days where I had more than one QSO on an FM satellite - not scoring the additional QSO is acceptable with both groups. I'm sure it also helped that both John and I are experienced satellite operators, able to adapt to the conditions and make a very quick QSO despite the crowd. After the QSO with N6SD on that AO-27 pass, and also on the later AO-51 pass, other stations called me. I recognized some of the voices as experienced satellite operators working under other call signs. I responded, made the Field Day exchanges, and logged a few more non-scoring QSOs. I don't try to remember if I heard the other stations make QSOs earlier in the pass. I work them, and log the QSOs accordingly. Things were so good on the Saturday afternoon AO-51 pass that one station was making normal non-Field Day QSOs among the others who were making Field Day QSOs. I worked that station, giving him my grid locator instead of my Field Day exchange. To paint everyone who logged additional FM satellite QSOs during Field Day as denying others from making a Field Day satellite QSO is not accurate. It may be the only way some stations were able to log a Field Day satellite QSO, and - in some cases - get the 100-point ARRL bonus. Since the crowded conditions continue on the FM birds despite the one-QSO limit in both ARRL and AMSAT rules, things probably won't change unless something else is done. For example, take away the 100-point bonus in the ARRL Field Day rules for completing a satellite QSO. I'm not advocating that ARRL do that, but that bonus is why many groups will take the time and effort to get on the satellites for Field Day. Otherwise, satellite operating would be like trying to make terrestrial 2m, 222 MHz, 70cm, etc. Field Day QSOs in much of North America - a lot of work for a few QSOs. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

1 0

Re: Satellite Contacts During Field Day
by Carl Rimmer W8KRF 27 Jun '11

27 Jun '11

BUT...you can still only take credit for one 100 point contact. *Carl W8KRF * On 6/27/2011 12:10 PM, kq6ea(a)verizon.net wrote: > Only on the FM satellites. > The linear transponder satellites can be used to make as many contacts > as you can. > > Jim KQ6EA

2 1

WTB: 2m CP antenna
by Darryl Ponder 26 Jun '11

26 Jun '11

Looking for a 2m CP antenna. If you have one you would like to sell, please contact me. Darryl K0GV

1 0

Operating portable the grid JN70GT from the depth of volcano Vesuvio !
by i8cvs 26 Jun '11

26 Jun '11

Hi All, in Europe On day 28 june 2011 I will be operating VO-52 portable from the depth of the cone of volcano Vesuvio in grid square JN70GT a "hole"never worked before ! The depth of the cone is about 300 meters so that the window for me will be very short as follows: AOS at 07:51 UTC with elevation of 49° TCA with maximum elevation of 80° at 07:52 UTC LOS at 07:54 UTC with elevation of 39° I will operate SSB in the middle of the downlink at 145.900 MHz using 30 watt from my TS 790E and a IOio antenna. The power supply will be provided by a small 650 watt 220 volt 50 Hz gasoline electric generator. The team will be made by five radio Hams. Dont' loose this unique opportunity to work a "deep hole JN70GT" never worked before ! 73" de i8CVS Domenico

2 1

QSO with NA on AO7
by Luis Quintas 26 Jun '11

26 Jun '11

I Tnx Allen (N5AFV) for QSO on CW on AO7 Mode B, June 24 at 23.33 Z, Orbit 67532 (EL29GQ - - FF66TQ, 7644 km). QRV for others QSOs attempts via AO7. --luis LU6QI

1 0

Sked Request: FM04, FM56, DM90, DM96, & EN46
by K5OE 26 Jun '11

26 Jun '11

Anyone active in any of these "holes" in my map? Please reply off-list: k5oe at amsat dot org. Tnx es 73, Jerry, K5OE

1 0

Field Day Results
by Bruce 26 Jun '11

26 Jun '11

Be sure to read this week's ANS bulletin #177. In particular, the article on submitting your field day results. Please do not wait until the last minute. Every year someone does and they are left out of the years tallies. I have already received the first field day submission. It is not to early to submit your results. Good Luck 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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ISS
by Kevin Deane 26 Jun '11

26 Jun '11

Well it was on time ond on that last pass for me but I didnt get in... I can still hear it!!! Kevin KF7MYK

2 1

Update on Jim - ND9M/mm
by Rick - WA4NVM 26 Jun '11

26 Jun '11

Jim just call me on the cell phone and informed me his email was non functional. Here's an update on his grids for today. AO-7B at 2128z FM02 AO-51 at 2143z FM02 AO-7B at 2319z FM01 VO-52 at 0032z FM01 VO-52 at 0208z FM01 Good luck all on some new grids, Rick WA4NVM

1 0

ND9M/MM FM01
by John Papay 26 Jun '11

26 Jun '11

Jim ND9M/MM reports that his emails from the ship have not been going out. He is underway now and expects to be in FM01 after 2200z 26June. This means that he will likely not be in FM01 for the first AO-7 pass at 2129 nor the AO-51 pass that follow at 2145z. The next AO-7 pass at 2322 will likely be the one to work him on. Jim also reports that he is on 144.23 for terrestrial contacts. 73, John K8YSE

1 0

ARISSatTLM V0.50 install problem
by Masahiro Arai 26 Jun '11

26 Jun '11

Douglas, Thank you for development of ARISSatTLM program. I found install problem. ARISSatTLM V0.50 seems to need C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Desktop folder for Windows XP. This is the problem. Japanse Windows XP has no "Dsektop" folder! Yes, there is desktop folder on Japanse Windows XP, but the name is different. It's in Japanse! I made "Desktop" folder before install ARISSatTLM V0.50 then ARISSatTLM works fine. I'm not sure on the Windows 7 or another language Windows. It may difficult to make "Desktop" folder for those unfamiliar with computeres. Would you solve this problem? Change the folder, make "Desktop" folder if no existence, or another way... I would like to have sample BPSK1000 WAV files. It looks no file on https://svn.sarpeidon.net/viewvc/suitsat2/ground_station_software/ ARISSatTLM/install-staging/Sample_ARISSat_Recording1.WAV where is announced at Feb. Could you tell me the new place? Thank you for your help Masa JN1GKZ Tokyo Japan

1 0

Fastrac-1 / FO-69 / FAST1 status report (June 26 / 08:20 utc)
by PA3GUO 26 Jun '11

26 Jun '11

Fastrac-1 / FO-69 / FAST1 status report (June 26, 08:20 utc) Beacon (1k2): active Cross connect attempts (9k6): active Digipeater: no traffic Henk, PA3GUO, The Netherlands

1 0

FD and Sats?
by Ted 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

I thought there was a '1 contact per pass' agreement on FD? Did I miss the memo? Ted, K7TRK

