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Florida AMSAT Net tonight (Thursday 7:30PM Eastern)
by John Papay 03 Feb '11

03 Feb '11

The Florida AMSAT net is held every Thursday evening at 7:30pm Eastern (0030z Friday). If you are in Florida, the net is carried on many repeaters throughout the state. If you are out of state or can't hit one of the repeaters, check into the AMSAT Conference Node using Echolink. Lots of good discussion about satellites. 73, John K8YSE/4

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Re: AO40 contacts
by Bob- W7LRD 03 Feb '11

03 Feb '11

according to my log the last qso's were 1/24/04 W3STW 1/23/04 W7TYN 1/19/04 VA7MM and to make us all dream again in Oct/Nov of 03 F/HB9RM, DL8IL,OK1DX, DL8YS, ON6AA (rip),DC3ZB, DK1KQ, LY3BH, VK5AKJ there's gotta be a way folks, there's gotta be a way!! 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle ----- Original Message ----- From: "Floyd Rodgers" <kc5qbc(a)swbell.net> Cc: "AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Thursday, February 3, 2011 12:04:06 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] AO40 contacts Did anyone manage to bag any contacts off A040 before it's sad event? _______________________________________________ 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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SO-67 Schedule
by John Papay 03 Feb '11

03 Feb '11

The SO-67 for North America has been updated to show passes through 6Feb2011 at 1655z on their website: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ 73, John K8YSE

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Re: Kenwood TH-F6a
by Clint Bradford 03 Feb '11

03 Feb '11

>> ... I got a surprise gift of a Kenwood TH-F6A ... Put that person on your Christmas card list - what a great gift! >> ... any tips to share ... Just program it for TX on Band A and RX on Band B. Use the A/B switch to go to Band B to accommodate Doppler, then switch back to Band A to transmit. >> ... I've read through the eham reviews ... I always take eHam reviews with a grain of salt. MANY of the "negative" point made are from folks who cannot read an instruction manual. But the TH-F6a is a great HT. >> ... speaker/mics and headsets ... Some will recommend the Wouxun models. Their heavy-duty mic (probably made by JDI in China) is decent. The "standard" accessories are, well, you get what you pay for in the world of audio accessories. Of Kenwood's offerings, I always thought the SMC-32 was over-priced for what it was. And some love the SMC-34 with its built-in volume control. That, to me, is just a "feature" waiting to fail (dust or debris). But I have heard very few actual problems with the SMC-34. When working for Pryme, we had the SPM-901 - a good, beefy handheld mic. If you can find one of those discontinued models for $35 or so, it's a good speaker-mic. Pryme has replaced it with their SPM-2101 - for about $60. Both of these have a 3.5mm jack for an earpiece. >> ... quality of after-market programming cables ... I shy away from Chinese "bargains" on eBay. The PG-4Y from Kenwood is less than $40. Software is FREE from Kenwood's Web site. If it makes you feel any better, the last software and cable I bought from Motorola was over $250. So, to me, forty bucks for a programming cable is a steal. IN THE MEANTIME, I digested the 64-page manual to ONE PAGE for you - find the Cheat Sheet on the DOCS page of my Web site - http://www.k6lcs.com >> ... and want to record passes while listening or operating ... Think of keeping it simple: a little pocket recorder in your shirt pocket, or most smartphones have an audio recording app. You do not necessarily have to "hard-wire" your audio input to get good results. When running off its battery, the output power levels are 5.0W, 0.5W, and 0.05W. But if you run it off of a 12VDC source, you have 5W, 2.0W, and 0.5W. With an improved antenna, you can certainly turn it down to the 2W setting - IF running off of 12VDC. Enjoy that little radio! Clint, K6LCS

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SSB
by Kevin Deane 03 Feb '11

03 Feb '11

ARRISat Its too bad this is a SSB sat. I suppose it will be great for those who have SSB capability, less traffic and all. I guess I have to spend more money..... Sigh Kevin KF7MYK

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Re: Rideshare missions to GTO, only $14 million for Eagle, $800K for 3U Cubesat
by Bob- W7LRD 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

