- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

gpredict easycomm and kenwood radio
by Andrew Rich 26 Mar '11

26 Mar '11

Hello I have a mate that has 1. Rotator that talks easycomm 1 on serial 2. Kenwood radio 3. gPredict for windows Can hamlib help ? - Andrew -

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ANS-086 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by JoAnne Maenpaa 26 Mar '11

26 Mar '11

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-086 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: * ARISS School Contact Milestone - 600th School Contact on March 17 * KA1SKY McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center Operating Events * How's (Satellite) DX? * AMSAT Awards Now Accepting Credit From RAC CANADAWARD * Japan Space Agency Unveils New ISS CubeSat Deployment System * Satellite Shorts From All Over * MAKE Magazine Publishes NASA Make: Challenge Rules and Guidelines * Falcon 9 To Launch SES-8 To GTO In 2013 SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.01 ARISS School Contact Milestone - 600th School Contact on March 17 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 086.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 27, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-086.01 ARISS reached a milestone on Thursday, March 17 when it held its 600th contact between on-orbit astronaut Cady Coleman, KC5ZTH and students from several schools in Plock and Liszyno, Poland. The contact supported lessons about space and space exploration, communication and technology. The Scout Amateur Radio Club SP5ZBA handled the radio connection during which the astronaut fielded 19 space related questions. Nearly 120 people were in the audience and came from Plock, Liszyno, Zuromin and Warsaw. There was exten- sive media coverage that included newspapers, four scientific maga- zines, one radio magazine, a television station, national radio (two programs) and two internet portals. Also on Thursday, March 17, Luitpold-Gymnasium Muenchen students in Munich, Germany spoke with Paolo Nespoli, IZ0JPA on the ISS via an ARISS contact. Nespoli answered 19 questions as an audience of over 110 students, teachers and visitors listened. The contact was the highlight of studies emphasizing aeronautics, scientific work and amateur radio. Several media outlets were present including three radio stations (Bayerischer Rundfunk, Radio Charivari, Radio Arabella), one television station (Bayerisches Fernsehen) and four newspapers (Süddeutsche Zeitung, Abendzeitung, TZ-München, Münch- ner Merkur). The Bavarian TV channel BR (Bayerisches Fernsehen) posted a clip on its Web site: http://tinyurl.com/62vkve4 (www.br-online.de) [ANS thanks Carol Jackson, KB3LKI and the ARISS weekly status report for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.02 KA1SKY McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center Operating Events AMSAT News Service Bulletin 086.02 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 27, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-086.02 Amateur Radio Operators at KA1SKY, Amateur Radio Club Station at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center (DC) in Concord, NH have been working to enhance presentations and programs at the Center through the vehicle of Amateur Radio. Wayne Santos, N1CKM, Station Manager at KA1SKY would like to hear from AMSAT members in New England who can assist with amateur radio operations from the Discovery Center: April 29-30 - Aerospacefest Weekend May 5 - KA1SKY special event station in Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Alan Shepard Manned Space Flight. Wayne said the Discovery Center also needs assistance to sched- ule an ARISS contact. If you can help contact Wayne via e-mail at N1CKM(a)arrl.net. Information about the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center can be found on-line at: http://www.starhop.com/ KA1SKY features a robust VHF/UHF/Sat station and has been successful with EME and satellite contacts. The station enjoys a highly visible place with many school groups and the public interested in the station. Information about the station is posted at: http://www.k1bke.org/planetarium/ka1sky.htm http://www.starhop.com/education-and-exploration/ka1sky.aspx [ANS thanks Wayne, N1CKM at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.03 How's (Satellite) DX? AMSAT News Service Bulletin 086.03 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 27, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-086.03 March 23 - April 2 ZF2AE/ZF8 Cayman Island ------------------------------------------ Adrian, AA5UK will be operating portable as ZF2AE from Grand Cayman and as ZF2AE/ZF8 from Little Cayman from March 23th to April 5th, 2011. Most activity will be in the afternoons and evenings using two FT-817s and an Elk Antenna. He plans to operate holiday style on the FM and SSB satellites with some HF. Activity will be from grids: EK99hi from March 23 - 24th, EK99xp from March 25th - April 2nd (he plans to operate HF during part of CQ WPX SSB contest while on Little Cayman: 40m to 10 m) and EK99kh from April 2nd - April 5th. Time permitting; he will try to make it to grid FK09. Frequently check AMSAT-BB and http://twitter.com/AA5UK for last minute opera- tional updates. QSL Direct with SASE, the Bureau, LOTW or eQSL. April 29 - May 1 XF2P from Isla de Lobos ---------------------------------------- Operation is planned on AO27, AO51 and SO50 satellites and all HF bands, plus 6 meters CW, SSB and RTTY. They will also activate the Lobos Island lighthouse. Operators include Ismael XE1AY; Gustavo XE1KKK; Francisco Javier XE1P; Ricardo XE1RZL; Ricardo Raymundo XE1SOV; Fernando XE1VGC; Jose XE1UYU; Martin XE1UZH; Modesto XE1UZU; Juan Manuel XE2IA; Jose XE2IVG;and Ricardo XE3NMC. QSL via XE1AY. May 1 - May 8 GS3PYE/P and GS6PYE/P Isle of Arran ------------------------------------------------- Camb-Hams members Bob G1SAA, Terry G3VFC, Martin G3ZAY, Colin G4ERO, Colin G8TMV, Mark M0MJH, Rob M0VFC, Steve M1ACB and Gavin M1BXF will be active from a rented cottage near Balliekine, Isle of Arran with most HF bands, 6 meters, 4 meters (SSB CW, JT65M, FSK441). Satellite operation is planned, time permitting. QSL direct or via bureau to M0VFC. Website: http://dx.camb-hams.com/ [ANS thanks Adrian, AA5UK, Cambi-Hams, and the ICPO Bulletin for the XF2P information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.04 AMSAT Awards Now Accepting Credit From RAC CANADAWARD AMSAT News Service Bulletin 086.04 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 27, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-086.04 AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO announced, "In keeping up with technology and limiting duplication of work, AMSAT Awards will now accept a scanned copy the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) CANADAWARD for satellites as proof of working the 13 valid Canadian Provinces." They are: VE1/VA1 Nova Scotia VE2/VA2 Quebec VE3/VA3 Ontario VE4/VA4 Manitoba VE5/VA5 Saskatchewan VE6/VA6 Alberta VE7/VA7 British Columbia VE8 Northwest Territories VE9 New Brunswick VO1/2 Newfoundland and Labrador VY0 Nanavut VY1 Yukon VY2 Prince Edward Bruce says, "This will make it easier for everyone to submit either or both, ARRL Worked All States / RAC CANADAWARD and not have to scan all those cards to be checked for AMSAT satellite awards a second time. [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.05 Japan Space Agency Unveils New ISS CubeSat Deployment System AMSAT News Service Bulletin 086.05 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 27, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-086.05 Information received via Masa, JN1GKZ and the Southgate ARC news site report that the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has announ- ced a new ISS CubeSat deployment system. JAXA's ISS small satellite deployment system will use Japan's ISS Experiment module Kibo's air- lock and robot arm. Satellites are planned to be delivered to the ISS in a cushioned bag by Progress or HTV supply ship. The satellites are then mounted in the deployment pod. The deployment pod is put into the airlock where it is grabbed by the robot arm. The arm then moves the pod into posi- tion and deploys the satellites which will re-enter the atmosphere after about 100 days. JAXA has put out a call for Japanese satellites to demonstrate this new system. The satellites can be 1U, 2U or 3U CubeSat. Total size is 4U. Two to four satellites will be selected (eg 1U+3U, 1Ux2+2U, 1Ux4). The demonstration schedule is: May 2011: satellites selection May 2012: deliver satellites to JAXA Sep 2012 or later: deployment using the new system The press release material is on the JAXA's web site in Japanese. http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2011/03/20110302_sac_smallsat.pdf A Google English version of the press release is available: http://tinyurl.com/JAXA-Kibo/ [ANS thanks Masa, JN1GKZ and the Southgate ARC news site for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.06 Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 086.06 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 27, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-086.06 + Congratulations to Allen, N5AFV on making his 50,000th satellite contact on March 23; that's quite an accomplishment! + Congratulations to Al, XE2AT on reaching a milestone of 1000 grids worked via satellite after 13 years of operating. Al wrote, "I hope each of you will accept this as my sincere thanks and appreciation for all your help and info. Many thanks to all rovers and maritime mobile and a lot of people that passed along your QTH grid. Thanks to all private mails and BB mails with a lot of kind words." + Congratulations to K8YSE for hitting the 900th grid mark with his contact with UT1FG/mm on AO-27 and grid 901st with ND9M/mm on AO-27 on March 24. + Congratulations to Nick, KB1RVT on reaching grid #600 in two years using only an Arrow Antenna. + Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL invites you to listen to the CW beacon on CO-65 for a special message: HI HI DE JQ1YTC DIGI ON CUTE 1.7 GANBARE JAPAN CUTE 86 CA A4 67 3D 2B 27 A2 61 31 17 Mineo explains 'GANBARE' in Japanese means 'Show spirit' concerning the Earthquake and Tsunami. + Astronauts Luca Parmitano (Expedition 36) and Chris Cassidy (Expedition 35) both passed their amateur radio license exams on March 8. Luca Parmitano was issued call sign KF5KDP and Chris Cassidy received KF5KDR. + The SO67 schedule for South Africa and Australasia is now posted on http://www.amsatsa.org.za. The next USA week will be 28 March - 10 April, a two week period. The schedule will then continue Europe 11 to 17 April, Central Asia 18 - 24, April and Australasia 25 April to 1 May. + Alcatel-Lucent has made the entire Bell System Technical Journal archive available on-line at: http://bstj.bell-labs.com/ (via Jerry, W7QX) + http://tinyurl.com/62asmcc will bring you to page from which you may download all the presentations of 1st IAA Conference on University Satellite Missions and Cubesat Workshop in Rome. (Gruppo di Astrodinamica Università degli Studi Sapienza) + Sundeep Shah, VU3SXE reports another video of the homebrew AZ EL Rotor by VU2POP is posted at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWBh29MyqWU + F1NSR has made a video showing the AMSAT-UK VHF/UHF FUNcube SDR Dongle being used for a contact on 23cm. Watch at: http://tinyurl.com/4lryfxo (via Southgate ARC site) + EuroLuna OZ9LUNA have produced a video showing the testing of their Romit1 CubeSat due for launch later this year. The Euroluna team are currently developing a 2U cubesat Romit1, OZ9LUNA, as part of their attempt to win the Google Lunar X PRIZE. Watch at: http://tinyurl.com/49s6jyp (via Southgate ARC site) + A collection of amateur videos of the Discovery STS-133 launch and landing has been posted at the UniverseToday web at: http://tinyurl.com/6bzvd9k + NASA TV will cover the Expedition 27 launch for the next three residents of the International Space Station. Russian cosmonaut and Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev, NASA Flight Engineer Ron Garan and Russian Flight Engineer Andrey Borisenko are sched- uled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 5:18 p.m. CDT on April 4 (4:18 a.m. Baikonur time on April 5). Streaming video is available at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv + Ramon, XE1KK and Luis, LU6QI made a QSO on AO7 in SSB Mode B at 11.12 UTC on March 14, 2011 during the orbit #66247. The distance between Ramon's location (EK09JI) and Luis (FF66TQ) is 6816.7 km. On March 25 Luis made contact with Omar, XE1AO and Keith, N4ZQ) via AO-7 with both distances a little more than 7000 km apart. + AMSAT's Keeper of the Keps, Ray Hoad, WA5QGD reported this week, "I am pleased to announce that AMSAT's request to re-distribute AFSPC Keplerian elements from Space-Track has been approved for the period April 1, 2010 to April 1, 2012. Our USSTRATCOM ODR (Orbital Data Request) to distribute the KEPs was approved on March 8, 2010." + An interesting photo showing ISS transiting the sun near a group of sunspots can be viewed at: http://tinyurl.com/4gcuble (UniverseToday.com) + AMSAT area coordinator Clint Bradford, K6LCS, will be presenting his 'Working Amateur Satellites With Your HT' session at the April 1, 2011 meeting of the Associated Radio Amateurs of Long Beach. All are welcome to attend. 7PM, April 1, 2011 (no kidding!) Signal Hill Community Center 1780 E. Hill Street (off Cherry Ave, behind the PD) Signal Hill CA 90755 + Clint will be busy ... he will make his 'Working Amateur Satellites With Your HT' presentation at the April 4, 2011 meeting of the Corona Norco Amateur Radio Club (CNARC). All are welcome to attend. 7PM, Monday, April 4, 2011 Norco Fire Station 3902 Hillside Ave Norco 92860-1515 [ANS thanks everyone for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.07 MAKE Magazine Publishes NASA Make: Challenge Rules and Guidelines AMSAT News Service Bulletin 086.07 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 27, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-086.07 In a press release titled, "NASA Launches 2011 Nationwide Technology Space Competition for Education", NASA says it's Emerging Commercial Space Office (ECSO) is teaming with Make Magazine, and Teachers in Space to help develop spaceflight kits that high school teachers and students can build and fly on suborbital flights. Competition rules are simple. Kits should use components that are likely to be available at most high schools, and submitted experi- ments must be self-contained and fit in a standard Cubesat container. To make kits accessible to students nationwide, part of the challenge is to be able to build these kits for under $100, the kind of funds that could be raised by a school bake sale. Make Magazine has now published the rules and guidelines for the 2011 NASA Make: Challenge at http://www.makezine.com/space/rules Proposals for the NASA Make: Challenge should be submitted electronic- ally to makespacekits(a)gmail.com by midnight (Pacific Daylight Savings Time) April 30, 2011. NOTE: The NASA Make: Challenge is open to all U.S. citizens. Proposers under the age of 18 must include the permission of a parent or guardian to participate. The winner of the NASA Make: Challenge will win a trip to the Bay Area Maker Faire on May 21 & 22. The winning project will also be published in MAKE Magazine. Make Magazine is planning a webcast for the week of March 28. This will be an opportunity to learn from experts about developing experi- ments that can fly in space. They will be available for questions as well. You can sign up for the Space Challenge mailing list at: http://blog.makezine.com/space The full NASA Press Release can be found on-line at: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2011/11-14AR.html [ANS thanks NASA and Make Magazine for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-086.08 Falcon 9 To Launch SES-8 To GTO In 2013 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 086.08 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. March 27, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-086.08 A news item from SpaceDaily reported that Space Exploration Technol- ogies (SpaceX) and SES, one of the largest satellite operators in the world, announced an agreement to launch an SES satellite using the Falcon 9 rocket. This will be the first geostationary satellite launch using SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. The firm launch agreement with SpaceX also includes an option for a second SES launch. The SES-8 satellite is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2013 from SpaceX's Launch Complex 40 at the Air Force Station at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Full story can be found on-line at: http://tinyurl.com/4al2rk8 [ANS thanks SpaceDaily.com 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 keep in mind the ham who endured a long losing stretch at the racetrack. He decided to take up horseback riding but could not figure out how to make his horse stop. He called out, "How do I make it stop!?" ... some- one yelled back, "Put a bet on it!" 73, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM K9JKM at amsat dot org