2 1

ANS-177 AMSAT Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-177 ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org In this edition: * Remember to Send Your AMSAT Field Day Results * 13 Colonies Special Event on Satellites Again * July 15 Deadline to File ARISS Contact Proposals * Istanbul students plan 145/435 MHz satellite * New Horizons Mission Presents New Opportunity for Citizen Scientists * Satellite Shorts From All Over * ARISS Status - 20 June 2011 SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-177.01 Remember to Send Your AMSAT Field Day Results AMSAT News Service Bulletin 177.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 26, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-177.01 AMSAT Director of Awards and Contests, Bruce Paige, KK5DO reminds you to send in your satellite Field Day results. The Satellite Summary Sheet (on pages 3-4 of the AMSAT Field Rules) should be used for sub- mission of the AMSAT Field Day competition. The Rules and the Satellite Summary Sheet can be downloaded from links at http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com http://tinyurl.com/3eztlaf (amsat.org) http://www.amsatnet.com/2011fd.doc http://www.amsatnet.com/2011fd.pdf Your entry must be received by KK5DO (email or postal mail) by 11:59 P.M. CDT, Monday, July 11, 2011. The preferred method for submitting your log is via e-mail to kk5do(a)amsat.org or kk5do(a)arrl.net. You may also use the postal service but give plenty of time for your results to arrive by the submission date. Add photographs or other interesting information that can be used an article for the Journal. You will receive an email back (within one or two days) from Bruce when he receives your email submission. If you do not receive a con- firmation message, try sending it again or send it to his other email address. If mailing your submission, the address is: Bruce Paige, KK5DO Director of Awards and Contests PO Box 310 Alief, TX 77411-0310. Certificates will be awarded to the first-place emergency power/ portable station at the AMSAT General Meeting and Space Symposium in November 2011. Certificates will also be awarded to the second and third place portable/emergency operation in addition to the first-place home station running on emergency power. Stations sub- mitting high, award-winning scores will be requested to send in dupe sheets for analog contacts and message listings for digital downloads. [ANS thanks AMSAT Director of Awards and Contests, Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-177.02 13 Colonies Special Event on Satellites Again AMSAT News Service Bulletin 177.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 26, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-177.02 Dave, KB1PVH/K2H says that the Original 13 Colonies Independence Week Special event begins on July 1 and runs until July 5. We will be on the satellites again this year! MA- KB1PVH/K2H, Dave VA- NL7VX/K2B, Steve PA- KE3LB/K2M, John SC- K4YYL/K2L, Art GA- N3TL/K2G, Tim NC- W4MPS/K2J, Marc NY- WB2OQQ/K2A, Pete CT- KA1TCH/K2D, Al NH- NE1H/K2K, Bob RI- N1MIW/K2C, Larry NJ- KB2M/K2I, Jeff (when available) DE- KB2M/K2E, Jeff (limited time marine mobile) MD- WA3SWJ/K2F, Bruce Please limit yourselves to one contact per state, so that others may have a chance. The 4th of July, 2011 lands on a Monday, which means that you can work us starting Friday through Tuesday. Due to popular demand, we will run the event all 5 days like in 2010. Times will be: 12:01 AM Eastern start on July 1st, (That's one minute after midnight, early Friday morning, July 1st) to 11:59 PM Eastern ending on July 5th (One minute to midnight, late Tuesday night, July 5th). Hope everyone get a Clean Sweep Find more information on-line at: http://www.13colonies.info/ [ANS thanks Dave, KB1PVH/K2H for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-177.03 July 15 Deadline to File ARISS Contact Proposals AMSAT News Service Bulletin 177.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 26, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-177.03 NASA is seeking U.S. formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS, con- tact between the dates of Jan. 15 and July 15, 2012. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, NASA is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is July 15, 2011. During the first six months of 2012, crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in amateur radio con- tacts. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space. Due to the nature of human spaceflight, organizations must demon- strate the flexibility to accommodate changes in contact dates and times. Interested parties should contact Teaching From Space to obtain infor- mation related to expectations, content, format, audience, proposal guidelines and forms by sending an e-mail to JSC-TFS-ARISS(a)mail.nasa.gov or by calling 281-244-2320. The NASA Teaching From Space web page can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/6fc2lzn (nasa.gov) [ANS thanks ARISS and NASA for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-177.04 Istanbul students plan 145/435 MHz satellite AMSAT News Service Bulletin 177.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 26, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-177.04 Students at Istanbul Technical University are working on a 3U CubeSat that will carry a linear transponder for SSB/CW amateur radio communications. TURKSAT-3USAT will carry a 50kHz bandwidth 145/435 (V/U) linear transponder, beacon and telemetry downlink. It is hoped to have an early 2012 launch into a Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) at around 680km. Istanbul Technical University's first Communication Satellite http://tinyurl.com/6hyxh7h Istanbul Technical University TURKSAT-3USAT http://tinyurl.com/5vhdnzm TURKSAT-3USAT on the IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination pages http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/formal_detail.php?serialnum=213 [ANS thanks the Southgate ARC news site and Istanbul Technical University for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-177.05 New Horizons Mission Presents New Opportunity for Citizen Scientists AMSAT News Service Bulletin 177.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 26, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-177.05 The Zooniverse is home to the internet's largest, most popular and most successful citizen science projects. You can find all the details of their projects at http://www.zooniverse.org/ Zooniverse has added a project where Citizen Scientists help choose an additional destination or two for a spacecraft heading to the outer solar system. Ice Hunters will allow the public to help discover a potential new, icy follow-on destination for NASA's New Horizons space- craft, which is currently en route to make the first flyby of the Pluto system. After it zooms past Pluto, the spacecraft will have the capabil- ity to explore other Kuiper Belt Objects. The destination has yet to be chosen. That's where you can help. With Ice Hunters, the public can help scientists search through deep telescopic images for currently unknown objects in the Kuiper Belt. What's cool is that you'll be searching for Kuiper Belt Objects and potential dwarf planets in much the same way that Clyde Tombaugh found Pluto: comparing images of the same region of the Kuiper Belt and look- ing for objects that move or vary in brightness. You can read all the details on-line at: http://www.icehunters.org/ [ANS thanks UniverseToday.com, Zooniverse, and Ice Hunters for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-177.06 Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 177.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 26, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-177.06 + iPhone and iPad users may be interested in the free ESA App to access top news stories, videos, images, facts and figures, ESA's Twitter feeds, Flickr and Facebook links and other information in a convenient mobile package. This is now available free of charge for iPhone and iPad directly from the App Store at Apple. + AMSAT-SM has a new website and is active on Facebook and Twitter. Please visit the new AMSAT-SM (Sweden) website at: http://www.amsat.se AMSAT-SM on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/amsat_sm AMSAT-SM on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/AMSAT-SM/196154360421894 (Lars SM0TGU) + UniverseToday.com posted a video from Phil Plait's Discovery Channel series "Bad Universe" showing the ways the world will end: http://www.universetoday.com/86680/video-ways-the-world-will-end/ + A time lapsed video from the Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio, uses data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and compresses one month into 12 seconds and one year into 2.5 minutes. You'll see how the Moon "wobbles" in its orbit, the changes in libra- tion, and axis tilt, the Moon's phases. Watch it at: http://www.universetoday.com/86613/one-year-of-the-moon-in-2-5-minutes/ + Jim List, G3WGM, Hon Sec AMSAT-UK reminds attendees to the AMSAT-UK Colloquium, Holiday Inn, Guildford, UK 29-30 July that the hotel is getting quite booked up already for the Saturday night. To avoid disappointment, we strongly urge you to book your place asap. Speak to Rachael Cross on +44 (0) 1483 784418. More details, incl prices, at http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium-2011 + Congratulations to Jim, KE4KOL, for achieving Satellite VUCC #207! + Congratulations also to Rodney, KC0ZHF for achieving his WAS Satellite Award! [ANS thanks everyone for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-177.07 ARISS Status - 20 June 2011 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 177.07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 26, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-177.07 1. Germany Contact to be Rescheduled The ARISS contact that was scheduled with Hochtaunusschule in Oberursel, Hessen, Germany on Tuesday, June 14 was not successful. The ARISS team is trying to determine what happened and hopes to reschedule the contact sometime in the future. 2. Astronaut Training Status Astronaut Mike Hopkins (Expedition 37) passed his amateur radio Technician exam on Thursday, June 9. He was issued the call sign KF5LJG. On Monday, June 13, several astronaut candidates passed their Technician License exams and were issued the following call signs: Takuya Onishi, KF5LKS Gregory Wiseman, KF5LKT Jeremy Hansen, KF5LKU In addition, Kjell Lindgren, KO5MOS upgraded from Technician to General. Another round of tests for the latest class of astronauts may be conducted in the near future. A successful ARISS simulated contact was held between Kevin Ford, KF5GPP and youth from John McCrae Secondary High School, Ottawa, Canada on Monday, June 13. The training session was a terrestrial-based amateur radio contact using ARISS equivalent equipment and helped to prepare Ford for participation in ARISS contacts when he flies with Expedition 33 in September 2012. Don Pettit, KD5MDT and André Kuipers, PI9ISS are scheduled for an ARISS preflight session on June 22. The two astronauts are part of Expedition 30 which will launch in November 2011. 3. Debrief Session Held with Expedition 26/27 Crew Members On Wednesday, June 15 ARISS members participated in an ISS Ham debrief session with Expedition 26/27 crew members Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli. The astronauts provided good feedback on the ARISS program. [ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

1 0

Sats on Field Day
by Clint Bradford 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

>> ... I thought there was a '1 contact per pass' agreement on FD? Did I miss the memo? No memo missed ... actually just a contact per FM bird for one's 100 points, I believe. Clint, K6LCS

1 0

Last FD for '51???
by Clint Bradford 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

Gawd, AO-50 just performed magnificently for DM13 ... I cannot help but wonder is this was her last Field Day ... Clint, K6LCS

1 0

ao-51
by Daniel Lind 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

OMG That last pass was crazy as all get out.... at least she is working>> Thank you for your time KF1BUZ KF7LJX KF7LJV and the birds Fred N (RIP) oli. and Kilo

1 0

a0-27 pass 2250 ish today
by Daniel Lind 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

At the tail end I heard a call for me A2A0. Any one have an idea there? Well its posted on my youtube page Thank you for your time KF1BUZ KF7LJX KF7LJV and the birds Fred N (RIP) oli. and Kilo

1 0

AO-27 So CA Field Day
by Clint Bradford 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

AO-27 just passed over So CA. About as chaotic as I have ever heard (grin)! Still grinning ... What a great Field Day! Clint, K6LCS

1 0

Re: SO-50 FD So CA
by Clint Bradford 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

> >> ... keying up on top of each other, the receiver was deaf ... I am, sorry, John ... I intended to ONLY listen and record that pass, until I heard "The hardest Workin' AMSAT Rep" Patrick in AZ come on ... But I clearly heard a few successful contacts ... before and after mine with Patrick. I might not be as educated as to a phenomenon of a "SO-50 deaf receiver due to overload" as you describe. It mostly felt "normal" to me in So CA: Many excited keying-ups, and slightly fewer successful contacts ... Clint, K6LCS P.S. - Yes, I have had several cups of coffee at a Rotary meeting this morning from 8-11Am, now followed by a Pina Colada (or two) back at home ... But since this is just 'tween you and I, John, I am not embarrassed to admit that fact ...