An interesting read http://spaceflightservices.com/DocFiles/SpaceFlight_Services_Secondary_PL_P… Maybe we could all pool our Visa cards. 73 Bob W7LRD ----- Original Message ----- From: "Daniel Schultz" <n8fgv(a)usa.net> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Tuesday, February 1, 2011 10:33:35 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Rideshare missions to GTO, only $14 million for Eagle, $800K for 3U Cubesat Spaceflight Services Announces Lunar and GTO Mission Pricing Prague, CZ - September 30, 2010: Spaceflight Services (Spaceflight) announced today pricing for small payloads to Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and Low Lunar Orbit (LLO). Spaceflight, as part of the Rocket City Space Pioneer Google Lunar X-Prize Team, is responsible for mission integration and providing space transportation services to Low Lunar Orbit. Spaceflight is providing flight opportunities for ESPA class spacecraft (spacecraft weighing less than 180 kg) interested in launch services to GTO and Low Lunar Orbit. The proposed mission, which is slated for Q4 2013 or Q1 2014, will deploy three ESPA payloads into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit and two additional payloads in a Low Lunar Orbit. The mission is also open to smaller spacecraft looking for a low cost ride to either of these destinations. Mission pricing for small payloads to GTO begins at $795,000 for a 3U CubeSat and up to $13,950,000 for a full ESPA spacecraft. ------------------------------------------------------------ This is considered a "Low Cost Ride" in the commercial world. This is the free market value of the launch that we are hoping to get for significantly less. Wish us luck... http://www.spaceflightservices.com/MHome.php http://www.spaceflightservices.com/NewsFSFlunarPR.php Dan Schultz N8FGV _______________________________________________ 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: SSB
by Bob- W7LRD 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

Hi Kevin et al I hear this alot. Yes it will require an investment, however it doesn't have to be excessive. Ebay and flea markets are full of reasonable older Icoms, Kenwoods etc that are fully capable of providing good ssb/cw operation on our linear satellites. Granted they may not be computer controllable, you will actually have to use that big knob. I suppose this is the point where one actually gets "serious" about amateur satellites and the whole process of engineering, funding, promoting, and yes the politics of the aforementioned. We must remember this is rocket science and that ain't cheap. Once you have the necessary equipment you will start thinking of, dare I say a HEO. 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kevin Deane" <summit496(a)live.com> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Wednesday, February 2, 2011 7:53:38 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] SSB ARRISat Its too bad this is a SSB sat. I suppose it will be great for those who have SSB capability, less traffic and all. I guess I have to spend more money..... Sigh Kevin KF7MYK _______________________________________________ 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: FM Birds
by Clint Bradford 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

>> ... I agree FM birds are out of control and something needs to be done to make it a ham band again ... One might think - after reading these "anti-FM-bird-operators" posts - that there would be massive problems with sat ops in, say, in the most populous region of the most populous state in the U.S. - Southern California. I am proud to state that there are NO such widespread problems emanating from this region. We have more hams - and more people - and consequently more potential for problems. But those "problems" have been very few and far between. This might be a "perception" problem, too. I mean, one person's anger at a "pile-up" is another person's excitement at the "challenge" of working the birds. And so it goes ... Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.k6lcs.com

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Re: CH-19 11 Meters
by Joe Krepps 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

Roger Kolakowski <Rogerkola(a)aol.com> wrote: > No...constructive criticism would have been more appropriate...that > isn't what you received...grab the grid and move on...time is too short, > enjoy the hobby! Why reward Ted's harsh sarcasm with what he wants?!?! Let him get Kevin's grid from someone else who prefers sarcasm broadcast to everyone in the bird's footprint! That was really poorly handled. I have yet to make my first satellite contact and I will NOT have the benefit of full duplex, like Kevin. Ted couldn't you have been an Elmer or is your "sense of humor" more important? Just checking before I give it a shot. Back to HF, Joe WB3CFN <-Grateful for actual Elmers, like Clint, Drew and several others

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Re: FM birds
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