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ND9M/MM Op Sked: 27 March
by Clary, James T, Civilian 26 Mar '11

26 Mar '11

We're approaching the gap between the Yucatan Peninsula and the western tip of Cuba which is where we'll be turning north and then later northeast toward the Florida Keys. Our voyage plan will keep us solidly in international waters, and there will be no issues at all with territorial waters. The op sked for tonight and tomorrow is below. Grid EL72 is notably absent, but that only means that most, if not all, of the time we'll be in that grid (around eight hours) will likely fall during my work schedule. Some ops have taken my "probable" pass listings to mean "guaranteed", so I'm going to leave that time frame unaddressed for now. I will very likely be able to get on from EL72 for at least one pass and possibly more, and I'll shoot out an update tomorrow when I've got a better idea. I'll give as much advance notice as realistically - and reasonably - possible. Also, I don't have anything listed for tomorrow night's oh-dark-30 pass(es). If it looks like the ship will still be in EL83 throughout tomorrow night (entirely possible at this point), I will have been on from that grid for two or maybe three passes and will take the opportunity to leave the alarm clock off for a change. But if it appears that we'll cross into the fairly small corner of EL93 (about two to three hours of transit), then I'll get on as needed so that the grid doesn't slip by. Finally, we're nearing our destination at Jacksonville. Here's the list of the last several grid squares that I expect we'll go through before we arrive at Jax on Wednesday. The last three are well represented on the air by shore stations, so I may or may not be on the satellites. I'll do my best to get the rest on at least one pass. EL70 - EL71 - EL72 - EL73 - EL83 - EL93 - EL94 FL04 - FL05 - FL06 - FL07 - FL08 EL98 - EL99 - EM90 Planned Passes VO52 - 27/0130Z - EL70 VO52 - 27/0308Z - EL70 (for the Left Coast if I don't fall asleep!) AO51 - 27/0930Z - EL71 FO29 - 27/0953Z - EL71 FO29 - 27/2113Z - EL73 FO29 - 27/2259Z - EL73 or EL83 AO7 - 27/2347Z - EL83 VO52 - 28/0149Z - EL83 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC

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ssb up/downlinks
by Dave Guimont 26 Mar '11

26 Mar '11

Hello Kevin, Take a look at the "noditters" in: http://cid-1973adc8c1d3207c.skydrive.live.com/summary.aspx?sa=140581470 and it will give you the general idea of how to help find your downlink....my IC 910 does it automatically, but I still keep a copy of the " no ditter" if the radio doesn't!! 73, Dave, WB6LLO dguimon1(a)san.rr.com Disagree: I learn.... Pulling for P3E...

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CO-65 CW message
by Mineo Wakita 26 Mar '11

26 Mar '11

12:06-12:18UTC, 26 Mar 2011 HI HI DE JQ1YTC DIGI ON CUTE 1.7 GANBARE JAPAN CUTE 86 CA A4 67 3D 2B 27 A2 61 31 17 'GANBARE' in Japanese means 'Show spirit' concerning about this Earthquake and Tsunami. JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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WD9EWK @ DM52ax/DM53aa now
by Patrick STODDARD 26 Mar '11

26 Mar '11

Hi. I will be out here until approximately 0046 UTC, working upcoming FO29 and AO51 passes at this grid boundary, northwest of Safford (Graham County) AZ. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Online satellite data ?
by Andrew Rich 26 Mar '11

26 Mar '11

Is there somewhere online I can query the position of a satellite in real time using code ? It would return the lat and lon Apart from running predict locally ;-) Andrew VK4TEC

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LOTW reg outside US
by P.H. 26 Mar '11

26 Mar '11

I'm trying to validate my callsign on LOTW however to do this, as I am outside the US I need to mail some supporting documents. The help file directs me to https://www.arrl.org/lotw/docreq however this url does not exist! Can anyone tell me where I need to send the supporting documents? Thanks Pete

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SSB Birds
by Kevin Deane 26 Mar '11

26 Mar '11

Will anyone give me some help on operating, I was copying people on AO-7 and VO-52 tonight but was not able to get in... I am not sure I am operating the freqs right, I got the LSB up USB down part. How do you match the up and down? Maybe the radio is not good enough... Kevin KF7MYK

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AMSAT-UK March OSCAR NEWS
by Clint Bradford 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

Marvelous job on the March, 2011 issue of the AMSAT-UK's OSCAR NEWS. WONDERFUL, frame-able cover photo of Yuri Gagarin (I am giving away sets of Yuri postage stamps from 1962 as door prizes at my Yuri Party April 12, by the way). And although I differ with AMSAT-UK's "bottom line" regarding iPhone/iPod touch sat tracking apps, my personal choice - PocketSat3 - is actually in second place, according to the article's chart! Clint Bradford, K6LCS

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EN96
by John Geiger 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

Who was the EN96 on today on the 2200Z pass of AO51? I thought I copied it as VE3TYN but according to QRZ.COM that isn't correct. Just picked up a Kenwood TM-251A and it sure hears the sats great. Glad I got it to use on the FM birds. 73s John AA5JG

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QSOs XE1-K4 with LU/Q on AO7
by Luis Quintas 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

Omar (XE1AO) and I (LU6QI) made a QSO on AO7 in SSB Mode B at 2355 UTC on March 25, 2011, during orbit 66392. I also contacted in the same orbit with Keith (N4ZQ). In each QSO our respective QTHs were a little more than 7000 km apart. AO7 is working great and it would be wonderful to attempt others QSOs with the bird at low angle over the horizon

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QSL Route for UT1FG/MM
by John Papay 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

Yuri, UT1FG/MM, is currently reviewing a draft of a proposed qsl procedure for his maritime mobile operation on satellites. As soon as he finalizes the procedure, it will be posted here on the -bb. Please hold off on sending for cards. Yuri is currently at anchor in FN58 awaiting dock space to unload their cargo. He will likely leave the ship shortly and return home for a well deserved vacation. He has certainly gone all out to work the birds in hundreds of wet grids. Thanks Yuri! 73, John K8YSE

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ND9M/MM Op Sked: Update - EK98
by Clary, James T, Civilian 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

After the just completed VO52 pass that started here at 26/0111Z, I checked with the ship's bridge watchstanders who confirmed that we won't cross into EK98 in time for the next VO52 pass; we won't cross the line until a half hour or so afterward. That's too bad because that particular pass will cover nearly all of the US as well as Latin America, and at a halfway decent hour too. So since I've already been from EK97 on seven passes today on five different satellites, I'll forego the next VO52 pass and grab a little sleep so I can get up in time for FO29 to hit the eastern areas at least while we're hopefully still in EK98. This will likely be the only pass available for EK98 as we'll cross out that grid pretty soon afterward. I'll still be on FO29 at 26/0901Z, but we should have crossed into EK88 by then. 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC

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ND9M/MM Op Sked: 26 March
by Clary, James T, Civilian 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

This seems to be the season for milestones. Congrats to Nick, KB1RVT, who worked me today in EK97 for his Grid #600. That's an impressive number in anyone's book, but all those grids were worked in just his first two years, and on top of that, the only antenna he used was an Arrow! Way to go, Nick! Here's the sked for tonight and tomorrow: VO52 - 26/0111Z - EK97 VO52 - 26/0248Z - EK97 or hopefully EK98 FO29 - 26/0901Z - EK88 AO7 - 26/2106Z - EL80 AO51 - 26/2111Z - EL80 - Immediately following AO7 FO29 - 26/2208Z - EL80 AO7 - 26/2253Z - EL80 or EL70 VO52 - 27/0130Z - EL70 FO29 - 27/0809Z - EL71 Probable, but not sure AO7 - 26/1207Z - EK88 or EK89 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC

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13 Colonies
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

Hey everyone, I am heading up the July 4th 13 Colonies Special Event again this year. I am still in need of a satellite operator from NH, CT, NJ, and most likely RI. If you are from one of those states and want to be a part of the event email me directly. http://www.13colonies.info/ Thanks, Dave - KB1PVH Sent from my Verizon Wireless DROID X

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900 Satellite Grids Worked
by John Papay 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

Thanks to Angelo N5UXT for posting the news and to all of you who sent emails and posts. Working grids on the birds is akin to working DX on the HF bands. The hunt is always on and you never know what might pop up when you least expect it. The big jump in my totals is primarily due to two dedicated satellite grid expeditioners, namely Jim ND9M & ND9M/MM and Yuri UT1FG/MM. Water grids are hard to come by, especially in the quantities that these two operators have activated. Their operations have given new life to the birds and although there has been QRM, that's part of the hobby. We are not talking on cellphones here. There are countless other operators that have activated grids away from their home in that total. After the excitement we sometimes forget about the sacrifices they made to give us new grids to work. I won't mention callsigns lest I leave some out, but thanks to all of you that travel around. Even if you just go to one grid away from home, you'll likely give someone a new one. It's great fun and you will have just as much excitement doing it as the operators have who work you. It is good to see all of the activity on the birds, both FM and Linear. It's just one of the many facets of ham radio. Thanks again to all of you that helped me get to 900! 73, John K8YSE

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FW: Recent NJ Hamfest
by Dee 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

Attention NJ AMSAT people that attended the CherryVille Hamfest... If you renewed your membership with a credit card, Please contact me C/C Error- E-Mail would be OK . Thanks, Dee, NB2F NJ AMSAT co-ordinator

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Satelllite demos at Scouting event.
by Tom Schuessler 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

Hi all, No big grid expedition, EM13 rather than normal EM12, but will be running some demonstrations of Amateur Satellite operations from a large Boy Scout Merit Badge College in Plano, Texas while I am participating in helping with the Radio Merit Badge program. Look for me, N5HYP on the mid day passes of SO-50 and AO-27. Please call N5HYP. Hopefully we can show a few Scouts about the challenge and fun of Amateur Radio through this branch of Ham Radio as well. 73 Tom Schuessler 2713 Lake Gardens Drive Irving, Texas 75060 972-986-7456 214-403-1464 (Cell) n5hyp(a)arrl.net

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UO-11
by jerry keeton 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

If anyone copied the 1600 UTC pass of UO-11 , could You post a couple packet strings or email them to Me . Just for reference . Thanks Jerry WB5LHD

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Re: Congratulations to K8SYE
by zach hillerson 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

Congrats John!!! That is quite the accomplishment.

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delfi c3 (do-64) tlm software
by larry 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

Good day to the list, I'm looking to decode the beacon from this satellite, but cannot seem to find the Rascal program. The archives here state that the website server suffered a disk crash some time ago, which explains why I can't reach the website. Anyone know where else I could obtain a copy of the Rascal program? I've had somewhat limited success using MixW to decode some TLM, but can't do anything with the data... Thanks for your time. Larry N1MIW

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Re: delfi c3 (do-64) tlm software
by Wouter Jan Ubbels 25 Mar '11

25 Mar '11

Hi Larry, the Delfi-n3Xt (follow up satellite which is currently being built) team have put it on their page at: http://www.delfispace.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=… there is a download link somewhere approx. 1/3 into the page. happy decoding! Wouter Jan Ubbels PE4WJ

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900 grids congratulations !!!
by Alvaro de Leon Romo 24 Mar '11

24 Mar '11

Dear John congratulations for your grid 900 !!!! wowwww you are fast with the triger !! Glad to see you growing fast from 600 to 900 , great job amigo Sincerely Al XE2AT

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A Decade Since The End Of Mir
by B J 24 Mar '11

24 Mar '11

http://moonandback.com/2011/03/24/world-marks-anniversary-of-first-space-st… I remember watching CNN's coverage of it. There was a TV camera on board which showed the view from orbit, though the station had been abandoned by then. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Congratulations to K8SYE
by Angelo Glorioso 24 Mar '11

24 Mar '11

Congratulations to K8YSE for hitting the 900th grid mark with his contact with UT1FG/mm on AO-27 and grid 901st with ND9M/mm on AO-27. 73 de Angelo --------------------------------------------------------- If you don't ask, you will never know!!

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1st IAA Conference on University Satellite Missions and Cubesat Workshop download
by Group of Astrodynamics 24 Mar '11

24 Mar '11

Dear All, click here<http://www.gaussteam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=132&I…>to download all the presentations of 1st IAA Conference on University Satellite Missions and Cubesat Workshop . Regards, -- Gruppo di Astrodinamica Università degli Studi Sapienza Via Salaria, 851 00138 Roma website: www.gaussteam.com tel. 0039 06 88346436

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Farewell, Stardust-NExT
by B J 24 Mar '11

24 Mar '11

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-094 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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ND9M/MM Op Sked: 25 March
by Clary, James T, Civilian 24 Mar '11

24 Mar '11

Here's the op sked for tonight and tomorrow. Pse note that "planned" means just that: I'm figuring on being in the grid(s) listed, but I can only be certain when the actual pass occurs, and the GPS rules. I identify my current grid during each and every contact so there won't be any question later on. We're adjusting our clocks forward one last time tonight, so my work day will now be 1200-2100Z, starting tomorrow. Planned VO52 - 25/0228Z - FK04 FO29 - 25/0956Z - FK05 AO51 - 25/1051Z - FK05 or FK06 FO29 - 25/2119Z - EK97 AO51 - 25/2150Z - EK97 AO7 - 25/2352Z - EK97 VO52 - 26/0111Z - EK97 Probably; not certain but I'll try AO27 - 25/1847Z - EK96 or EK97 - Approx turn on time 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC Grid FK04

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Re: Antenna discussions
by K5OE 24 Mar '11

24 Mar '11

Ted, How about a 3rd school of thought? If you have a clear view of the horizon, I recommend you point the antenna(s) directly at the antenna (0 degrees elevation). That is the point in a satellite's path across the sky where you have the greatest range (distance between you and the satellite) and the bi-directional greatest path loss (not counting any ground gain you will experience if you have horizontal or CP antennas). As the satellite rises in elevation, range and path loss both decrease and you need less gain to overcome noise: a moderate-beamwidth antenna with a gain of 8-10 dBi will match this nicely. A LEO satellite spends the majority of it's visible time below 30 degrees and the pass time above 60 degrees is almost negligible. If you can't hear the satellite at the horizon with this setup, then you can raise the antenna's angle and listen when the satellite is closer (higher elevation), but you will greatly reduce the available time/footprint and your number of contacts. 73, Jerry, K5OE -----Original Message----- Agree !! Along those lines, before I put up my Kenpro az/el rotor, I plan on testing various locations using my Elk with a fixed el but on a small rat shack rotor for az. I have seen here recommendations for 15 deg and some for 30 deg fixed el. Thus there seems to be 2 schools of thought on this. Is there any compelling argument for one or the other? I'm almost inclined to split the diff at +-22 deg. (most passes for me are N/S and to the E - not so good to W Any thoughts appreciated 73, Ted, K7TRK

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Re: Antenna discussions
by John Becker 24 Mar '11

24 Mar '11

I really forget.... was it the radio or the antenna that came first?

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Re: Antenna discussions
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 24 Mar '11

24 Mar '11

Hi all, Regarding the discussions on antennas - I am not into any debate about the pro's and con's, but would just like to encourage anyone to just have a go. Sure the argument will always prevail perhaps under the " Must do Better" comment and I am sure that one can always improve or progress with experimenting - ( AMATEUR RADIO ) To verify my point I have just received a QSL card from " Nick" - KB5RVT confirming our contact on AO-7 mode B (SSB). MY QTH is WALES in the UK and "Nick" in So.Burlington, Vermont. I was using my "ELK" antenna (horizontal) and Nick has confirmed that he was using an ARROW YAGI. Thanks for the contact " NICK" - A great pleasure to work you via the old bird still working pleased to say. QSL card on the way with thanks. Ken Eaton GW1FKY Amsat- UK Amsat NA

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ND9M/MM Op Sked: 24 March
by Clary, James T, Civilian 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Many tks to everyone who sent screen captures and video clips of my ship transiting the Panama Canal today. Although I've been sailing for a long time, this was my first time through the canal and a very exciting day for me. (Remember when this area was KZ5, now a deleted DXCC country?) Plus I was able to put a couple new grid squares into a bunch of logs to boot, so win-win! I operated the FO29 pass at 23/2126Z and AO51 pass a few minutes later from the middle lock at Gatun Locks in FJ09; the ship was literally going down at the time, but only by virtue of the water level being lowered as we approached the Atlantic side of the canal. We've since cleared the canal and are now fully into the Caribbean. Our route to Jacksonville will be around the western end of Cuba so that we can pick up the Gulf Stream near the Florida Keys; the Stream will push us along by adding about 15 percent to our speed. Since we're on a fixed ETA, we'll ease back on the engines a bit so that they don't have to work quite as hard, not to mention not burn as much fuel. We're due into Jacksonville next Tuesday, 29/3. On an unrelated note, congrats to Allen, N5AFV on making his 50,000th satellite contact early this morning; that's quite an accomplishment! Our course over the next 24 hours will be almost due north, so we'll cross into a new grid square about every five hours. Here's my planned op sked for tonight and tomorrow: Planned VO52 - 24/0208Z - FK00 - only pass this grid FO29 - 24/0904Z - FK01 AO51 - 24/0951Z - FK01 FO29 - 24/2216Z - FK04 AO51 - 24/2229Z - FK04 AO7 - 24/2256Z - FK04 VO52 - 25/0052Z FK04 VO52 - 25/0228Z - FK05 - only pass this grid Probable, but not certain AO7 - 24/1216Z - FK02 - probably the only pass this grid AO27 - 24/1916Z - FK03 - Approx turn on time; 3-minute window starting at 16 degrees & going down FO29 - 24/2030Z - FK03 or FK04 AO51 - 24/2049Z - FK03 or FK04