1 0

SO-50 FD So CA
by Clint Bradford 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

Hiya, Patrick in AZ. Not as busy as I thought SO-50 would be just now here in So CA. Clint, K6LCS

1 0

Fastrac-1 / FO-69 / FAST1 status report (18:00 utc)
by PA3GUO 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

Fastrac-1 / FO-69 / FAST1 status report (Saturday June 25, 18:00 utc) Beacon (1k2): active Cross connect beacons (1k2): active Digipeater: no traffic Henk, PA3GUO, The Netherlands

1 0

FAST1 Status report over Europe at 18:07 UTC
by Francisco Jiménez-Martín Sánchez 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

Hello All, Fastrac-1 heard, beacon active each 3 minutes, tried to digipeat without success! Does anyone know what is the path for digipeat? Do you think it will be activated over Europe? Greetings, EA1JM, Fran Fm EA1JM-6 To APRS Via FAST1 <UI pid=F0 Len=40 >[20:06:46] =4054.17N/00511.97W`ea1jm.fran(a)gmail.com Fm FAST1 To BEACON <UI pid=F0 Len=123 >[20:07:20] F11001641583629.962191960446.74 -4717286.85 +4819604.31 +4407.26359 -3238.96974 -4970.40783+0BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Fm EA1JM-6 To APRS Via FAST1 <UI pid=F0 Len=40 >[20:07:58] =4054.17N/00511.97W`ea1jm.fran(a)gmail.com

1 0

Fastrac-1 / FO-69 / FAST1 status report (14:50 utc)
by PA3GUO 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

Fastrac-1 / FO-69 / FAST1 status report (14:50 utc) Beacon: active Digipeater: no traffic Henk, PA3GUO, The Netherlands

1 0

Fastrac-1 / FO-69 / FAST1 status report (09:30 utc)
by PA3GUO 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

FAST1 status 09:30 utc 1200 bd beacon active: 09:37:21 FAST1>BEACON: 09:37:21 F11001641553039.978651960446.74 -4717286.85 +4819604.31 +4407.26359 -3238.96974 -4970.40783+0BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB 09:43:21 FAST1>BEACON: 09:43:21 F11001641553353.978481960446.74 -4717286.85 +4819604.31 +4407.26359 -3238.96974 -4970.40783+0BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Connect attempts (9k6) active: 09:38:10 FAST1*>FAST2 <C> 09:38:15 FAST1*>FAST2 <C> Digipeater: no traffic Henk, PA3GUO, The Netherlands

1 0

Fastrac-1 / FO-69 / FAST1 status report
by PA3GUO 25 Jun '11

25 Jun '11

437.345 MHz 1k2 beacon only at the moment (each 3.0 minutes) !S 07:58:22 !FAST1>BEACON: !S 07:58:22 !F11001641547013.981891960446.74 -4717286.85 +4819604.31 +4407.26359 -3238.96974 -4970.40783+0BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Henk, PA3GUO,

1 0

Re: Fast 1 and 2
by PA3GUO 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

Hi Jerry, > I have lost Fastrac 1 and Fastrac 2 from My list of satellites in satpc32 . How do I get them back ? They are now also called FO-69 and FO-70. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/nasa.all Since I am not a satpc32 user I cannot confirm this will resolve your problem. -- Henk, PA3GUO

1 0

Re: fastrac-1
by PA3GUO 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

Hi Kevin: > I was looking for Fastrac-1 on HRD and cannot find it.. Does anyone have any help with that? Now called FO-69 (and Fastrac-2 is called FO-70) http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/nasa.all > Also, it said Digipeating, would this be just like the ISS and PC-sat? It has a beacon at 437.345 MHz FM 1k2 (each 3 minutes a short transmission like this) FAST1>BEACON:F11001640554707.250394776476.41 -4085291.68 +3118368.63 +0.00000 +0.00000 +0.00000+1BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB Sometimes is connects with Fast-2, then you see that traffic also. Digipeating is not enabled to my best knowledge. -- Henk, PA3GUO

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fastrac-1
by Kevin Deane 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

I was looking for Fastrac-1 on HRD and cannot find it.. Does anyone have any help with that? Also, it said Digipeating, would this be just like the ISS and PC-sat? Kevin KF7MYK

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Fox Delta ST1 SOLD
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

The ST1 is sold. Dave - KB1PVH Sent from my Verizon Wireless DROID X

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ANS-175 Special Bulletin FASTRAC-1 Available for Field Day
by Lee McLamb 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-175.01 FASTRAC-1 Satellite Available for Field Day Digipeating AMSAT News Service Bulletin 175.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 24, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-175.01 Since it will be ARRL Field Day tomorrow June 25th to June 26th, the FASTRAC team has decided to open up Sara Lily (FASTRAC-1) so that HAMS are able to digipeat through her. Good luck this weekend to everybody participating!! Once field day is over, we will again resume our science mission! FASTRAC-1 Downlink 437.345 MHz Uplink 145.825 MHz Both 1200 and 9600 baud rates are operational however it is expected that Users will have more success using 1200 baud. FAST1 1 90025U 0 11174.49370187 +.00000158 +00000-0 +30566-4 0 00617 2 90025 071.9703 025.3633 0018615 269.1116 090.7913 14.76601460010256 More information about the FASTRAC mission is available on their website http://fastrac.ae.utexas.edu/ [ANS thanks the UT FASTRAC Team for the above information] /EX

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Fast 1 and 2
by jerry keeton 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

I have lost Fastrac 1 and Fastrac 2 from My list of satellites in satpc32 . How do I get them back ? Jerry WB5LHD

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Re: Best FD Sat
by Clint Bradford 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

Check the OSCAR status page to see what is up and running ... http://oscar.dcarr.org/ Looks like I'll be programming AO-7, AO-27, FO-29, SO-50, AO-51, VO-52, and the ISS - in appropriate modes - for the weekend! Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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Field Day from Space...
by Ted 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

Fyi http://www.arrl.org/news/field-day-from-space-international-space-station-co uld-be-active-for-arrl-field-day K7TRK

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Fox Delta ST1 for sale
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

I have a Fox Delta ST1 tracking interface box complete with cable to control the G5400 & G5500 rotors for sale, $40 shipped. http://www.foxdelta.com/products/satellite.htm#st1 Contact me off list if interested. Thanks, Dave - KB1PVH Sent from my Verizon Wireless DROID X

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ND9M/MM - FM01 Possible
by Clary, James T, Civilian 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

My ship has finished the shipyard period and will make the overnight run from Charleston (FM02) to Jacksonville (EM90) this weekend to load up for the return to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. With a bit of luck and good timing, I should be QRV from wet grid FM01 the evening on Sunday, 26 June. The ship's captain is willing to make the detour to reasonably maximize the time available, so just like with DM02 back in March, it all comes down to how tight the ship's schedule has to be kept. (We've got a different captain from before, but the current one is even more ham radio-friendly.) Right now, it looks good. If it sticks, the target time frame that we'd be in FM01 would be roughly 26/2200Z to 27/0200Z. I'll look to be on the following passes: AO7 - 26/2128Z AO51 - 26/2143Z AO7 - 26/2319Z (until it switches to Mode A late in the pass) VO52 - 27/0032Z VO52 - 27/0208Z If we wind up having to stay with the originally plotted course, we'd still be passing through FM01, but the in-grid time would likely be less than an hour, and probably not include a sat pass. I'll be signing off the ship next Thursday (30 June) when my XYL and favorite driver Cori will pick me up at Jax. The only bad part of signing off the ship is that I won't be on board for the return trip across the Atlantic and midway across the Indian Ocean. The comms officer taking my place until I come back to the ship in November isn't a ham unfortunately, so there won't be any wet grids activated during that crossing. I'll be home in EM70 for a few days, and then we have to make a bee-line drive out to Arizona (ETA 11 July). Once we wrap up necessary business there, we'll take our time and hit all the AZ and NM grids (and counties on CW & SSB for the HF county hunters) before returning to Florida. By the way, I returned to ship about three weeks ago and have answered all QSL requests for my Pacific crossing trip that were received by the time I left the home QTH. If anyone needs confirmations, pse e-mail me via my home address (claryco @ aol.com), and I'll be glad to send out the cards. (E-mails sent to my shipboard address are fine for the next few days, but I won't have access to it after next Thursday until I get back to the ship later this year.) 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC

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5 in EM55
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

First DX for 5 in em55 award C06CBF el92 is award #009 Congrats to Hector 23 June 2011 Also just got word that WC7V made it today Congrats to Kerry Award #10 Look for several in em55 on for fielday see rule on QRZ at WA4HFN or WA4NVM WA4HFN em55 Damon

2 1

AO-27
by Kevin Deane 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

I thought AO-27 was on voice for 7 minutes every ascending pass... Kevin KF7MYK

2 1

AO-27 schedule for Field Day
by Stephen E. Belter 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

AO-27 experts: I'm looking for confirmation that I've calculated AO-27's schedule for Field Day correctly. Using Christopher Henry's AO-27 Satellite Schedule program, I get the following schedule for this weekend. During FD, AO-27 will be in FM repeater mode ("analog" mode) for seven minutes starting at the following times UTC: Saturday, June 25: 18:40:30, 20:21:19, 22:02:07, 23:42:55 UTC Sunday, June 26: 1:23:44, 3:04:32, 4:45:21, 6:26:09, 8:06:58, 9:47:46, 11:28:35, 13:09:23, 14:50:12, 16:31:00 UTC Do you get similar results, either using Christopher's program or using the information on the AO-27 web site (www.ao27.org)? Using the pass predictor on my iPad (GoSatWatch), I see some near misses, but I don't think the AO-27 transponder will be in FM analog mode while it is above our horizon in northern Indiana. :-( Of course, I could have made mistakes, which is why I'm asking... 73, Steve N9IP -- Steve Belter

2 3

Best FD Sat
by Chris Maness 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

I have not been on the sats the last couple of years for FD. Is FO-29 still the best bird for FD? Are there any other birds I can try? Thanks, Chris Maness KQ6UP

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Leanore Guimont
by Martha 24 Jun '11

24 Jun '11

I am saddened to report the death of Leanore Guimont KA6UCD, the wife of Dave,WB6LLO.For many years no Symposium would be complete without the Dave and Leanore "jewelry" contest. In 1998, W2GFF beat out 100 entries by correctly estimating the value of a chip capacitor ingrained into a bolo tie. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dave. He has requested no cards or email be sent. -- 73- Martha

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Fwd: Live Web Broadcast of Field Day Saturday EM55
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 23 Jun '11