Yep I agree FM birds are out of control and something needs to be done to make it a ham band again. There are some very bad operators on AO51. I try to make a call and as soon as I let go of the mic some one is calling another station. There needs to be some changes made . If that means sending out OO reports then so beit. after all the satellites are still ham bands and should be governed as such. There is no excuse for the mess that we have to put up with now on AO51. I one can not hear his signal them stop transmitting, get a preamp or a full duplex radio .But operate in a proper manner. It is up to us to govern the ham bands and if that means someone gets his or her feelings hurt then look at the rules again for being a ham operator and try to find some rules for the CBer's. Good operating practice is a must for the birds WA4HFN Damon EM55 ----- Original Message ----- From: "jerry" <jkboxk(a)wildblue.net> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Wednesday, February 2, 2011 12:13:00 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] FM birds I gave up a long time ago trying to make a contact on FM . I heard My downlink several times , and maybe got one reply . Can't get a word in edgeways with the regular bunch on there on every pass . Not worth the effort to Me . _______________________________________________ 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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HV SATCOM NET FEB 3 AT 8pm EST ON N2EYH-l
by Cotejaune2＠aol.com 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

Join us for the net tomorrow on N2EYH-L Echolnk. Hope to hear you there.73 Gary

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Re: FM Birds
by Jeremy Bomkamp 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

The morning passes are still fairly quiet on AO-51 and the time spent eclipsed looks to be getting shorter

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Re: SO-67 Audio
by Michael Elliott 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

Joe, I was actually wondering the same thing - I was going to post the question to the group, but you beat me to it. It has been a while since I have been on SO-67 and I couldn't remember if the audio was that low. I tried a pass on Sunday evening and thought it may be my antenna so I used a different antenna last night and noticed the same thing - I was actually indoors with my Arrow antenna last night, but I was still getting the low audio along with a burst ever now and then of loud audio. Michael, K4MOA - *Subject*: [amsat-bb] SO-67 Audio - *From*: joe barkley <jbarkley@xxxxxxxxxxxx <jbarkley(a)DOMAIN.HIDDEN>> - *Date*: Wed, 02 Feb 2011 05:38:34 -0500 - *Authentication-Results*: spam02.emerald.synacor.comsmtp.user=jbarkley;auth=pass (LOGIN) - *X_CMAE_Category*: 0,0 Undefined,Undefined ------------------------------ Hi All, I was a pass of SO-67 last night and the audio seems to be sort of muted or suppressed. Signals would pop through at times. Was that just me or did it seem that way to others? Thanks Joe KI4TZ _______________________________________________ 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: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 6, Issue 67
by Louis McFadin 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