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DX spots and old idea
by Andrew Glasbrenner 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

I was looking at the cluster tonight and noticed where LU6QI had spotted ND9M, then I spotted him on a later pass. It made me think it might be fun to pick a pass of say FO-29, and originate a message from say the Mideast, which gets passed to Europe, then to the northeast US, then say Florida ;-), then to Central America, then to South America. Sort of like the parlor game where you pass a secret around the room. Yes I realize this is traffic handling, and some folks do it all the time on HF, but for some reason it amused me the idea of leapfrogging along the ground track of a bird. It's sort of what we have done with the AO-51 Sputnik and Apollo events, only two way. I'm sure someone will be right along to tear it to shreds. 73, Drew KO4MA

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More ND9M/MM Videos
by Zachary Beougher 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Hi! Here are a couple other videos of Jim’s ship (well, the ship he is on ;-)). The first is Jim’s ship entering the Gatun Locks, and the second is when he is exiting: Gatun Locks 73! Zack KD8KSN

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A few more ND9M/MM Panama Canal Pics
by David Palmer 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Hi Everyone, For anyone interested, I posted a few more of the photos of Jim ND9M/MM's ship in the Panama Canal at: http://kb5wia.blogspot.com Managed to get photos of the ship in Miraflores, going under the Centennial Bridge, and leaving the canal at Gatun. 73 de Dave KB5WIA / CM88

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Cushcraft 416-TB
by Howard Kowall 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Hello All I acquired a Cushcraft 416-Tb antenna,the so called phasing harness was in bad shape,so I am going to make a new one for it. I could copy the original one,but yes I am making it hard on myself and decide to calculate the proper cable type and length,and to do that I need to know how the antenna actually works.Here is my problem ,the 2 driven elements have a balun to each of the Tmatchs to make the impedance 50 ohms on each driven element.The original phasing harness is 2 piece of 75 ohm aprox 13" that goes to each driven element and the a so239 connector on the other end of the harness is the 50 ohm feedline.I originally thought this was a matching stub,but when I do the calculation for the matching stub,should only be aprox 4" to each driven element.Am I missing something here,how are they able to do this,does anyone know this antenna and how it works. Thanks to all who read and respond in advance Howard VE4ISP

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FAST1 heard over Brasil
by Roland Zurmely 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/satelite.htm#f 73 de Roland.

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WD9EWK @ Tucson AZ hamfest and post-hamfest activity on Saturday (26 March)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Hi! I will have an AMSAT table at the Radio Society of Tucson's spring hamfest on Saturday, 26 March 2011. The hamfest will be at the usual spot for hamfests in that city, in the Kino Sports Complex - along Ajo Way, east of I-10 and the baseball stadium (previously Tucson Electric Park, now Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium). There is a map of the area showing the hamfest location available at: http://www.rstclub.org/sites/default/files/HamfestMap11.jpg The hamfest officially starts at 0700 local (1400 UTC), but - as with most hamfests in Arizona - there will be people roaming around an hour or so earlier. WD9EWK will be on several satellite passes throughout the morning for demonstrations from approximately 1300 UTC, including AO-7 passes if it is in mode B (it should be, if the current pattern continues). The hamfest site is in grid DM42me. Depending on how long I stay in the Tucson area after the hamfest, I may make a drive to one of the different boundaries in southeastern Arizona for a few hours to work satellite passes before returning home. I have been to the DM51/DM52 boundary (along US-191, south of I-10 near the town of Sunsites in Cochise County) on the last couple of trips to that area, and it has been almost a year since I last visited the DM52/DM53 boundary (along US-70, northwest of Safford in Graham County). The Arizona/New Mexico state line along I-10 (grid DM52 only) is also a possibility. Whatever direction I go, I should be visible on APRS at (among other places): http://aprs.fi/wd9ewk-9 If you have a preference on which of these boundaries I should visit, please e-mail me directly. I can't guarantee I will honor all requests, and really can't do that given the distances between these points. It helps to know what others might be interested in working. Some have already worked me in all 3 of these locations during my past trips. Whether you work me at the hamfest and/or wherever I go afterwards, I will be happy to confirm any QSOs with QSL cards. There's no need to first send me a card or SASE, just an e-mail with the QSO details. I will take care of sending a card (or cards) out. I will also upload my QSOs to Logbook of the World. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Re: ND9M/MM Panama Canal Transit - 23 March - Photos from Webcam
by David Palmer 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Hi Everyone, There were good views from the Miraflores webcam as Jim ND9M passed on his ship by this morning! If anyone's interested, here are some photos I grabbed: http://kb5wia.blogspot.com/2011/03/photos-of-nd9mmms-panama-canal-transit.h… 73 de Dave KB5WIA / CM88 On Tue, Mar 22, 2011 at 2:43 PM, Clary, James T, Civilian <James.T.Clary.civ(a)msc.navy.mil> wrote: > We should be crossing into FJ07 shortly, around 22/2300Z. I’ll be on the AO7 > pass that rises locally at 22/2302Z, assuming AO7 is still in Mode B. We > will be in FJ07 for three or four hours, so the VO52 pass at 23/0149Z should > be good for that grid as well. > > > > I expect to be on from FJ08: > > > > FO29 – 23/0813Z > > AO51 – 23/0853Z > > FO29 – 23/0958Z (possibly) > > AO51 – 23/1032Z (possibly) > > > > My ship received our transit schedule for tomorrow. Traffic has to move > slowly through the canal, so it will be an all-day transit. Barring high > winds or bad weather, I’ll set up the step ladder satellite station on the > flight deck and leave it in place all day. > > > > 1345Z / 0845 LT – Arrive Miraflores Locks (east side, right hand) > > 1450Z / 0950 LT – Depart Miraflores Locks > > > > 1535Z / 1035 LT – Arrive Pedro Miguel Locks (west side, left hand) > > 1620Z / 1135 LT – Depart Pedro Miguel Locks > > > > 1950Z / 1450 LT – Arrive Gatun Locks (east side, right hand) > > 2145Z / 1645 LT – Depart Gatun Locks > > > > Evidently there are three sets of locks; I was only aware of two! I don’t > know if the Pedro Miguel Locks has a web cam; probably not since these locks > are immediately after the Miraflores Locks. > > > > Looking at SatPC32, there’s a VO52 pass occurring shortly after we enter the > Miraflores Locks and an FO29 pass as we hit the Gatun Locks. I should be > able to make both passes; it would be fun operating on camera! > > > > Also, we’ll cross into FJ09 at the Miraflores Locks, possibly during the > VO52 pass at 23/1355Z. > > > > 73, > > > > Jim, HP/ND9M / VQ9JC > > Grid EJ97 > > > >

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OOPS
by Kevin Deane 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Sorry did not mean to send that to everyone... KF7MYK

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JPL Tour
by Clint Bradford 23 Mar '11

23 Mar '11

Just got back home from a day at Pasadena's JPL ... un-edited, no-captions-yet photos at ... http://tinyurl.com/JPL-042211 Clint

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Re: FT-817 - Menu 7 - Antenna Selection
by Clint Bradford 22 Mar '11

22 Mar '11

Patrick is one amazing gentleman. I had already harassed him for some radio tips earlier in the day, so I posted this to the AMSAT-BB, not wanting to take up any more of his time with my questions-I-should-know-the-answers-to ... Thanks, Patrick and Bob, for your informative replies. Clint

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Ground Station Items For Sale
by Joel Black 22 Mar '11

22 Mar '11

I'm no longer active on satellites and have some satellite-related gear that is surplus to my needs: 1 ea. Symek TNC31S - $275 OBO +shipping (and PayPal fee if applicable). Comes with the 9600 and 9.6k/38.4k modems. I'd prefer to not separate. >From what I read on the Symek site, both are out of production. I think it was UO-36 on which I used this. 1 ea. Icom AG-25 - $125 OBO +shipping (and PayPal fee if applicable). Works with the IC-821 and FT-847 (I do not know about other radios). I might have a pair of mode J antennas too. I need to contact the person who was going to purchase them. Please contact me off-list at w4jbb(at)charter.net 73, Joel - W4JBB

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ND9M/MM Op Sked: Panama Canal Transit - 23 March
by Clary, James T, Civilian 22 Mar '11

22 Mar '11

We should be crossing into FJ07 shortly, around 22/2300Z. I'll be on the AO7 pass that rises locally at 22/2302Z, assuming AO7 is still in Mode B. We will be in FJ07 for three or four hours, so the VO52 pass at 23/0149Z should be good for that grid as well. I expect to be on from FJ08: FO29 - 23/0813Z AO51 - 23/0853Z FO29 - 23/0958Z (possibly) AO51 - 23/1032Z (possibly) My ship received our transit schedule for tomorrow. Traffic has to move slowly through the canal, so it will be an all-day transit. Barring high winds or bad weather, I'll set up the step ladder satellite station on the flight deck and leave it in place all day. 1345Z / 0845 LT - Arrive Miraflores Locks (east side, right hand) 1450Z / 0950 LT - Depart Miraflores Locks 1535Z / 1035 LT - Arrive Pedro Miguel Locks (west side, left hand) 1620Z / 1135 LT - Depart Pedro Miguel Locks 1950Z / 1450 LT - Arrive Gatun Locks (east side, right hand) 2145Z / 1645 LT - Depart Gatun Locks Evidently there are three sets of locks; I was only aware of two! I don't know if the Pedro Miguel Locks has a web cam; probably not since these locks are immediately after the Miraflores Locks. Looking at SatPC32, there's a VO52 pass occurring shortly after we enter the Miraflores Locks and an FO29 pass as we hit the Gatun Locks. I should be able to make both passes; it would be fun operating on camera! Also, we'll cross into FJ09 at the Miraflores Locks, possibly during the VO52 pass at 23/1355Z. 73, Jim, HP/ND9M / VQ9JC Grid EJ97

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2M1EUB/P QRV AO7 19.30GMT PASS 2NITE
by paul robinson 22 Mar '11

22 Mar '11

Will be looking USA from high ground latter from the van! N.E Scotland 73 de paul 2M1EUB/P via ao7

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AO-40 range record ??
by P.H. 21 Mar '11

21 Mar '11

Hi, For a small club satellite presentation I will be mentioning the benefits of HEO over LEO and the range advantage. Can anyone tell me the distance record set when AO-40 was alive? Thanks 73 2i0VAX Pete

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FT-817 - Menu 7 - Antenna Selection
by Clint Bradford 21 Mar '11

21 Mar '11

I thought that the FT-817'a front and rear antenna jacks could only be switched from the default config out of the box ... FRONT - 50mHZ, 2M, and 440 REAR - HF work ... and vice versa using Menu Item 7. But is that Menu Item more sophisticated than that? Someone just wrote me, indicating that they could make the front jack 2M and the rear 440 - by choosing Menu 7 while working 440, and selecting "REAR." Then work 2M, and select Menu Item 7, and choose "FRONT." I've never had to split it like that, using a diplexer with my sat beams. Can that be done? Quizzically yours, Clint K6LCS