23 Jun '11

----- Forwarded Message ----- From: "Tom" <wa5kub(a)gmail.com> To: "Tom" <wa5kub(a)gmail.com> Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 8:29:48 PM Subject: Live Web Broadcast of Field Day Saturday Hello to all the viewers of the W5KUB.COM broadcasts. Live Broadcast this weekend! 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 are planning 2 live events. 1. We will be broadcasting live the Field Day operations from Collierville, TN. This event will be a large Memphis event with three local ham clubs taking part. They will be working many bands and will also include set up to work the satellites. This event will be broadcast on this Saturday June 25. I will try to start the broadcast around 8:00 am Central time. 2. 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 in there plus lots of neat interviews. 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 link to click. That will complete your new account and register you. Thanks and 73, Tom W5KUB -- Check out my website at http://tmedlin.com and my live video site for hamfests at http://w5kub.com Senior Member of the I.E.E.E

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Yaesu FT770 on satellites
by John Geiger 23 Jun '11

23 Jun '11

Has anyone on the reflector used a Yaesu FT770 on the mode J satellites? If so, how well does it hear on UHF? 73s John AA5JG

1 0

AO-27 This Afternoon
by Clint Bradford 23 Jun '11

23 Jun '11

Who was that working AO-27 a couple hours ago? Kansas City, EM29 KBOxx Clint, K6LCS

2 1

"FO-29 performs well. Its a shame I often find myself the only one on during the pass "
by Thomas Doyle 23 Jun '11

23 Jun '11

The following quote from John W9EN hit home with me. "FO-29 performs well. Its a shame I often find myself the only one on during the pass " I am an AMSAT old timer (Amsat LM-0875) who had been inactive in ham radio for a decade or two. Recently I got back on the air. The easiest way to get back on the air was 2M/70cm repeaters. The activity level on the repeaters here in Madison is at an very low level. In the old days you could always find someone on the repeaters. I was a bit surprised to say the least. Back in the day I worked WAS on Oscar using scratch built transverters. I thought I might give the current satellites a try. I thought my gear was not working but I guess it is the low level of activity on the sats. The same situation occurred about 65 million years ago when the few remaining dinosaurs stood around and asked themselves - where is everybody. Today "everybody" is playing Angry Birds on their iWhatever or tweeting the fact that they are up and going to have breakfast soon. One thing that would help the satellite hobby is a more modern use of the internet for discussions. I searched for an Amsat yahoo group and could not find anything. Some sort of threaded discussion system with actual search capability like the yahoo groups would be much more useful than the current 'old school' listserv. Unfortunately the few people who read this will think I am nuts and that the current system works great - "for them". That is always the situation when something is in decline - the few remaining folks like things just fine the way they are. 73 tom W9KE P.S. the spell checker on my email system picked the word "transverters" as misspelled. It suggested "transvestites" as a possible correct spelling. I guess I am truly a dinosaur.

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Re: Major ISS reboost June 12th
by Colin Knight 23 Jun '11

23 Jun '11

And a furthur two big boosts set for the 15th June @ 15:05 and 19:09hrs utc. Hang on to your hats. Cjk ======= On 11-June-2011, 12:10:56 you wrote: ======= >According to Roscosmos, the ISS altitude will be raised 19.2 km tomorrow. >Until updated Keps are available from Space Track, there will be a slippage >in predictions of _approximately_ 6 minutes per day! > > >http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=11894&lang=en > >Alan >WA4SCA

3 3

QSO on AO7
by Luis Quintas 22 Jun '11

22 Jun '11

I Tnx Louis (KD5GM) for QSO on CW on AO7 Mode B, June 22 at 23.33 Z, Orbit 67507 (EL29KQ - - FF66TQ, 7631 km). QRV for others QSOs attempts via AO7. --luis LU6QI

2 1

HudsonValleySatcomGroupNetJune23@ 8PM ON Echolink N2EYH-L(429079)MTBeacon146.970
by Cotejaune2＠aol.com 22 Jun '11

22 Jun '11

Hello all it is time again for the HVSG Net Tomorrow June 23 @ 8 PM EDT on Echolink N2EYH-L node 429079. Everyone is gearing up for field day this weekend trying to make that one satellite contact for the bonus points.Hope to hear you on the birds and on the net .Please check in and say hello. 73 Gary wa2aqh

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SpaceRef Article - ARISS Contacts
by Trevor . 22 Jun '11

22 Jun '11

Proposal Deadline Approaching: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.rss.html?pid=37460 73 Trevor M5AKA

2 1

Instanbul Linear Transponder Sat
by Trevor . 22 Jun '11

22 Jun '11

The Istanbul Technical University have submitted a frequency coordination request with IARU for a 50 kHz bandwidth V/U linear transponder satellite TURKSAT-3USAT. They indicate a launch in 2012, see http://www.southgatearc.org/news/june2011/turksat_3usat.htm 73 Trevor M5AKA Daily Amateur Radio Email/RSS News: http://www.southgatearc.org/ Email Your News To: editor at southgatearc.org Or Upload At: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/your_news_1.htm ----

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ISS Repeater for Field Day!
by Don Hoover 21 Jun '11

21 Jun '11

Does anyone know if we will have the repeater on ISS to use for field day? Thanks!

5 6

5 in em55
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 21 Jun '11

21 Jun '11

Congrats to Bob AJ5C #008 5 in em55 award WA4HFN em55

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I Figured it out: SO50 Help Please
by Douglas Phelps 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

I figured it out with the help of a service monitor. It turns out that while you can set the frequency of the sub band by pushing the sub button, you can not turn on the Tone Encode that way. You have to move the TX to the main dial, turn on the Tone, and then move it back. Therefore, I was not putting out a tone. By the way - the manual did not mention this. Thank you to those who sent me suggestions. ________________________________ From: Douglas Phelps <dphelps1(a)ameritech.net> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Mon, June 20, 2011 4:24:53 PM Subject: SO50 Help Please My equipment is an FT-847 feeding a pair of 8 element RHCP antennas with Advanced Research Preamps mounted at the antenna. I use SatPC for the automatic tracking. I am supposedly transmitting a 67 Hz PL on TX. Ar elevations above 40 degrees, I can hear AO50 full quieting with just a little fading. What I can not sdeem to do is TX through AO50. I can TX OK through AO51 in its current mode (QRP transponder and no PL) but not AO50. I seemed that if TX right when someone ended the TX, I could get in for a fraction of a second. Can anybody tell me what I am doing wrong? Is their some quirk with PL in the Sat Mode on the FT-847? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

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Re: ISS Repeater for Field Day!
by Clint Bradford 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

I see no time devoted to it in the astronauts' schedules this week. Clint Bradford

1 0

SO50 Help Please
by Douglas Phelps 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

My equipment is an FT-847 feeding a pair of 8 element RHCP antennas with Advanced Research Preamps mounted at the antenna. I use SatPC for the automatic tracking. I am supposedly transmitting a 67 Hz PL on TX. Ar elevations above 40 degrees, I can hear AO50 full quieting with just a little fading. What I can not sdeem to do is TX through AO50. I can TX OK through AO51 in its current mode (QRP transponder and no PL) but not AO50. I seemed that if TX right when someone ended the TX, I could get in for a fraction of a second. Can anybody tell me what I am doing wrong? Is their some quirk with PL in the Sat Mode on the FT-847? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

3 3

AO-51 - CTCSS Being Used
by Clint Bradford 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

In the current UPLINK 145.880 - DOWNLINK 435.150 config, is the tone of 67.0 on the TX required? Clint Bradford clintbradford(a)mac.com

2 1

Re: AO-51 - NO CTCSS is Being Used
by Mark L. Hammond 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

No tone required. 73, Mark N8MH On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 3:53 PM, Clint Bradford <clintbradford(a)mac.com> wrote: > In the current UPLINK 145.880 - DOWNLINK 435.150 config, is the tone of 67.0 on the TX required? > > > Clint Bradford > clintbradford(a)mac.com > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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OOREOS help
by Jack Barbera 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

I'd like to thanks everyone for your help.Got it to boot up so all I have to do is wait for a pass of OOREOS to see if everything works. The entry I used is: OOREOS,437305,0,FM,,,0,01200,Baud Jack WA1ZDV

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Fw: O\OREOS Help
by Jack Barbera 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

Jack WA1ZDV ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Jack Barbera <barberaalderwood(a)yahoo.com> To: "amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org" <amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org> Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2011 2:58 PM Subject: O\OREOS Help Need a little help.Trying to add O\OREOS to my Doppler.SQF file in note pad. Have entered O\OREOS,437.3050,AX.25,NOR,0,0;1200 Baud This does not work for me.What did I do incorrectly?Can anyone help? Thanks Jack WA1ZDV

5 4

Re: Off Topic APRS Question
by Zachary Beougher 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