There has been much discussion about the possibility of doing some on orbit testing of ARISSat-1 while it is still inside the cabin. That has been proposed and it is being considered. There is no decision as of this time. This idea has some hurdles to overcome before it is a done deal. First we must get the approval of the ISS safety panel. In order to do that we must show that it will not constitute a safety hazard to the ISS. That has not been clearly established as of this time. Second it would interfere with some planned school contacts. That would cause a lot of problems. So it is premature to declare that this testing will take place. We will continue to work the process and will let the amateur community and the world know as soon as possible if it is approved. Lou McFadin W5DID ARISS US Hardware manager On Feb 1, 2011, at 7:51 PM, amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org wrote: > Send AMSAT-BB mailing list submissions to > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > amsat-bb-owner(a)amsat.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of AMSAT-BB digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Fwd: Re: Re: UKuke-1 Announcement (Wouter Weggelaar) > 2. Re: LoTW Questions (Jim Bennett) > 3. Re: LoTW Questions (Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK)) > 4. LoTW Questions (Ted) > 5. SA-AMSAT Satellites (Trevor .) > 6. Re: LoTW Questions (Zachary Beougher) > 7. AO-51 status on AMSAT.org page (Scott Armstrong) > 8. Re: AO-51 status on AMSAT.org page (Mark L. Hammond) > 9. Re: AO-51 status on AMSAT.org page (Scott Armstrong) > 10. Re: AO-51 status on AMSAT.org page (Andrew Glasbrenner) > 11. Re: LoTW Questions (Gary "Joe" Mayfield) > 12. Re: LoTW Questions (Jim Bennett) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 22:33:22 +0100 > From: Wouter Weggelaar <wouterweg(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Fwd: Re: Re: UKuke-1 Announcement > To: Jim List <jimlist(a)milnet.uk.net> > Cc: amsat-bb <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>, "Mark L. Hammond" > <marklhammond(a)gmail.com> > Message-ID: > <AANLkTinkLxQgkt23J3gXRUShV8_wn6_cfC-OvOiPoYxr(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > I guess there will be at least a couple of dutchies here as well > willing to track. > > Wouter PA3WEG > > > On Thu, Jan 27, 2011 at 10:34 AM, Jim List <jimlist(a)milnet.uk.net> wrote: >> Agreed, but thats not to say that someone outside UK couldn't set up a GS, >> using the info in the AO. >> >> I am sure that the UKSA would welcome that, and also wish to know if any >> organisation would be willing to do that. >> >> 73 Jim G3WGM >> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On >>> Behalf Of Mark L. Hammond >>> Sent: 27 January 2011 00:23 >>> To: amsat-bb >>> Subject: [amsat-bb] Fwd: Re: Re: UKuke-1 Announcement >>> >>> >>>> #21--must be from UK! ?:) >>>> >>>> http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/assets/pdf/UKUBEAOGS.pdf >>>> >>>> "UK-based entities are invited to submit a proposal for Ground Segment >>> support on this pilot mission." >>>> >>>> 73, >>>> >>>> Mark N8MH >>>> >>>> At 06:22 PM 1/26/2011 -0500, you wrote: >>>>> >>>>> That is good news. >>>>> >>>>> Also, I see bids are being solicited from anyone / any team who would >>> like >>>>> to form the official U-Kube ground station for the 1 year duration of >>> the >>>>> mission. >>>>> >>>>> There are a list of 20 requirements for the ground station at: >>>>> >>>>> _http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/20701.aspx_ >>>>> (http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/20701.aspx) >>>>> >>>>> Two are fairly easy. 1) Must have full amateur radio license. ?2) >>> Antenna >>>>> must have RH and LH polarisation. >>>>> >>>>> 73 >>>>> >>>>> David >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> In a message dated 26/01/2011 17:33:32 GMT Standard Time, >>>>> g.shirville(a)btinternet.com writes: >>>>> >>>>> Sorry this time WITH the relevant link! >>>>> >>>>> _http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/21973.aspx_ >>>>> (http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/21973.aspx) >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>>> From: ?_Graham Shirville_ (mailto:[email protected]) >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the >>> author. >>>>> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite >>> program! >>>>> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >>>> >>>> >>>> Mark L. Hammond ?[N8MH] >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the >>> author. >>> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite >>> program! >>> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. >> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! >> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >> > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 16:47:16 -0500 > From: "Jim Bennett" <jlb3nn(a)bellsouth.