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ND9M/MM Op Sked: 22 March
by Clary, James T, Civilian 21 Mar '11

21 Mar '11

We had another favorable break at midday today when the ship's speed was slowed by a convergence current for a few hours that caused us to still be in EJ78 long enough to get that grid into a few logs on AO27. Later this afternoon, my FT897D failed unexpectedly, but I was eventually able to bring it back to life for the most part with a firmware reset. A few of the menu options are still gone - they're not disabled; they're actually missing from the menu! - so I'll be on the horn with Yaesu tomorrow to see what they suggest. Hopefully the rig will remain functional at least until I get to Florida next week. There were two planned passes while I was up on the flight deck trying to get the 897 back on line. One was AO51 at 21/2247Z, and the second was AO7 at 22/0003Z; both for EJ77. I'd just gotten the 897 back up in time for the AO51 pass and made a few contacts before the rig died again. More resets later, it came back up and stayed mostly operational for AO7's pass. Unfortunately, several ops didn't hear me answering their calls, but for some reason they kept calling anyway. (HF DXers do the same thing, but I still don't know why!) After a few minutes of making just a couple SSB contacts, I gave up on that mode and switched to CW on the same freq. This move got a few ops into the log who otherwise would have lost out on the grid because of the non-stop calling QRM. CW comes through again! We'll be arriving at the Panama Canal Wednesday morning, but we haven't heard yet from the canal authorities what time we'll begin our transit. We're expecting to have to sit for a short time, but we'll likely get into the canal sometime during the morning daylight hours. In case you're interested, the Canal Authority has a website with a pair of web cams set up to watch ships passing through at each set of locks. 'll leave my step ladder satellite station set up on the side of the flight deck nearest the cameras. Let me know if you get any screen captures of the station and the bald guy next to it! The web site is: www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html Near the top of the screen, you'll see a list of links in a horizontal line. Look for "Miraflores Locks" and "Gatun Locks". We'll be coming in from the Pacific side of course, so the Miraflores Locks web cam will be the first one we pass by. I'll post a note to the BB when I've got a better idea of when we'll be hitting the Miraflores Locks. By the way, the images are stills rather than streaming video, but depending on your connection speed, they'll update every few seconds. Here's the list of passes for tonight and most of tomorrow. Since we'll be waiting for arrival instructions from the Canal Authority, I won't make an extensive list of passes, but the following info will take us into FJ07 with FJ08 and FJ09 being tomorrow night and Wednesday. FO29 - 22/0907Z - EJ87 AO51 - 22/0933Z - EJ87 AO7 - 22/1225Z - EJ87 or EJ97 AO51 - 22/2207Z - EJ97 or probably FJ07 FO29 - 22/2223Z - EJ97 or probably FJ07 AO7 - 22/2302Z - if still in Mode B; probably FJ07 VO52 - 23/0149Z - FJ07 FO29 - 23/0813Z - FJ08 or FJ09 AO51 - 23/0853Z - FJ08 or FJ09 Probably, not sure but will try VO52 - 22/1337Z - EJ97 AO51 - 22/2030Z - EJ97 FO29 - 22/2037Z - EJ97 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC

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IC-451A/RFC4-110 for sale
by Bob- W7LRD 21 Mar '11

21 Mar '11

Still cleaning up the ham shack. Posting here before Ebay. IC-451A 70cm all mode and RFC4-110 amp. Was replaced with a IC-910H. $250- Email direct. 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle

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Fwd: [PNWVHFS] FOR SALE: ICOM IC-275A/ SSB LT-230S 23CM TRANSVERTER
by Bob- W7LRD 21 Mar '11

21 Mar '11

I have no connecton with this fellow. Just passing it along to the bb 73 Bob W7LRD ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: n6eq(a)juno.com To: PNWVHFS(a)googlegroups.com Sent: Monday, March 21, 2011 11:19:59 AM Subject: [PNWVHFS] FOR SALE: ICOM IC-275A/ SSB LT-230S 23CM TRANSVERTER Hello, I have the following (2) items: 1. ICOM IC-275A... 2 meter all mode (25 watts) has (PBT) pass band tuning, built in power supply, spch board in good condition. Comes with hand mic., ac cord. $475.00 2. Dressler (EVV 2000 HDX) mast head (144-146 MHz) 3-21 db gain ajustable inside. Ultra low noise transmit/ receive pre-amplifier...750 watts ptt. Same as the (SSB Electronics).Comes with the manual and mast mount. $150.00 3. SSB LT230S 23cm Transverter... top of the line 1296 Mhz. transverter. In good condition. Comes with Manual, DC cord. $650.00 Frequency range: 1296 MHz IF: 144 MHz Drive power: 0.1-10 W RF power output: 30 W Voltage: 13.8 VDC Current drain: Max 3 A Impedance: 50 ohms. N-type RF in/out, BNC IF in/out Dimensions (W*H*D): ? mm Weight: ? Kg Manufactured: Germany, 199x-200x Other: HEMT pre-amp. Built-in power meter Prices don't include shipping... (Postal Money Order Only) 7 3 de N6EQ Chuck (760) 948-9025 ____________________________________________________________ LivingSocial Coupons 1 Amazing Coupon Per Day! Up to 90% Off the Best Stuff to do! LivingSocial.com LivingSocial.com -- ~The Voice of the Pacific NorthWest VHF Society~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PNWVHFS" group. To post to this group, send email to PNWVHFS(a)googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to PNWVHFS-unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/PNWVHFS

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ND9M/MM Op Sked: 21 March
by Clary, James T, Civilian 20 Mar '11

20 Mar '11

My apologies for missing the 20/0914Z FO29 and AO51 passes last night. I set my alarm to get up in plenty of time, but discovered far too late that I'd set the alarm based on tonight's passes instead of last night's and wound up missing them by just a few minutes. And while I was admonishing myself for my own mistake, I received an e-mail telling me that there had been quite a few ops waiting for me, as if I needed a reminder of my foul up. Oh well... We were in EJ49 for a short time at midday today during which there was an AO27 pass. We on the ship also found ourselves in a nice little windstorm (40 MPH sustained) at just the wrong time. I set up on the flight deck as usual, but had to hold down the step ladder with a foot on the bottom rung and my arm on the rig to prevent the station from toppling. The winds were pushing the antenna all over the place which further hampered the already very low elevation ops. I was able to make four contacts during the two minutes or so that I could see the satellite. Later on, K8YSE sent me a recording of the pass, and after listening to it, I'm frankly surprised I made any contacts at all! There were so many non-stop tail-ending calls that I really don't see how I got through for anyone to hear me answer them to begin with! Almost as surprising was that on top of the heavy pileup QRM, one of the few successful QSOs was with N5AFV who was using omni-directional antennas for both the uplink and downlink; Allen punched through on my end with no problem! Right after the pass, I took digital photos of the GPS and clock for QTH documentation as I regularly do and almost lost the rig when a wind gust literally flipped the rig off the ladder's shelf while I still held the ladder down. I dropped the camera and was able to grab the rig's carrying handle just as the rig started downward, so luckily it didn't hit the deck. Surprisingly, the camera survived the five-foot fall on to the steel deck with barely a scratch. Not bad for an over-the-counter Nikon! Tonight, we'll be passing through EJ58 for about three hours, but unfortunately there won't be any passes available until we're already through that grid. For the same reason, I probably will not be able to put out EJ78 which we'll be in for about 2-1/2 hours tomorrow at midday. I'll still keep an eye on the GPS just in case the unexpected happens. The oh-dark-30 FO29 and AO51 passes tonight overlap each other a great deal. I'll start out on FO29 since its footprint will cover much of the ham population before AO51's footprint really becomes usable for my QTH. As we approach the Canal, we're advancing our ship's clock by one hour tonight, our thirteenth clock change since we left Diego Garcia. Starting tomorrow, we'll be on CDT, and my work day will run from 1300-2200Z. After that, we'll have only one more clock advance during this long trip, and we'll finally be done with messing with the clocks. Speaking of the Canal, my IARP was issued on 7 March while I was still at San Diego, so I'm good to go for operating in Panamanian waters and through the Canal. We won't be stopping at Panama, so there won't be any chance of QSOs for DXCC credit, but the grid squares will still be fair game. Here's the list: Planned VO52 - 21/0250Z - EJ59 FO29 - 21/1003Z - EJ68 AO51 - 21/1012Z - EJ68 VO52 - 21/1454Z - EJ68 AO7 - 22/0003Z - EJ77 VO52 - 22/0132Z - EJ77 or EJ87 FO29 - 22/1055Z - EJ87 or EJ97 AO51 - 22/1113Z - probably EJ97 Probable, but not certain AO51 - 21/2108Z - EJ77 FO29 - 21/2131Z - EJ77 AO51 - 21/2247Z - EJ77 VO52 - 22/0309Z - EJ87 FO29 - 22/0907Z - EJ87 or EJ97 - I'll have a better idea tomorrow evening on this pass and AO51's a few minutes later. AO51 - 22/0933Z - EJ87 or EJ97 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC

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Re: AO-40 range record ??
by G0MRF＠aol.com 20 Mar '11

20 Mar '11

In a message dated 20/03/2011 01:43:23 GMT Standard Time, bbjunkie(a)f2s.com writes: Hi, For a small club satellite presentation I will be mentioning the benefits of HEO over LEO and the range advantage. Can anyone tell me the distance record set when AO-40 was alive? Thanks 73 2i0VAX Pete Hello Pete I'm sure you will get lots of answers. But my own personal favourite response to a CQ call on AO-40 from London UK was a Japanese station located at one of the south pole research stations. London to Perth Australia on AO-13 is also in my log, but it was impossible to get from here in the UK to ZL. My local club also took equipment to ZC4 in Cyprus and C56 (Gambia) making about 200 QSOs from each location. DX-Peditioning was popular on the HEO sats. Happy days........... Good luck with the talk David G0MRF

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AO-40 DX Record...
by k0blt＠juno.com 20 Mar '11

20 Mar '11

Greetings to all,I may have what should be one of the most "footprint stretching" DX QSOs via AO-40. A group of German fellows made a DX-pedition to Cocos (Keeling) Islands in 2003. Their grid locator was NH87 and my grid was DN81. I heard them only once and it was on a day near the end of their operation. I was hearing a few fellows on the West Coast working them but I couldn't hear a "peep" from the DX station. All of the sudden they were there, Q5. I couldn't believe my ears! We exchanged the usual 5NN on CW as with most all expedition signal reports. My Elmer, Joe, K0VTY, and I had often talked of stretching the footprint but it never occured to me that I'd have the opportunity to do just that. As I recall, there were less than 5 degrees, according to InstaTrack, for me to make the contact before LOS at both ends. I always blamed the giant Elm tree just accross the street from me for preventing my hearing much that appeared on the low western horizon. After I collected my senses, I went outside and had a look at that "cursed" tree. To my suprise my antennas were pointed at a "hole" in that tree no bigger than a bushel basket. Obviously that hole provided me the one in a thousand shot I had at working VK9CD on the 20th of Oct., 2003. I have been a DXer for over 50 years and I've had many memorable and lucky DX QSOs but VK9CD ranks right up there near the top of my list. I wish that we still had a bird in orbit that would allow such "thrills" but alas.......73 to everyone and we can continue to hope.... Frank, K0BLT ____________________________________________________________ Groupon&#8482 Official Site 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. Get 50-90% off your city's best! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d864833bdd43265bb0st06vuc