Resending with corrected verbiage and typos.... From: Zachary Beougher Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 12:49 PM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Off Topic APRS Question Sorry for the off topic question, but I need some APRS help... If you go to http://aprs.fi/?call=a%2FKD8KSN-9 and view my path over the past three+ hours, you will see I made a trip down to Frazysburg and back home. I went down, came back, shut the beacon off, and it was about 10:40a this morning. I just got on APRSIS (KD8KSN-12), and I had a message that I sent from my mobile (KD8KSN-9 - the one I am having issues with) this morning *along with the response from the other station* waiting in my inbox. I went out to APRS.fi, and it has me plotted down in Frazysburg at 1620z, going 34mph. The beacon is shut off at the radio (it is just monitoring a repeater), and it is sitting about 50ft from me right now – definitely not in Frazysburg. I know that aprs.fi plots you at your last location, but according I checked it this morning and it had me back home, now it has me randomly in Frazysburg. It is almost like a packet is being saved at a specific location and then being transmitted at a random moment. I have had this issue over the past few days when I go into Columbus – I go in, come back, and about 2 hours later is suddenly plots me somewhere along the path I took 3 hours before, along with about 2-3 other stops along the way. One last thing regarding the message I received. Go to http://aprs.fi/?c=message&call=KD8KSN-9 The “gm!” that was sent at 1248z this morning, along with the auto response from W8KRF-1 were the original messages. The duplicate message that was sent at 1620z was sent while I was no where near the radio. This was sent at the same time that aprs.fi plotted me back in Frazysburg. Does anyone have ANY idea what this thing is doing? I am running the FTM-350AR w/ smartbeaconing. I have had absolutely NO issues up until this point. If you need clarification please email me. I will be going out in a few so the path on aprs.fi with probably be erased. Zack KD8KSN

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Off Topic APRS Question
by Zachary Beougher 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

Sorry for the off topic question, but I need some APRS help... If you go to http://aprs.fi/?call=a%2FKD8KSN-9 and view my path over the past three+ hours, you will see I made a trip down to Frazysburg and back home. I went down, came back, shut the beacon off, and it was about 10:40a this morning. I just got on APRSIS (KD8KSN-12), and I had a message that was sent to my mobile (-9 the one I am having issues with) this morning *along with the response from the other station* waiting in my inbox. I went out to APRS.fi, and it has me plotted down in Frazysburg at 1620z, going 34mph. The beacon is shut off at the radio (it is just monitoring a repeater), and it is sitting about 50ft from me right now – definitely not in Frazysburg. I have had this issue over the past few days when I go into Columbus – I go in, come back, and about 2 hours later is suddenly plots me somewhere along the path I took 3 hours before. One last thing regarding the message I received. Go to http://aprs.fi/?c=message&call=KD8KSN-9 The “gm!” that was sent at 1248z this morning, along with the auto response from W8KRF-1 were the original messages. The duplicate message that was sent at 1620z was sent while I was no where near the radio. This was along when it plotted me out in Frazysburg. Does anyone have ANY idea what this thing is doing? I am running the FTM-350AR w/ smartbeaconing. I have had absolutely NO issues up until this point. Zack KD8KSN

1 0

13 Original Colonies Special Event reminder
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

It's coming soon! *ORIGINAL 13 COLONIES INDEPENDENCE WEEK SPECIAL EVENT July 1st-5th 2011* http://www.13colonies.info/ We will be on the satellites again this year! MA- KB1PVH/K2H, Dave VA- NL7VX/K2B, Steve PA- KE3LB/K2M, John SC- K4YYL/K2L, Art GA- N3TL/K2G, Tim NC- W4MPS/K2J, Marc NY- WB2OQQ/K2A, Pete CT- KA1TCH/K2D, Al NH- NE1H/K2K, Bob RI- N1MIW/K2C, Larry NJ- KB2M/K2I, Jeff (when available) DE- KB2M/K2E, Jeff (limited time marine mobile) MD- WA3SWJ/K2F, Bruce Please limit yourselves to one contact per state, so that others may have a chance. The 4th of July, 2011 lands on a Monday, which means that you can work us starting Friday through Tuesday. Due to popular demand, we will run the event all 5 days like in 2010. Times will be: 12:01 AM Eastern start on July 1st, (That's one minute after midnight, early Friday morning, July 1st) to 11:59 PM Eastern ending on July 5th (One minute to midnight, late Tuesday night, July 5th). Hope everyone get a Clean Sweep Dave - KB1PVH/K2H

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Fw: SO-67 repeater temporarily suspended
by Andrew Glasbrenner 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

I didn't see this come through the -bb yet, so you might get it twice. 73, Drew KO4MA -----Forwarded Message----- >From: Johann Lochner <lochner(a)sun.ac.za> >Sent: Jun 19, 2011 4:36 PM >To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org >Cc: Hans van de Groenendaal <hans(a)intekom.co.za>, Andrew Glasbrenner <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> >Subject: SO-67 repeater temporarily suspended > >Hi folks, > >Last week Thursday flash memory of a CAN controller on Sumbandila >was corrupted by a probable radiation event. It does not affect >satellite health but prevents activation of the amateur radio >repeater. > >Similar problems occurred in October 2009 and December 2010 and were >corrected. > >The fix will take many days. Activation of the repeater for Field >Day in the USA remains a priority but is unlikely at this stage. > >73 de ZR1CBC, Johann. >