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LoTW Questions > To: "'Zachary Beougher'" <zack.kd8ksn(a)hotmail.com>, > <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <A973594ED7AE4B92B8972CA0E85133E8@jim1> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Is anyone else using HRD for logging? I am and after entering the mode as > Satellite, I have to load the database into Microsoft Access and edit the > mode field from Satellite to SAT. Then LOTW will accept it. > > Zach, > You might want to use MS Access to mass change the field of the mode to SAT. > > Jim > Ke4kol > > > -----Original Message----- > From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Zachary Beougher > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 9:45 PM > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LoTW Questions > > Hi Gary, > > Thanks for the reply - that helps me get a better understanding of how it > works. I have never entered the propagation mode into HRD, so I would have > to manually go through and update each entry (329 since Oct. 24), so I think > > I am going to update and upload only my portable operation QSOs DATED AFTER > Oct. 24 (when I started using HRD instead of paper). This would encompass > the EN80/EM89 operation on Oct. 30, EN70vb operation on Nov. 30, EN90/EM99 > operation on Dec. 17, 2010 and again on Jan. 29, 2011. If someone needs my > home grid (EN80) confirmed via LoTW, send me an email off list and I will > update the propagation mode and upload that as well. I just can't see > spending all of that time to make a change to all of those entries. From > now on I will enter "satellite" as the propagation mode, and then I will > upload both portable and non-portable QSOs. I did read in the instructions > about how you could cut and paste the changed in the ADIF file, but after > trying that it would take just as long to make the changes in HRD. > > 73! > > Zack > KD8KSN > > -----Original Message----- > From: Gary "Joe" Mayfield > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 1:52 PM > To: 'Zachary Beougher' ; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] LoTW Questions > > The ARRL does a nice job of spelling out the parameters here: > http://www.arrl.org/files/file/LoTW%20Instructions/N5JB.pdf > > The band that matters ( according to the ARRL ) is the band you transmit on, > > not the band you receive on. > > Here is the data you need to log the contact and have it count in LOTW > > <CALL:6> [The Station You Worked] > <QSO_DATE:8> [YYYYMMDD] > <TIME_ON:6> [HHMMSS] in utc > <BAND:4> [The band you transmitted on] > <MODE:3> [SSB, CW, FM, etc.] > <PROP_MODE:3>SAT > <SAT_NAME:4> [The bird you used] > <EOR> > > Please note it is VERY unforgiving as far as entries go. Things must be > spelled correctly! The [] above should not be included. I have yet to hear > > the exact allowable clock difference, but I'm sure it is several minutes at > least. > > 73, > Joe kk0sd > > -----Original Message----- > From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Zachary Beougher > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 12:11 PM > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] LoTW Questions > > Hi All, > > I am trying to get myself going on LoTW, and I need to know what the > generally excepted parameters are for QSO information. > > 1) In my logbook (HRD), what should I put for the freq. (2m, 440)? > > 2) What happens if my log entry is one minute off of stations B's entry > (1906z versus 1905z) - will they match up? > > 3) What should my mode be set at (FM, SAT)? > > 4) Other than date, time, call, mode, sent RST, rcvd RST, band and name (op > name), is there anything that needs to be added to it when I go to upload? > This was the default LoTW selection for HRD, so I am assuming it is correct. > > I can't think of any other questions at the moment, but any other helpful > tips for getting it started would be appreciated. > > 73! > > Zack > KD8KSN > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 15:11:32 -0700 > From: "Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK)" <amsat-bb(a)wd9ewk.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LoTW Questions > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Message-ID: > <AANLkTikb16OvawTddY0sv16Cs4qOSYBR82zATmYEDh3-(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 > > Hi! > >>> Is anyone else using HRD for logging? ?I am and after entering ?the mode as >>> Satellite, I have to load the database into Microsoft Access and edit the >>> mode field from Satellite to SAT. ?Then LOTW will accept it. >> >> Zach, >> You might want to use MS Access to mass change the field of the mode to SAT. > > Or a spreadsheet (MS Excel, OpenOffice, etc.) could be used to do the same > thing. > > I was able to take my satellite log in an Excel spreadsheet and quickly > change some fields - plus add all the ADIF field labels - in a short amount > of time. My time-consuming task was to break the log down into all the > different station locations I've worked from (almost 100 for my satellite work). > I spent probably 12-14 hours over a couple of late evenings, but it was > worth it. Now I can make much smaller uploads with new contacts, and not > take much time in doing that. > > 73! > > > > > > Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK > http://www.wd9ewk.net/ > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 14:30:21 -0800 > From: "Ted" <k7trkradio(a)charter.