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Nuclear accident in Japan
by i8cvs 20 Mar '11

20 Mar '11

Hi All, Tanks to Fer IW1DTU for the following information concerning the contamination of Cs-137 all over the world in the next few days due to the nuclear accident in Japan. Read the following page: http://www.irsn.fr/FR/popup/Pages/irsn-meteo-france_19mars.aspx A black page will be shown.Click over the small white triangle on the left in the bottom side of the page and the animation will start. keep your geiger handy and test everything 73" de i8CVS Domenico ----- Original Message ----- From: IW1DTU Fer To: Domenico Marini Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2011 8:24 AM Subject: incidente nucleare Caro Domenico I8CVS, animazione della diffusione http://www.irsn.fr/FR/popup/Pages/irsn-meteo-france_19mars.aspx keep your geiger handy and test everything 73 Fer

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Re: AO-40 range record ??
by Bob- W7LRD 20 Mar '11

20 Mar '11

Another interesting situation involving AO-40 (sobsob) was when running full duplex there was a very noticeable delay while monitoring yourself. Figuring the round trip distance and the speed of light. I had to turn down the volume a little as I started talking sort of strange. Damn- there's got to be a way, maybe pool all our Visa cards, if I win the lottery I'll buy a launch. There are a lot of very smart and "connected" people in the various AMSAT organizations around the world. A HEO does not have to have every bell and whistle we can think of. Keep it simple stupid (kiss). Our DL friends seem to have the best (only) design. I spent some time looking over my old AO-40 QSL cards (sobsob). Someone mentioned they took some equipment for DX-peditions. A HEO provides an very reliable platform for emergency coms. I could go on and on, but I'm preaching to the choir. I still have my L & S equipment functioning. I'll remove it when they pry it from cold dead hands. 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle ----- Original Message ----- From: "i8cvs" <domenico.i8cvs(a)tin.it> To: "P.H." <bbjunkie(a)f2s.com>, "AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Saturday, March 19, 2011 9:40:47 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-40 range record ?? ----- Original Message ----- From: "P.H." <bbjunkie(a)f2s.com> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2011 2:17 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-40 range record ?? > Hi, > > For a small club satellite presentation I will be mentioning the > benefits of HEO over LEO and the range advantage. > > Can anyone tell me the distance record set when AO-40 was alive? > > Thanks > > 73 > > 2i0VAX > > Pete Hi Pete, 2i0VAX My DX record on AO40 from JN70ES Naples Italy was a QSO with ZL2AOX Ian Ashley in RF72MV with a distance of 18299.0 Km as you can see in the following page of QRZ.com http://www.qrz.com/db/ZL1AOX The uplink was in L band and the downlink in S band This is why it is very important to pull for the new HEO satellite P3-E ! ! Best 73" de i8CVS Domenico _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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UHF Beam Project in WorldRadio Magazine
by JoAnne Maenpaa 20 Mar '11

20 Mar '11

Hello everyone, The latest World Radio On-Line magazine has a UHF antenna project some may find interesting. See http://www.worldradiomagazine.com, pages 22-26, Trail Friendly Radio, A Coat Hanger Beam to Hang Your 440MHz FM Signal On. -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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Fwd: Re: Re: AO-40 range record ??
by Edward R. Cole 20 Mar '11

20 Mar '11

>Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:17:47 -0800 >To: "i8cvs" <domenico.i8cvs(a)tin.it> >From: "Edward R. Cole" <kl7uw(a)acsalaska.net> >Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-40 range record ?? > >At 08:40 PM 3/19/2011, you wrote: >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: "P.H." <bbjunkie(a)f2s.com> >>To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >>Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2011 2:17 AM >>Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-40 range record ?? >> >> > Hi, >> > >> > For a small club satellite presentation I will be mentioning the >> > benefits of HEO over LEO and the range advantage. >> > >> > Can anyone tell me the distance record set when AO-40 was alive? >> > >> > Thanks >> > >> > 73 >> > >> > 2i0VAX >> > >> > Pete >> >>Hi Pete, 2i0VAX >> >>My DX record on AO40 from JN70ES Naples Italy was a QSO with >>ZL2AOX Ian Ashley in RF72MV with a distance of 18299.0 Km as you >>can see in the following page of QRZ.com >> >>http://www.qrz.com/db/ZL1AOX >> >>The uplink was in L band and the downlink in S band >> >>This is why it is very important to pull for the new HEO satellite P3-E ! ! >> >>Best 73" de >> >>i8CVS Domenico > >which is 11,370 miles. The circumference of the earth is 40,075 km >(24,901 miles) so 18,299/40,075 = 45.7 %. > >That is darn close to half the earth in the footprint. Compare that >with a Leo sat footprint. Anymore questions why we are hoping for another Heo? 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 ====================================== BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com EME: 144-1.4kw, 432-100w, 1296-testing*, 3400-winter? DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubususa(a)hotmail.com ======================================

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Rotator Question
by Guy Brauning 20 Mar '11

20 Mar '11

Has anyone used a Yaesu G-450A azimuth rotator with an AMSAT LVB Tracker Box and SatPC32 for computer control of azimuth only aiming for your satellite antenna system? Thanks, Guy N3SCR guyjeanbraun(a)comcast.net

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SO67 schedule Australasia
by Hans 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

Hi all The SO67 schedule for South Africa and Australasia is now on www.amsatsa.org.za <http://www.amsatsa.org.za/> . The next USA week will be 28 March - 10 April a two week period. The schedule will then continue Europe 11 to 17 April, Central Asia 18 - 24 April and Australasia 25 April to 1 May. Enjoy SO67 Hans van de Groenendaal Features Editor EngineerIT www.eepublishers.co.za 012 991 4662 082 781 4631

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Re: AO-40 range record ??
by Dave Guimont 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

>Oh-boy here we go with AO-40 (sobsob) stories.Â >Just off the top of my head I know I got WAC.Â >Now where are my QSL cards? 73 Bob W7LRD still >miss AO-40 (sobsob) ----- Original Message ----- >From: "P.H." <bbjunkie(a)f2s.com> To: >amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Saturday, March 19, >2011 6:17:40 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Â AO-40 range record ?? Hi, Hi Bob, I worked Durbin SA from San Diego which is just a few hundred miles from my antipode....not claiming any record but from my calculations I could work anything in the world except the eastern portion of Madagascar... Make your donations to AMSAT_DL!! Our next chance for a HEO.. 73, Dave, WB6LLO dguimon1(a)san.rr.com Disagree: I learn.... Pulling for P3E...

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ND9M/MM Op Sked: 20 March
by Clary, James T, Civilian 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

We had an early holiday present this afternoon when the ship went through EK21 for about 40 minutes at which time AO51 kindly gave us a well timed pass. It wasn't expected or planned, but very welcomed. For tonight and tomorrow, we've got the possibility of as many as seven different grids scheduled in the next 30 hours or so. Planned Ops AO51 - 20/0914Z - EK30 or EK40* FO29 - 20/0914Z - EK30 or EK40* AO51 - 20/2329Z - EJ59 VO52 - 21/0116Z - EJ59 VO52 - 21/0250Z - EJ59 or EJ58 (only shot at EJ58) FO29 - 21/1003Z - EJ68 AO51 - 21/1012Z - EJ68 Probably; not sure but hopeful VO52 - 20/1436Z - EK40 AO27 - 20/1919Z - EJ49 - 3-minute window within 7-minute timer period; only pass this grid 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC

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Elk Antenna
by Kevin Deane 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

I have been trying out the Elk and have a question on polerization. I have been using a Diamond vertically, does the Elk matter vertical or horizontal? I just saw a post and the gentleman said he was using it horizontaly... It definatly is not as good as my brothers Diamond, but was wondering if I was killin any signal strength? Thanks Kevin KF7MYK

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Az El by vu2pop
by Sandeep Shah 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

Yet another Video of the AZ EL Rotor by VU2POP http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWBh29MyqWU Sundeep Shah, vu3sxe. Member, Treasurer, Amsat-India.

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UEK-3000 for sale
by Bob- W7LRD 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

I have a UEK-3000 http://www.ssbusa.com/modes.html that is surplus to my needs. Has never been outside, mint condition, If interested email direct. 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle

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Re: Antenna discussions,
by Ellis Foley 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

Return Mail to wa1rks(a)yahoo.com Like so many before me posted, I have had gud success with linear polarized antennas. I have been using stacked 11 el vertically pol, on 2m since 1974, and recently went to 2x20 el on 432-435 mhz horizontally pol, stacked in between the vertical 2m ant, With great success. as most of you that posted have worked me on them. fixed elevation also. from 0-30 deg. off the horizons I do very well, little spotty over head, although I do need some pre-amps to work the fm birds. but I think thats more of an radio problelm than antenna. my 2 cents worth! Pics of my ant. on my QRZ spot,along with the "Beast" my new HB 9el 36ft boom 6m ant. de Ellis WA1RKS

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Re: SO-67
by Jim Adams 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

I emailed the SO-67 guys, was told the U.S. is always the first week of the month. Jim Adams - K0BAM Ridgway, Colorado

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SOLVED - Cannot start HRD Sattracker anymore
by PA3GUO 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

Hi David (please note I cc'ed the amsat-bb, as I believe more people will benefit from your solution) That did the trick !! This also explains why a fresh new re-install does not help; the issue is not inside the /Program Files directory, but in .../Application data, which is not overwritting during re-install. You made this sunny day even brighter, many thanks David ! Henk -----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- Van: David Barber Verzonden: vrijdag 18 maart 2011 21:10 Aan: 'PA3GUO' Onderwerp: RE: [amsat-bb] Re: Cannot start HRD Sattracker anymore Try this, it sorted it for me a while back however you will lose your setups. Make a backup of the 'HRD Satellite Tracking' folder located: C:\Documents and Settings\<Your User Name>\Application Data\Simon Brown, HB9DRV\HRD Satellite Tracking Substitute your account name for 'Your User Name' in above path. Then delete the folder from this location and replace with the one I've sent you. Then try and start the tracking program. David G8OQW *******

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Re: more antenna discussions
by David Reinhart 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

Unless you're a big-gun VHF/UHF contester that needs every last dB of antenna gain, circularly polarized sat antennas will work quite nicely for Terrestrial work. This is especially true on 70cm where the gain from a 40 element M^2 436CP like the one I have is so high that the 3dB loss is hardly missed.. Dave Reinhart wa6ilt(a)amsat.org

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Re: so-67
by Patrick E. Farcon 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