1 0

Working FO-29
by Richard Lawn 19 Jun '11

19 Jun '11

Ted It's been a while since I've worked FO-29 but never had any trouble using ft-847 and macdoppler pro software or satpc32. Have you tried using cw first as sometimes that makes it easier to initially find your own signal coming back. If you're not using radio control software though it will be tricky to say the least. I remember those days :) 73 good luck Rick W2JAZ On Sunday, June 19, 2011, <amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org> wrote: > Send AMSAT-BB mailing list submissions to > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > amsat-bb-owner(a)amsat.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of AMSAT-BB digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. FO-29 ? (Ted) > 2. SoCal to East Texas (Eric Fort) > 3. Re: FO-29 ? (Jim Jerzycke) > 4. ANS-170 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins (JoAnne Maenpaa) > 5. VUCC # 207 (KE4KOL) > 6. Re: VUCC # 207 (Zachary Beougher) > 7. Re: SoCal to East Texas (G0MRF(a)aol.com) > 8. Re: SoCal to East Texas (i8cvs) > 9. kc0zhf WAS Satellite #324 (Rodney Waln) > 10. Re: kc0zhf WAS Satellite #324 (Zachary Beougher) > 11. Re: SoCal to East Texas (Jeffrey Koehler) > 12. KC0ZHF WAS #324 & KE4KOL VUCC #207 (John Papay) > 13. Working ISS and or other digis (Donald Pittman) > 14. Re: Working ISS and or other digis (Dave Taylor) > 15. Fwd: ANS-170 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins > (wa4hfn(a)comcast.net) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:33:59 -0700 > From: "Ted" <k7trkradio(a)charter.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] FO-29 ? > To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <AF13278E6E464905AD057D0340D737FE@HamComputer> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Is the frequency info on the amsat page accurate? > > Also, are both up/dn USB? Any tone? I just have no luck tuning that sat > for some reason.. > > Thank you, > > Ted K7TRK > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 16:05:06 -0700 > From: Eric Fort <eric.fort(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] SoCal to East Texas > To: Amsat BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <BANLkTim2bK5WpWhzv4xMKgOefLtgeaVTjw(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > A Technician class friend of mine and I would like to ragchew between > His QTH in Lindale, TX (32.495164 N, 95.513233 W) and My QTH in > Phelan, CA (34.436400 N, 117.468649 W) with the exception of oscar 0 > is anything flying that would enable this on a frequency above 50MHZ? > > Thanks, > > Eric > AF6EP > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 23:21:41 +0000 > From: Jim Jerzycke <kq6ea(a)verizon.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FO-29 ? > To: Ted <k7trkradio(a)charter.net> > Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Message-ID: <4DFD3305.9080704(a)verizon.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > Uplink is LSB, downlink is USB as it's an inverting transponder. > > "Tone" is NEVER used on linear birds. > > On 06/18/2011 10:33 PM, Ted wrote: >> Is the frequency info on the amsat page accurate? >> >> Also, are both up/dn USB? Any tone? I just have no luck tuning that sat >> for some reason.. >> >> Thank you, >> >> Ted K7TRK >> _______________________________________________ >> 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 >> > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 20:33:12 -0500 > From: "JoAnne Maenpaa" <k9jkm(a)comcast.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] ANS-170 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins > To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <000701cc2e20$dafe6cc0$90fb4640$@net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > AMSAT NEWS SERVICE > ANS-170 > > ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North > America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the > activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an > active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating > through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. > > Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: > ans-editor(a)amsat.org > > In this edition: > > * AMSAT-NA Files Formal Comments on Proposed ITAR Changes > * Announcing AMSAT Project FOX Website > * It's Time to Get Ready For ARISSat-1 > * ARRISat-1 Team Pointers to Get Ready for SSTV Reception > * North America SO-67 Schedule For Field Day > * Visit the New AMSAT-UK Website > * AMSAT-UK Display at First UK Space Conference > * Satellite Shorts From All Over > * Follow Up to Receiving STEREO-B at 219 Million KM > > > SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.01 > AMSAT-NA Files Formal Comments on Proposed ITAR Changes > > AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.01 > >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. > June 19, 2011 > To All RADIO AMATEURS > BID: $ANS-170.01 > > AMSAT submitted comments to the U.S. Department of State/Directorate > of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) on June 13, 2011 in response to their > proposed rule making on International Traffic in Arms Regulations > (ITAR), which would provide clarification on defense services, noting > that public domain material is not subject to ITAR. > > AMSAT asked DDTC to not only acknowledge that public domain materials > are not subject to ITAR, but to expand the scope of how they view how > materials are to be placed in the public domain. AMSAT requested that > rather than focus on the method of placement of materials in the public > domain (e.g. printed publication), the critical criteria should be the > intent of the originator to broadly and freely make such material > available to anyone who has the ability to access it via appropriate > means, including electronic origination and distribution. > > The full copy of AMSAT's comments will be published in an upcoming > edition of the AMSAT Journal. An electronic copy of AMSAT's comments > can be viewed on the AMSAT web at: http://tinyurl.com/3jtbff2 > > [ANS thanks AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW for the above > Information] > > /EX > > > SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.02 > Announcing AMSAT Project FOX Website > > AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.02 > >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. > June 19, 2011 > To All RADIO AMATEURS > BID: $ANS-170.02 > > Alan Biddle, WA4SCA is pleased to announce that AMSAT's Project FOX > website has been updated. Titled, "Introducing FOX, AMSAT-NA's Next > Satellite!", this page brings you the highlights of: > > + "Why do we need Fox?" > + A link to the Project FOX presentation slides from the Dayton > AMSAT Forum > + A Project FOX donation widget > + FOX Project Status > + High level project design goals > + A call for volunteers to join the AMSAT FOX Team > > Begin your exploration of the AMSAT FOX project at: > http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fox/ > > Here is a summary of AMSAT Project FOX design goals: > > Development Phase: Approved by the Board of Directors. > Design in progress. > Projected Launch: 2013. > Space Frame Structure: Standard 1U (One Unit) CubeSat. > Space Frame Size: 10 cm X 10 cm X 10 cm. > Mass: Approximately 1.33 kg, ~ 3 lbs. > Orbit: 600 - 800 km, circular, depending on launcher. > RF: 500 mW EIRP, U/V (Mode B). Deployable antennas. > Transponder: High density Software Defined Transponder (SDX). > Power source: Deployable solar arrays. Lithium Ion or NiCd > batteries. > Power mangement: Maximum Power Point Trackers. > > [ANS thanks Alan Biddle, WA4SCA for the above information] > > /EX > > > SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.03 > It's Time to Get Ready For ARISSat-1 > > AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.03 > >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. > June 19, 2011 > To All RADIO AMATEURS > BID: $ANS-170.03 > > A few weeks remain before the planned July deployment of ARISSat-1 > from the ISS. The AMSAT News Service will bring you more details > in the coming weeks. Here are some reminders to help you get your > station ready for ARISSat-1 operation. > > 145.950 MHz FM Downlink: > ------------------------ > FM transmissions will cycle between a voice ID as RS01S, select tele- > metry values, 24 international greeting messages in 15 languages and > SSTV images. One of the messages will be a conversation between Yuri > Gagarin and ground control. See the next news item for pointers to get > your station ready to receive the SSTV images. > > 435 MHz - 145 MHz Linear Transponder: > ------------------------------------- > The linear transponder will operate in Mode U/V (70 cm Up, 2m Down). > It is an 16 KHz wide inverting passband and the convention will be to > TX LSB on the 435 MHz uplink and RX USB on the 145 MHz downlink. This > mode is designed to work with low power transmitters and omni antenna. > > 145.919 MHz/145.939 MHz CW Beacon: > ---------------------------------- > The CW transmissions will be callsign ID RS01S, select telemetry, and > callsigns of people actively involved with the ARISS program. > > 145.920 MHz SSB BPSK-1000 Telemetry: > ------------------------------------ > The BPSK transmissions will feature a new 1kBPSK protocol developed > by Phil Karn, KA9Q to be readable in low signal level conditions. > The BPSK data will transmit satellite telemetry. > > The ARISSat-1 BPSK-1000 downlink is transmitted in SSB mode on > 145.920 MHz. When the CW2 beacon on 145.919 MHz is active this > indicates that the BPSK-1000 format is being transmitted. If the > CW1 beacon on 145.939 MHz is active this indicates the backup of > BPSK-400 format is being transmitted. > > Transmitting at 100 mW, both BPSK rates include Forward Error > Correction (FEC) and it is expected that modest quarter-wave > antennas with low-loss coaxial cable will provide sufficient > signal strength for decoding and display by the ARISSatTLM > software. > > An audio feed from an SSB receiver to the computer's soundcard > input is needed. An initial "Receive Only" configuration is easily > done consisting of an audio patch cable between your radio and > the soundcard. Take the speaker or headphone output from the radio > and run it into the line (or mic) input on your PC sound card. > > BPSK-1000 sounds like a "shusssch" with a higher pitch than the > 400 bps growl. It is difficult to tune by ear. The CW2 beacon is > used as a tuning signal for BPSK-1000. The PC and Mac ARISSatTLM > software display contains a dotted line that you use to tune your > receiver until the CW signal bumps lines up with the dotted line > on your PC screen. This will allow you to decode the BPSK-1000 > signal and you will also be able to copy the CW2 beacon. > > Download the Windows ARISSatTLM free ground station soundcard > demodulator and display software: > http://www.arissattlm.org/download/ARISSatTLM_050_Setup.exe > > Download the Mac ARISSatTLM software: > http://www.arissattlm.org/download/ARISSATTLM.zip > > The ARISSatTLM software user guide is available: > http://tinyurl.com/42uhtyf (amsat.org) > > Get your color ARISSat-1 Frequency Guide: > http://tinyurl.com/4t497t2 (amsat.org) > > ARISSat-1 Presentation Slides (~1MB) > http://tinyurl.com/4n4pzkm (amsat.org) > > [ANS thanks the ARISSat-1 Team for the above information] > > /EX > > > SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.04 > ARRISat-1 Team Pointers to Get Ready for SSTV Reception > > AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.04 > >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. > June 19, 2011 > To All RADIO AMATEURS > BID: $ANS-170.04 > > The ARISSat-1 FM downlink on 145.950 MHz includes live SSTV > images as part of the cycling voice ID, select spoken telemetry > values, and the international greeting messages. Here are some > pointers to help you get your station ready to receive and dis- > the SSTV pictures transmitted by ARISSat-1. > > One fun feature is that there are four SSTV cameras mounted on > the spacecraft. On photos of ARISSat-1 you may have noticed black > brackets on the outside of the spacecraft. These hold the mirrors > that reflect the light onto the lens of the cameras. The software- > defined-transponder will use the image data from the cameras to > generate the SSTV downlink. > > ARISSat's software will sequentially select a new or stored image > from one the four cameras. There are two pre-recorded images as > part of the sequence. The camera that took the the picture can be > identified by the color of the call sign in the upper left of the > SSTV image. The SSTV image will be sent down as FM audio SSTV in > Robot 36 format on 145.950 MHz about every 140 seconds. > > The RF downlink power on the 145.950 MHz FM downlink will be 250mW > which is predicted to provide a link margin around 6 dB on an HT > with a 'big whip' when the satellite is at 15 degrees elevation. This > should be sufficient to receive SSTV pictures although you may need > to orient the whip to line up the antenna polarization. > > ARISSat-1 is not stabilized so the antenna orientation is unpredict- > able and a certain amount of fading will happen. The receiving link > margin may be improved with a handheld beam such as an "Arrow", "Elk", > or "Cheap Yagi" antenna. > (See: http://www.wa5vjb.com/references/Cheap%20Antennas-LEOs.pdf) > > General Overview Radio-to-Soundcard Interface > --------------------------------------------- > To view the SSTV downlink from ARISSat-1 you'll need a computer > running SSTV software for your soundcard and an audio connection > between your radio and the computer. > > If you are already on the air with other amateur radio soundcard > applications chances are you are ready to receive ARISSat's SSTV > downlink with little or no modification to your setup. > > The audio from the radio to the computer is the key link. An initial > "Receive Only" configuration is easily done consisting of an audio > patch cable between your radio and the soundcard. Take the speaker > or headphone output from the radio and run it into the line (or mic) > input on your PC sound card. > > Setting the level is simple also as the MMSSTV software has a bar > indicator. Just adjust the sound card gain slider and/or radio volume > control so that the SSTV signal is within the center part of the bar. > MMSSTV will give you an "overflow" indication if the volume is too > high. > > If your rig has a 'Line Out' connection this can be run to the > soundcard 'Line In'. Using the radio 'Line Out' you won't have to > deal with the interaction of the radio's volume control with the > soundcard levels. But you will still need to use the soundcard > 'Volume Control' to set the 'Line In' levels. > > SSTV Software Download Sites > ---------------------------- > There are many amateur radio SSTV software decoding applications > available. One of the easiest to use on Windows computers is the > MMSSTV program. This can be downloaded from: > http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca/pages/mmsstv.php > > The Ham Radio Deluxe software package also includes SSTV operation. > > SSTV software for the Mac is available at: > http://web.me.com/kd6cji/MacSSTV/MultiScan.html > > [ANS thanks the ARISSat-1 Team for the above information] > > /EX > > > SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.05 > North America SO-67 Schedule For Field Day > > AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.05 > >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. > June 19

4 3

Re: Bounced ARRL.ORG Email
by Clint Bradford 19 Jun '11

19 Jun '11

Their forwarding service just worked instantly for me for a test ... Log in to ARRL.org Clink Edit Your Profile Go to Edit Account / Account Info - make sure your email address is entered there properly Make sure the box is checked to opt-in for their email forwarding service. Clint Bradford clintbradford(a)mac.com

2 1

SO-67 repeater temporarily suspended
by Johann Lochner 19 Jun '11

19 Jun '11

Hi folks, Last week Thursday flash memory of a CAN controller on Sumbandila was corrupted by a probable radiation event. It does not affect satellite health but prevents activation of the amateur radio repeater. Similar problems occurred in October 2009 and December 2010 and were corrected. The fix will take many days. Activation of the repeater for Field Day in the USA remains a priority but is unlikely at this stage. 73 de ZR1CBC, Johann.