I was wondering about the so-67 schedule as well this morning. When I went to check their website it appears the satellite is currently unavailable due to some engineering issue at the ground station. Hopefully it is just temporary. Thanks to all the folks that dedicate their time and efforts at managing the satellites for us to use end enjoy. Pat N2VYT Sent from my iPhone

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Re: Cannot start HRD Sattracker anymore
by Bill Dzurilla 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

I recommend the HRD support forum at http://forums.ham-radio.ch/. The author of the program and several knowledgeable people are usually quick to respond. The first thing they will ask you is the version and build of HRD you are using, and they will suggest you upgrade to the latest, if you have not already done so. Good luck and 73, Bill NZ5N > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Cannot start HRD Sattracker > anymore > To: "'Jan ON7UX'" <on7ux(a)amsat.org>, > <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: > <000001cbe5a2$a484a450$ed8decf0$(a)amsat.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; > charset="us-ascii" > > Hi Jan, > > Too bad, that did not help :-( > Anyone else please ? > > Right now I cannot do doppler correction ... > Henk >

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Correction to mail - Antenna discussion
by GW1FKY＠aol.com 19 Mar '11

19 Mar '11

Hi again, Apologies -------- please note correction to the call sign for " Nick" KB1RVT. "I was to quick on the draw " Should check before I send. Ken Eaton GW1FKY

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ND9M/MM Op Sked: 19 March
by Clary, James T, Civilian 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

We're on schedule to arrive at and transit the Panama Canal on Wednesday, 23 March. Once we clear the canal, we'll head northwest around Cuba and pick up the Gulf Stream that will give us little extra push as we head toward Jacksonville. One non-satellite note: I've been working XE1AO and XE1AY not only the birds but also on 2M CW and SSB. This afternoon, XE1AY (in DK79ua) and I worked when I was in EK04pj on both modes covering a distance of 490 miles. I was using the same FT897D into the WD9EWK's Elk that I've been using for a while now. Of course, it didn't hurt that my operating position on my ship's flight deck is about 105 feet or so above the water line and I've got the entire Pacific Ocean to provide additional ground plane effects! Here's my op sked for tonight and tomorrow: Planned VO52 - 19/0352Z - EK13 AO51 - 19/0952Z - EK13 FO29 - 19/1009Z - EK13 FO29 - 19/2321Z - Should be EK31 by this time. AO7 - 20/0011Z - EK31 AO51 - 20/0914Z - EK40 FO29 - 20/0914Z - EK40 - I'll switch to FO29 as soon as I lose AO51 and should still have nearly half the pass left for the Left Coasters. Probably - will try but not sure VO52 - 19/1418Z - We should be in EK22 by this point, but it's not absolutely certain. AO51 - 19/2228Z - Either EK22 or EK31 VO52 - 20/0233Z - EK31 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC Grid EK13

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SO-67
by Kevin Deane 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

When do we get this one again? The first week of the month? And I still say they should just zip tie the ARRISat to the outside of the space station and leave it there! Poor HO-68 ho hum. Kevin KF7MYK

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Re: Great Grid Map
by k6yk 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

Hey, that thing is pretty cool ! Grid locator, very nice On Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:22:47 -0700 : > http://f6fvy.free.fr/qthLocator/fullScreen.php > > > ____________________________________________________________ Groupon&#8482 Official Site 1 ridiculously huge coupon a day. Get 50-90% off your city's best! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d840788d85802253dbst04vuc

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more antenna discussions....
by zach hillerson 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

I'm still struggling to figure out the best antenna configuration for me. I was originally planning (and now own) to use a Gulf Alpha dual band fixed at 15* elevation, but I am now having 2nd thoughts. Being limited to 1 roof top tower it might be prudent to get as much use out of the single mast as possible. If I go with 2 horizontally polarized linear antennas on a cross boom(1 ea. 2m and 440) could I use them for both satellites and weak signal work? Is there a downside to proceeding this way? One concern that I have is that the horizontal antennas seem to have a somewhat limited frequency range, and I'm not sure of the impact. Also, is it prudent to go with separate azimuth and elevation rotators to allow for future expansion (6m etc...), although the separation required between booms is height prohibitive with 6m? Is anyone running a setup similar to this? Are you happy? Any thoughts, opinions etc... would be appreciated, Zach N4ERZ

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Re: Cannot start HRD Sattracker anymore
by PA3GUO 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

Hi Jan, Too bad, that did not help :-( Anyone else please ? Right now I cannot do doppler correction ... Henk -----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- Van: Jan ON7UX [mailto:[email protected]] Verzonden: vrijdag 18 maart 2011 13:47 Aan: 'PA3GUO'; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Onderwerp: RE: [amsat-bb] Cannot start HRD Sattracker anymore Henk, Download and try: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=a7b7a05e-6de6-4d 3a-a423-37bf0912db84 Package installs runtime components of Visual C++ Libraries required to run applications developed with Visual C++ on a computer that does not have Visual C++ 2010 installed. Good luck! 73, Jan ON7UX Jan Poppeliers +32 475 89.99.20 -----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- Van: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] Namens PA3GUO Verzonden: vrijdag 18 maart 2011 9:50 Aan: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Onderwerp: [amsat-bb] Cannot start HRD Sattracker anymore Who can help me with this? All of the sudden I cannot start the Sattelite tracking within HRD anymore. In order to fix this I tried a complete new install (v5.0), but that doesn't help. - HRD starts & works normally, but; - when I start the Satellite tracker I get "Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime error" ps: OS is Microsoft XP Henk, PA3GUO _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: more antenna discussions....
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

Andrew I agree with you. I use a 17B2 and 18 ele M2 and have worked 50 states and VUCC+ but no elevation does causes me problems with birds above 18 degree elevation. A good 70cm preamp makes all the difference in hearing on the FM birds. It is best to have azel and elevation with cir pol, but not necessary. WA4HFN Damon em55 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrew Glasbrenner" <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> To: "Jeff Moore" <tnetcenter(a)gmail.com> Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Friday, March 18, 2011 3:42:54 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: more antenna discussions.... On Mar 18, 2011, at 4:13 PM, Jeff Moore <tnetcenter(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Horizontally polarized beams will not work very well for satellite use I disagree, at least for 2m. For several years I've used a 2m7 or cushcraft 10 element horizontal yagi on 2m with fine results. Being horizontal allows me to play on terrestrial as well as meteor scatter where the extra gain from polarity makes a huge difference. Sat links are generally good enough that it doesn't matter much at least on 2m. Obviously there is some compromise in this setup, but it hasn't been a problem yet. 73, Drew KO4MA _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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MESSENGER About To Go Into Orbit Around Mercury
by B J 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1103/17messenger/ Orbital insertion burn is coming up in a few minutes. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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UK Space Agency's CubeSat Mission Takes Shape
by Trevor . 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

The UK Space Agency has revealed the instruments and experiments that will be launched into orbit onboard the UKube-1 CubeSat in early 2012. Included are AMSAT-UK's FUNcube boards containing a 435/145MHz linear transponder and 9600bps BPSK beacon. Read the UK Space Agency press release at http://www.bis.gov.uk/ukspaceagency/news-and-events/2011/Mar/UK-first-cubes… You can join the FUNcube Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FUNcube/ AMSAT-UK publishes a colour A4 newsletter, OSCAR News, which is full of Amateur Satellite information. Join online at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK 73 Trevor M5AKA ----

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EM40 Card
by Angelo Glorioso 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

All, I would like to take this time to thank everyone for your patience with the EM40 QSL cards. About 250 cards went out with and without SASE in the last 3 days. If for any reason you do not receive a card for a contact with me, please email me ASAP the QSL information and I will make sure you get your cards ASAP. Once again, thanks everyone for your patience. Angelo Glorioso / N5UXT --------------------------------------------------------- If you don't ask, you will never know!!

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Hamlib for Windows and COM ports question (re: Gpredict)
by Mark L. Hammond 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

To those who might know--- Does hamlib for Windows support more than just COM1 and COM2 for hardware (radios, trackboxes)? If so, what is the syntax? I've tried the obvious permutations based on the command line help and online help I could find...but it isn't working on COM5. It just "hangs" with no errors and it's obviously not working either. I am aware of the baud rate command line option, but that's not it...from what I've read it gives the impression (but isn't clearly stated) that it might not support above COM2. Surely that can be fixed (heh...not by me!) Gpredict for Windows is very nice and a super program, but if I can't use ports higher than COM2 because of hamlib, it's use in my shack is very limited... 73, -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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AMSAT Awards now accepts RAC Canadaward
by Bruce 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

In keeping up with technology and limiting duplication of work, AMSAT Awards will now accept a scanned copy the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) CANADAWARD for satellites as proof of working the 13 valid Canadian Provinces. They are: VE1/VA1 Nova Scotia VE2/VA2 Quebec VE3/VA3 Ontario VE4/VA4 Manitoba VE5/VA5 Saskatchewan VE6/VA6 Alberta VE7/VA7 British Columbia VE8 Northwest Territories VE9 New Brunswick VO1/2 Newfoundland and Labrador VY0 Nanavut VY1 Yukon VY2 Prince Edward This will make it easier for everyone to submit either or both, ARRL Worked All States / RAC CANADAWARD and not have to scan all those cards and have me check them a second time. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0200z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 athttp://www.amsatnet.com Podcast athttp://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitterhttp://www.twitter.com/amsat

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Fw: NASA Make: Challenge Submission Guidelines
by andy thomas 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

I thought all you US citizens might be interested in this: --- On Fri, 18/3/11, NASA Make: Challenge <no-reply(a)makezine.com> wrote: > From: NASA Make: Challenge <no-reply(a)makezine.com> > Subject: NASA Make: Challenge Submission Guidelines > To: "andyG0SFJ" <.............................> Date: Friday, 18 March, 2011, 6:40 > We've published the rules and > guidelines for the > 2011 NASA Make: Challenge, which invites makers to propose > kits > that high school students can build in their classrooms to > > explore a scientific, technical, or math concept by > flying the kits on a suborbital rocket flight. > > Proposals for the NASA Make: Challenge should be submitted > > electronically to makespacekits(a)gmail.com > by midnight > (Pacific Daylight Savings Time) April 30, 2011. To > develop > a successful proposal, please consult the rules and > guidelines > found at: > > http://www.makezine.com/space/rules > > NOTE: The NASA Make: Challenge is open to all U.S. > citizens. > Proposers under the age of 18 must include the permission > of > a parent or guardian to participate. > > The winner of the NASA Make: Challenge will win a trip to > the > Bay Area Maker Faire on May 21 & 22. The winning > project will > also be published in MAKE Magazine. > > We are planning a webcast for the week of March 28. > The webcast > will be an opportunity to learn from experts about > developing > experiments that can fly in space. They will be > available > for questions as well. > > Thanks for participating in the 2011 NASA Make: Challenge > and be > sure to tell others you know who might wish to > participate. > > Thanks, > Dale Dougherty > Founder and Publisher, MAKE Magazine > email: dale(a)oreilly.com > > This email was sent to ...> If you are no longer interested you can unsubscribe > instantly: > http://makermedia.createsend2.com/t/r/u/jlditrd/bykjudyjd/r/ > >

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2.4GHz downconverter
by Eric H. Christensen 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

I am looking for a 2.4GHz downconverter to attach to my patch antenna (and hopefully to my dish). Anyone have one they want to sell? 73, Eric W4OTN

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Cannot start HRD Sattracker anymore
by PA3GUO 18 Mar '11

18 Mar '11

Who can help me with this? All of the sudden I cannot start the Sattelite tracking within HRD anymore. In order to fix this I tried a complete new install (v5.0), but that doesn't help. - HRD starts & works normally, but; - when I start the Satellite tracker I get "Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime error" ps: OS is Microsoft XP Henk, PA3GUO

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JA7QHM Shinji Suzuki
by Dave Guimont 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

I just got a BIG RELIEF NOTE from him, from Iwate, and are sure there are many others that worked him in the HEO days. He suffered some damage, but came thru it ok....... He spent about a week with us some time back, and we visited with local hams with whom he had made satellite contacts..... 73, Dave, WB6LLO dguimon1(a)san.rr.com Disagree: I learn.... Pulling for P3E...