1 0

Re: SoCal to East Texas (Eric Fort)
by Clint Bradford 19 Jun '11

19 Jun '11

>> ... ragchew ... between TX and Phelan, CA ... No birds. How about Echolink? If you both have Apple iPhones or iPod touch units, iPTT is a fun app. Clint, K6LCS

1 0

Bounced Emails
by Jim Bennett 19 Jun '11

19 Jun '11

I believe my emails are getting routing thru arrl.org. And it think arrl.org site is down. But if not, my email account on arrl.org will not test ok. So I am not getting any email off the bulletin board. Can someone tell me how to have it routed directly to my ke4kol(a)bellsouth.net account? Thanks, Jim Bennett KE4KOL

1 0

2M1EUB/P QRV IOTA EU010 ......NW SCOTLAND
by paul robinson 19 Jun '11

19 Jun '11

Hi all just a reminder as from 3.July .11 ill be qrv from ISLAND OF HARRIS AND LEWIS AND SKYE N.W.Scotland for 14 days look out for me on AO7 and other birds...opperations from the van...more info on qrz. de paul 2E1EUB

1 0

Working ISS and or other digis
by Donald Pittman 19 Jun '11

19 Jun '11

I know there are many out there that work the ISS and cube sats . The question is do any of you use Apple Mac's to do so. If you do what are you using ? I have been trying quite unsuccessfully to get a KPC3 that I got back in 97 to talk to the Mac mini using a TRENDnet TU-S9 usb to serial cable. Using MacTNC or Zmodem. They just do not see a serial port to go to. I am thinking of trying an outboard interface like signal link or one of the others with a built in sound card to use digital modes. I am getting very frustrated and not sure which way to go next. So if any of you Mac users could give me a little advice I am open to it. Thanks -73 WB8ZOM Don

4 3

FO-29 ?
by Ted 19 Jun '11

19 Jun '11

Is the frequency info on the amsat page accurate? Also, are both up/dn USB? Any tone? I just have no luck tuning that sat for some reason.. Thank you, Ted K7TRK

3 2

ANS-170 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by JoAnne Maenpaa 19 Jun '11

19 Jun '11

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-170 ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor(a)amsat.org In this edition: * AMSAT-NA Files Formal Comments on Proposed ITAR Changes * Announcing AMSAT Project FOX Website * It's Time to Get Ready For ARISSat-1 * ARRISat-1 Team Pointers to Get Ready for SSTV Reception * North America SO-67 Schedule For Field Day * Visit the New AMSAT-UK Website * AMSAT-UK Display at First UK Space Conference * Satellite Shorts From All Over * Follow Up to Receiving STEREO-B at 219 Million KM SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.01 AMSAT-NA Files Formal Comments on Proposed ITAR Changes AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 19, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-170.01 AMSAT submitted comments to the U.S. Department of State/Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) on June 13, 2011 in response to their proposed rule making on International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which would provide clarification on defense services, noting that public domain material is not subject to ITAR. AMSAT asked DDTC to not only acknowledge that public domain materials are not subject to ITAR, but to expand the scope of how they view how materials are to be placed in the public domain. AMSAT requested that rather than focus on the method of placement of materials in the public domain (e.g. printed publication), the critical criteria should be the intent of the originator to broadly and freely make such material available to anyone who has the ability to access it via appropriate means, including electronic origination and distribution. The full copy of AMSAT's comments will be published in an upcoming edition of the AMSAT Journal. An electronic copy of AMSAT's comments can be viewed on the AMSAT web at: http://tinyurl.com/3jtbff2 [ANS thanks AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW for the above Information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.02 Announcing AMSAT Project FOX Website AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.02 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 19, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-170.02 Alan Biddle, WA4SCA is pleased to announce that AMSAT's Project FOX website has been updated. Titled, "Introducing FOX, AMSAT-NA's Next Satellite!", this page brings you the highlights of: + "Why do we need Fox?" + A link to the Project FOX presentation slides from the Dayton AMSAT Forum + A Project FOX donation widget + FOX Project Status + High level project design goals + A call for volunteers to join the AMSAT FOX Team Begin your exploration of the AMSAT FOX project at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fox/ Here is a summary of AMSAT Project FOX design goals: Development Phase: Approved by the Board of Directors. Design in progress. Projected Launch: 2013. Space Frame Structure: Standard 1U (One Unit) CubeSat. Space Frame Size: 10 cm X 10 cm X 10 cm. Mass: Approximately 1.33 kg, ~ 3 lbs. Orbit: 600 - 800 km, circular, depending on launcher. RF: 500 mW EIRP, U/V (Mode B). Deployable antennas. Transponder: High density Software Defined Transponder (SDX). Power source: Deployable solar arrays. Lithium Ion or NiCd batteries. Power mangement: Maximum Power Point Trackers. [ANS thanks Alan Biddle, WA4SCA for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.03 It's Time to Get Ready For ARISSat-1 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.03 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 19, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-170.03 A few weeks remain before the planned July deployment of ARISSat-1 from the ISS. The AMSAT News Service will bring you more details in the coming weeks. Here are some reminders to help you get your station ready for ARISSat-1 operation. 145.950 MHz FM Downlink: ------------------------ FM transmissions will cycle between a voice ID as RS01S, select tele- metry values, 24 international greeting messages in 15 languages and SSTV images. One of the messages will be a conversation between Yuri Gagarin and ground control. See the next news item for pointers to get your station ready to receive the SSTV images. 435 MHz - 145 MHz Linear Transponder: ------------------------------------- The linear transponder will operate in Mode U/V (70 cm Up, 2m Down). It is an 16 KHz wide inverting passband and the convention will be to TX LSB on the 435 MHz uplink and RX USB on the 145 MHz downlink. This mode is designed to work with low power transmitters and omni antenna. 145.919 MHz/145.939 MHz CW Beacon: ---------------------------------- The CW transmissions will be callsign ID RS01S, select telemetry, and callsigns of people actively involved with the ARISS program. 145.920 MHz SSB BPSK-1000 Telemetry: ------------------------------------ The BPSK transmissions will feature a new 1kBPSK protocol developed by Phil Karn, KA9Q to be readable in low signal level conditions. The BPSK data will transmit satellite telemetry. The ARISSat-1 BPSK-1000 downlink is transmitted in SSB mode on 145.920 MHz. When the CW2 beacon on 145.919 MHz is active this indicates that the BPSK-1000 format is being transmitted. If the CW1 beacon on 145.939 MHz is active this indicates the backup of BPSK-400 format is being transmitted. Transmitting at 100 mW, both BPSK rates include Forward Error Correction (FEC) and it is expected that modest quarter-wave antennas with low-loss coaxial cable will provide sufficient signal strength for decoding and display by the ARISSatTLM software. An audio feed from an SSB receiver to the computer's soundcard input is needed. An initial "Receive Only" configuration is easily done consisting of an audio patch cable between your radio and the soundcard. Take the speaker or headphone output from the radio and run it into the line (or mic) input on your PC sound card. BPSK-1000 sounds like a "shusssch" with a higher pitch than the 400 bps growl. It is difficult to tune by ear. The CW2 beacon is used as a tuning signal for BPSK-1000. The PC and Mac ARISSatTLM software display contains a dotted line that you use to tune your receiver until the CW signal bumps lines up with the dotted line on your PC screen. This will allow you to decode the BPSK-1000 signal and you will also be able to copy the CW2 beacon. Download the Windows ARISSatTLM free ground station soundcard demodulator and display software: http://www.arissattlm.org/download/ARISSatTLM_050_Setup.exe Download the Mac ARISSatTLM software: http://www.arissattlm.org/download/ARISSATTLM.zip The ARISSatTLM software user guide is available: http://tinyurl.com/42uhtyf (amsat.org) Get your color ARISSat-1 Frequency Guide: http://tinyurl.com/4t497t2 (amsat.org) ARISSat-1 Presentation Slides (~1MB) http://tinyurl.com/4n4pzkm (amsat.org) [ANS thanks the ARISSat-1 Team for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.04 ARRISat-1 Team Pointers to Get Ready for SSTV Reception AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.04 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 19, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-170.04 The ARISSat-1 FM downlink on 145.950 MHz includes live SSTV images as part of the cycling voice ID, select spoken telemetry values, and the international greeting messages. Here are some pointers to help you get your station ready to receive and dis- the SSTV pictures transmitted by ARISSat-1. One fun feature is that there are four SSTV cameras mounted on the spacecraft. On photos of ARISSat-1 you may have noticed black brackets on the outside of the spacecraft. These hold the mirrors that reflect the light onto the lens of the cameras. The software- defined-transponder will use the image data from the cameras to generate the SSTV downlink. ARISSat's software will sequentially select a new or stored image from one the four cameras. There are two pre-recorded images as part of the sequence. The camera that took the the picture can be identified by the color of the call sign in the upper left of the SSTV image. The SSTV image will be sent down as FM audio SSTV in Robot 36 format on 145.950 MHz about every 140 seconds. The RF downlink power on the 145.950 MHz FM downlink will be 250mW which is predicted to provide a link margin around 6 dB on an HT with a 'big whip' when the satellite is at 15 degrees elevation. This should be sufficient to receive SSTV pictures although you may need to orient the whip to line up the antenna polarization. ARISSat-1 is not stabilized so the antenna orientation is unpredict- able and a certain amount of fading will happen. The receiving link margin may be improved with a handheld beam such as an "Arrow", "Elk", or "Cheap Yagi" antenna. (See: http://www.wa5vjb.com/references/Cheap%20Antennas-LEOs.pdf) General Overview Radio-to-Soundcard Interface --------------------------------------------- To view the SSTV downlink from ARISSat-1 you'll need a computer running SSTV software for your soundcard and an audio connection between your radio and the computer. If you are already on the air with other amateur radio soundcard applications chances are you are ready to receive ARISSat's SSTV downlink with little or no modification to your setup. The audio from the radio to the computer is the key link. An initial "Receive Only" configuration is easily done consisting of an audio patch cable between your radio and the soundcard. Take the speaker or headphone output from the radio and run it into the line (or mic) input on your PC sound card. Setting the level is simple also as the MMSSTV software has a bar indicator. Just adjust the sound card gain slider and/or radio volume control so that the SSTV signal is within the center part of the bar. MMSSTV will give you an "overflow" indication if the volume is too high. If your rig has a 'Line Out' connection this can be run to the soundcard 'Line In'. Using the radio 'Line Out' you won't have to deal with the interaction of the radio's volume control with the soundcard levels. But you will still need to use the soundcard 'Volume Control' to set the 'Line In' levels. SSTV Software Download Sites ---------------------------- There are many amateur radio SSTV software decoding applications available. One of the easiest to use on Windows computers is the MMSSTV program. This can be downloaded from: http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca/pages/mmsstv.php The Ham Radio Deluxe software package also includes SSTV operation. SSTV software for the Mac is available at: http://web.me.com/kd6cji/MacSSTV/MultiScan.html [ANS thanks the ARISSat-1 Team for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.05 North America SO-67 Schedule For Field Day AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.05 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 19, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-170.05 The SO-67 command station has agreed to set the following start times for 15 minute activations over North America for Field Day. Activations are -planned-, and are dependent on scheduling and battery state: 25 JUN 2011 ----------- 1835 2255 26 JUN 2011 ----------- 0030 0200 0335 0515 0645 1155 1335 1510 1640 1815 Uplink is 145.875, no tone, and Narrow FM if possible. Downlink is 435.345, +/- Doppler shift. Remember both ARRL and AMSAT Field Day rules limit QSOs to one per FM repeater/satellite. Even if you are not submitting a log, please adhere to this procedure. The above information along with additional Field Day information and links to the FD Rules documents can found on the AMSAT front page at: http://www.amsat.org. [ANS thanks AMSAT VP Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.06 Visit the New AMSAT-UK Website AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.06 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 19, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-170.06 AMSAT-UK has a new website developed by Dominic Hawken G6NQO and the new webmaster is Rob Styles M0TFO. The site features links to the new AMSAT-UK Online shop run by Ciaran Morgan, M0XTD. The online shop carries a range of hardware items/pro- jects and software suitable for Amateur Ratio Satellite activities as well as the ability to join/renew your membership to AMSAT-UK. Visit the new site at http://www.uk.amsat.org/ The AMSAT-UK International Colloquium takes place July 30-31. The event is open to all and further information can be found at http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium-2011 AMSAT-UK publishes a color A4 newsletter, OSCAR News, which is full of Amateur Satellite information. Join online at: http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK [ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.07 AMSAT-UK Display at First UK Space Conference AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.07 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 19, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-170.07 AMSAT-UK will have a presence at the first ever UK Space Conference taking place at the University of Warwick on July 4-5. This is being organised by the UK Space Agency which was formally commenced in April this year. AMSAT-UK has been sponsored by a member to have a small stand "booth" in the exhibtion area and will be among some very illustrious company. AMSAT-UK will be displaying FUNcube models and demonstrating the educa- tional outreach possibilities that we will have with the telemetry and Fitter message download systems when matched with a simple groundstation - the FUNcube dongle. AMSAT-UK members will also be presenting short papers in the educational and cubesat streams during the event. Full information of the conference can be read on-line at: http://tinyurl.com/3hb2y9j (www.intellectuk.org) [ANS thanks Graham Shirville, G3VZV for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.08 Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.08 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 19, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-170.08 + AMSAT has received the sad news on the passing of Elizabeth Clark, wife of AMSAT Board Member Tom Clark, K3IO. A memorial service in the Washington, DC area will be held in the near future - Martha will post the details when available. A service will be held in about one month in Clinton, South Carolina at the family church where her ashes will be scattered. Donations can be made in Eliza- beth's name to: The American Cancer Society, Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123-1718, The Susan G Komen for the Cure, ATTN: Donor Services, Box 650309, Dallas TX 75265-0309 or the charity of your choice. (Martha at the AMSAT office) + The AO-51 Command Team notes that over the last couple of days, we have been seeing some extended operational times after turning AO-51 ON. Your reports from around the world for the next few days will be especially helpful! Information about when it's ON and when it's OFF is of great interest right now and for the next few days. The best place to let everybody know is at: http://oscar.dcarr.org/ (AO-51 Command Station, Mark, N8MH) + The AMSAT Office has received notice that the Canadian Postal Strike may affect delivery of AMSAT mailings to Canada. Canada Post has currently suspended operations around the country. + Congratulations to the following on earning the new 5 in EM55 Award for working five (5) different hams in the EM55 grid: CALL AWARD NUMBER ISSUE DATE ------- ------------ ---------- WA4NVM 1 6/4/2011 WA4HFN 2 6/4/2011 KI4OTG 3 6/4/2011 K8YSE 4 6/4/2011 N9AMW 5 6/5/2011 KB0RZD 6 6/14/2011 W5KUB 7 6/17/2011 You do not have to be in your home grid to count the stations worked. There are several satellite ready hams in EM55. Here is the current known list: WA4NVM, WA4HFN, WB4LHD, WA4OVO, KI4OTG, KD4NOQ, KJ4BIX, AND AJ4KF. Send your log to WA4NVM or WA4HFN for checking, along with your current mailing address. The award is free and should any donations be sent, they will be forwarded to AMSAT along with your call and name. This award will be effective 1 June 2011, therefore, all contacts must be on or after this date. + Trevor, M5AKA invites you to view these video features on the Southgate ARC web site: Video of Astronaut Doug Wheelock KF5BOC at Dayton http://www.southgatearc.org/news/june2011/kf5boc_video.htm ISS contact with students in Enniskillen can be seen at http://www.southgatearc.org/news/june2011/college_congratulated.htm + Congratulations to AMSAT's Bob McGwier, N4HY on his new postion as the Director of Research Hume Center for National Security and Tech- nology and Research Professor, ECE at Virginia Tech. See: http://tinyurl.com/3cnxop7 (vt.edu) + Congratulations to Astronaut Mike Hopkins (Expedition 37) upon passing his amateur radio Technician License exam on June 9. His call sign should be issued soon. + The Okaw Valley ARC has a very nice web page devoted to their May 6 ISS contact by the Greenville Elementary School. Video is included: http://ovarc.net/isscontact.htm + If you captured any of the Phonesat UHF beacon data during the NASA AMES high altitude balloon flight on June 9 please send it to: mikesafyan(a)gmail.com + Congratulations to Chris, KC0YBM, for achieving his Satellite VUCC Award #215! + Paul, 2E1EUB will be operating mobile on AO-7 and other satellites from the Islands of Harris and Lewis, off the west coast of Scotland for about 2 weeks between July 2-11. During this trip Paul will also be mobile in northern Scotland and the Island of Skye. He will also post information on his QRZ.com callsign lookup for 2E1EUB. + The next Hudson Valley Satcom Net is scheduled for June 23 at 8PM EDT (UTC-4) on the 146.970 MHz repeater, (Pl 100), and also on Echolink node N2EYH-L. More info: http://www.hvsatcom.org (Stu, WA2BSS) + Paul, VP9MU says he has re-activated the AMSAT-BDA (Bermuda) web pages at: http://www.amsat-bda.org The main function of the site is hosting the General Astrodynamics Library and will be hosting additional items in the future. [ANS thanks everyone for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-170.09 Follow Up to Receiving STEREO-B at 219 Million KM AMSAT News Service Bulletin 170.09 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. June 19, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-170.09 James Miller, G3RUH sent an interesting follow up to the ANS news of AMSAT-DL success in receiving the 8 GHz downlink from the solar observation STEREO-B satellite. A FUNcube dongle and downconverter were used in the the demonstration documented in the videos on the Southgate ARC site (See: http://tinyurl.com/6eukmjv - "AMSAT-DL break FUNcube Dongle distance record). James wrote, "Actually, the Stereo-A and Stereo-B spacecraft are received (more conventionally) every day, and the data automatically forwarded to NASA. The Bochum Dish, operated by AMSAT-DL is one of four "Partner Stations" downloading the low speed Beacon telemetry for NASA/NOAA. The others are DL0SHF at Kiel, CNES in Toulouse, France, and NICT at Koganei, Japan. And one more station is urgently needed, especially from North America." There is a comprehensive article about this work at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/articles/g3ruh/127.html Data is transmitted from STEREO in one of two modes; (a) high speed (currently 720 kbps), stored data (up to 1 Gb), intended for the Deep Space Network (DSN) to collect the high resolution science data some 8 hours/day, and (b) a low speed 633 bps continuous real time subset of the solar data intended for collection by smaller ground stations. AMSAT collects low speed data. The ground stations then forward the data via the Internet to NASA GSFC for processing where it is posted on the web in near real time for all to use, including the various world wide organizations monitoring and predicting Space Weather. The ground network for the low speed data is organized and coordin- ated by the SWPC in Boulder, Colorado. The spacecraft transmit 63 watts to a 1.1m dish at 8.4 GHz RHCP, an e.i.r.p. of approximately 85 dBm. [ANS thanks James, G3RUH for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. And, with that please keep in mind the ham who figured he had some explaining to do when his young daughter announced, "I'm just like mommy! I put on the Oil of Old Lady lotion you said she uses!" 73, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM K9JKM at amsat dot org

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