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ND9M/MM Op Sked - Friday, 18 March
by Clary, James T, Civilian 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

We'll be in DK96 for about 90 minutes, but there are no passes scheduled for that time frame. Also, we're advancing our clocks tonight to GMT -6, so my work sked moves to 1400-2300Z for the next few days. Our voyage plan will start using latitude and longitude points that coincide with quad grid points, so predicting what grid I'll be in on certain passes will get a bit cagey. It also opens up the possibility of crossing from one grid to another and maybe even a third during the same pass! The GPS calls the shots. Also, we're moving further south which limits my access to AO27 and its 7-minute window. By the time the satellite turns on, it's already passed its high point at my QTH. I'm now down to three minutes on a low pass to five minutes on a high one before I lose the bird entirely. My apologies if I disappear while you're still calling. Planned AO51 - 18/1030Z - DK95 FO29 - 18/1106Z - DK95 AO27 - 18/1847Z - EK04 - approx turn on time; LOS for me is at 1850Z. AO51 - 18/2309Z - EK04 FO29 - 19/0018Z - EK04 VO52 - 19/0216Z - EK04, EK03, EK14, or EK13 (or a combo!) AO51 - 19/0952Z - EK13 FO29 - 19/1009Z - EK13 Probably VO52 - 18/0334Z - DK86 AO7 - 18/1431Z - DK96 AO27 - 18/2027Z - EK04 - approx turn on time; LOS for me is at 2032Z. FO29 - 18/2230Z - EK04 VO52 - 19/0352Z - EK13 Maybe FO29 - 18/0921Z - DK95 AO51 - 18/1210Z - DK95 AO7 - 18/1237Z - DK95 VO52 - 18/1401Z - DK95 AO7 - 18/1431Z - DK95 VO52 - 18/1535Z - Probably DK95 but it could also be EK05 or EK04 AO51 - 18/2132Z - EK04 SO50 - 18/2204Z - EK04 FO29 - 19/0828Z - EK13 SO50 - 19/1027Z - EK13 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC Grid DK86

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MESSENGER Now In Orbit
by B J 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

The spacecraft will be checked out over the next few days before it begins collecting data. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Re: ND9M
by Gail A Mcdaniel 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

Jim, Kudos for all your efforts in making wet grids available. I heard a couple operators this evening talking about a "pile-up".... I haven't had this much fun for a while. I now schedule my breaks to work a pass.... My family thinks I need to go to some type of intervention program... catch you on the next pass! 73 from Kansas City Gail - KB0RZD (EM29)

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ND9M
by Jim Adams 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

I just wanted to say thank you to ND9M for all the contacts on grids out in the middle of the ocean. You taking time from work, on a ship to make satellite contacts is just amazing, and demonstrates the good in ham radio. YOU ROCK! Jim Adams - K0BAM Ridgway, Colorado

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1000 THANKS
by Alvaro de Leon Romo 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

Hi boys: I want to take a minute to thanks to many people that help me in satellite all this time ,13 years of funny time.Finally I did my milestone , 1000 worked grids. Got so many helps that I hope each of you will accept this as my sincere thanks and appreciation for all your help and info. Many thanks to all rovers and maritime movil and a lot of people that gave me his QTH grid. Thanks to all privet mails and BB mails with a lot of kindy words, all are a great society Sincerely Al XE2AT

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Test Equipt Manuals
by Pete Norris 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

Hi all: I have three pieces of test gear that is old but seems to work fine, that I would like to find manuals for. They are: A Measurements Signal Generator Model 803A A Daven/Measurements Deviation Meter Model 920 The third is Measurements Signal Generator that was manufactured for Motorola with a model Number of S-1319A. I think I have found this one at Manual Man, but I've got to check on that. The two generators look identical except the Motorola is a horizontal configuration and the Measurements is vertical. Measurements was a division of Edison Electronics, which was a division of McGraw- Edison, so forth and so on. I tracked this whole thing down by phone one day and finally found a man who was familiar with the unit but had no idea where I could find a manual. End of trail. If anyone could shed some light on this, I would appreciate hearing from them. Pete, K1HZU k1hzu(a)yahoo.com

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H.R. 607 Letter generator and Chwat contact info
by KI6RRQ＠ARRL.NET 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

Clint & Everyone: The following info will be helpful for folks to facilitate your instructions to get your letters to Chwat & Company. Also, the first link below is to a letter generator, you put in your call sign and it will generate a completed letter to your Representative with your signature block, automatically, just click the PDF Version in red to; print or save your PDF letter. http://www.kd4pyr.net/hamletter.htm Whether you use the above letter generator or your own; Signed letters can be sent by e-mail, fax or postal mail. They can also be scanned into PDF format and e-mailed as a file attachment. Postal mail: John Chwat, Chwat & Co., Suite 103, 625 Slaters Lane, Alexandria, VA 22314. E-mail: john.chwat(a)chwatco.com. Fax number: (703) 684-7594. 73 de KI6RRQ Rich _____ Message: 4 Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2011 14:54:26 -0700 From: Clint Bradford <clintbrad4d(a)earthlink.net> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: H.R. 607 To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Message-ID: <23F381E6-987D-4276-83C0-8CF69C27A32B(a)earthlink.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >> ... This works I just sent my letter . Recommend everyone join in ... The ARRL is wisely recommending that we do NOT send letters directly to our reps (unless you have an inside contact with a legislative aide). To be most effective, we are sending signed letters/faxes to our ARRL lobbyist, Chwat & Company. They will hand-carry these letters to the appropriate officials. Normal mailed letters can take up to TWO MONTHIS in is post 9/11 world to actually get to where you want it to on Capitol Hill. Complete instructions are on the ARRL's site. Clint Bradford, K6LCS 909-241-7666

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Re: H.R. 607
by Clint Bradford 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

>> ... This works I just sent my letter . Recommend everyone join in ... The ARRL is wisely recommending that we do NOT send letters directly to our reps (unless you have an inside contact with a legislative aide). To be most effective, we are sending signed letters/faxes to our ARRL lobbyist, Chwat & Company. They will hand-carry these letters to the appropriate officials. Normal mailed letters can take up to TWO MONTHIS in is post 9/11 world to actually get to where you want it to on Capitol Hill. Complete instructions are on the ARRL's site. Clint Bradford, K6LCS 909-241-7666

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GPS jamming exersise
by Nigel A. Gunn 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

Date: 17 March 2011 10:50 Subject: Ofcom Update: Forthcoming GPS jamming exercises To: The MoD has informed Ofcom of the following GPS jamming exercise: Dates: Jamming will be conducted on a maximum of 3 week-days in the period 10-21 July 2011.Times: 0900 -1730 BST. Location: Jamming aircraft will orbit at 10,000ft above mean sea-level (AMSL) along a 50nm flightpath on a heading of 270°T from Kirkwall, starting 10nm to the west of Kirkwall and ending 60nm to the west of Kirkwall Possible areas affected: The GPS jamming is likely to affect civilian Standard Positioning Service (SPS) receivers over a large area. A minimum jammer to signal vulnerability of 30dB has been assumed for a civilian receiver. Signal theory suggests that a SPS civilian receiver should have approximately 32dB of jamming resistance. Safety of Life Operations: Safety of life operations will take precedence over exercise activities at all times. To this end, the AWC is open to further discussion with any official recipient on the potential implications of this jamming exercise. Contact point: During the exercise, any official recipient (or their delegated representative) and any member of the Emergency Services may terminate the jamming for safety reasons by calling the contact numbers below: (1) Primary: Duty Controller Flying (TLT), RAF Kinloss - Tel: 01309 617857. (2) Backup: Duty Controller Flying (TLT), RAF Lossiemouth - Tel: 01343 817428. (3) Tertiary: Duty Air Surveillance Officer, National Air and Space Operations Centre – Tel: 01494 494812.

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ISS reboost coming Friday
by Alan P. Biddle 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

All, Roscosmos has announced the ISS will be reboosted 3.7 km tomorrow. Since the orbital period changes _roughly_ 1.2 seconds for each 1 km of altitude, we should see almost 5 seconds of change. Usual caveats about tracking program ISS discrepancies until the Keps catch up. http://www.federalspace.ru/main.php?id=2&nid=11541&lang=en Alan WA4SCA

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Contact your representatives now to oppose HR 607 threat to 70 cm operations
by Alan P. Biddle 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

To our US members, This information has been disseminated by the ARRL, AMSAT, and other amateur related news services, but I will recap it here. A bill, HR 607, has been introduced with the aim of expanding Public Service communications. However, this bill uniquely proposes to transfer the 420-440 MHz band away from its current users. Considering that most amateur satellites use these frequencies, this would effectively end our operations if implemented. We are working with the ARRL to make this issue public, and to urge our members to contact their representatives. For more details on the threat, and on how to respond effectively, see: WWW.ARRL.ORG There is currently a brief video near the top of the page on HR 607. http://www.arrl.org/regulatory-advocacy The regulatory link has multiple articles, updated as needed. WWW.AMSAT.ORG Currently toward the bottom of the page is a review of the situation from AMSAT's perspective, and a letter representing our unique concerns. http://www.kd4pyr.net/hamletter.htm This site will take your call, and generate a letter to your representative with your name and address in PDF format. Alan WA4SCA AMSAT Corporate Secretary

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HO-68
by Dads 17 Mar '11

17 Mar '11

Hi: Do you know if the ground control has turned the HO-68 back on yet? I had e- mail contact with Alan several months ago and he said he would have it turned on all the time soon. The rest of our sats are on all the time like A0-07 FO-29 VO-52 etc. Jerry w0sat

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XE2AT - 1000 Grids!
by Clary, James T, Civilian 16 Mar '11

16 Mar '11

I worked XE2AT this morning on AO7 at 16/1254Z when I was in grid DL40. He told me later that not only was it a new grid, but that it was grid #1000 for him. That's a terrific accomplishment! Congrats Alvaro! Muy bueno! 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC Grid DL40

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