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] LoTW Questions > To: "'Jim Bennett'" <jlb3nn(a)bellsouth.net>, "'Zachary Beougher'" > <zack.kd8ksn(a)hotmail.com>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <82BFE3EFD6864D52BC4B3DAE7D67819A@HamComputer> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Jim, there is a 'bulk editor' in the HRD Logbook. Look in the 'more' button. > You will need to isolate your sat log, highlight all the entries, then go to > the bulk editor and add or change fields for the entire log. The > instructions are in the 'bulk editor' window. It's a little sketchy on how > it works but also somewhat intuitive. I was able to add 'satellite' in the > propagation field to all my contacts. > > Check it out as it may save some time ( I do not remember exactly how I > did it so can't be of much help on that. I just know it will work for you) > > GL Ted K7TRK > > -----Original Message----- > Is anyone else using HRD for logging? I am and after entering the mode as > Satellite, I have to load the database into Microsoft Access and edit the > mode field from Satellite to SAT. Then LOTW will accept it. > > Zach, > You might want to use MS Access to mass change the field of the mode to SAT. > > Jim > Ke4kol > > > -----Original Message----- > From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Zachary Beougher > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 9:45 PM > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LoTW Questions > > Hi Gary, > > Thanks for the reply - that helps me get a better understanding of how it > works. I have never entered the propagation mode into HRD, so I would have > to manually go through and update each entry (329 since Oct. 24), so I think > > I am going to update and upload only my portable operation QSOs DATED AFTER > Oct. 24 (when I started using HRD instead of paper). This would encompass > the EN80/EM89 operation on Oct. 30, EN70vb operation on Nov. 30, EN90/EM99 > operation on Dec. 17, 2010 and again on Jan. 29, 2011. If someone needs my > home grid (EN80) confirmed via LoTW, send me an email off list and I will > update the propagation mode and upload that as well. I just can't see > spending all of that time to make a change to all of those entries. From > now on I will enter "satellite" as the propagation mode, and then I will > upload both portable and non-portable QSOs. I did read in the instructions > about how you could cut and paste the changed in the ADIF file, but after > trying that it would take just as long to make the changes in HRD. > > 73! > > Zack > KD8KSN > > -----Original Message----- > From: Gary "Joe" Mayfield > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 1:52 PM > To: 'Zachary Beougher' ; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] LoTW Questions > > The ARRL does a nice job of spelling out the parameters here: > http://www.arrl.org/files/file/LoTW%20Instructions/N5JB.pdf > > The band that matters ( according to the ARRL ) is the band you transmit on, > > not the band you receive on. > > Here is the data you need to log the contact and have it count in LOTW > > <CALL:6> [The Station You Worked] > <QSO_DATE:8> [YYYYMMDD] > <TIME_ON:6> [HHMMSS] in utc > <BAND:4> [The band you transmitted on] > <MODE:3> [SSB, CW, FM, etc.] > <PROP_MODE:3>SAT > <SAT_NAME:4> [The bird you used] > <EOR> > > Please note it is VERY unforgiving as far as entries go. Things must be > spelled correctly! The [] above should not be included. I have yet to hear > > the exact allowable clock difference, but I'm sure it is several minutes at > least. > > 73, > Joe kk0sd > > -----Original Message----- > From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Zachary Beougher > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 12:11 PM > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] LoTW Questions > > Hi All, > > I am trying to get myself going on LoTW, and I need to know what the > generally excepted parameters are for QSO information. > > 1) In my logbook (HRD), what should I put for the freq. (2m, 440)? > > 2) What happens if my log entry is one minute off of stations B's entry > (1906z versus 1905z) - will they match up? > > 3) What should my mode be set at (FM, SAT)? > > 4) Other than date, time, call, mode, sent RST, rcvd RST, band and name (op > name), is there anything that needs to be added to it when I go to upload? > This was the default LoTW selection for HRD, so I am assuming it is correct. > > I can't think of any other questions at the moment, but any other helpful > tips for getting it started would be appreciated. > > 73! > > Zack > KD8KSN > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 23:07:03 +0000 (GMT) > From: "Trevor ." <m5aka(a)yahoo.co.uk> > Subject: [amsat-bb] SA-AMSAT Satellites > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Message-ID: <763258.57992.qm(a)web27205.mail.ukl.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > There is some more info on the two Southern African AMSAT satellites at > > http://www.southgatearc.org/news/february2011/saamsat_projects.htm > > 73 Trevor M5AKA > Daily Amateur Radio Email/RSS News: http://www.southgatearc.org/ > Email Your News To: editor at southgatearc.org > Or Upload At: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/your_news_1.htm > ---- > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 19:37:13 -0500 > From: "Zachary Beougher" <zack.kd8ksn(a)hotmail.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LoTW Questions > To: "Ted" <k7trkradio(a)charter.net>, "'Jim Bennett'" > <jlb3nn(a)bellsouth.net>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <SNT111-DS25A66CE407CFCEC5F22009B3E40(a)phx.gbl> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; > reply-type=original > > WOW! Thanks for the tip, Ted. I did the bulk editor like you had mentioned, > and it not only changed all off the propagation modes to satellite, but it > even changed it to "SAT." I didn't know that option existed. > > Here is a sample ADIF file encompassing 2 contacts from the other day. The > propagation mode is in line 4 from the bottom in both. Can anyone tell me > if this looks like something LoTW would except? > > #++ > # > # HRD Logbook version 5.0 build 2636, Copyright (C) 2009-2010 by Simon > Brown, HB9DRV > # http://www.ham-radio-deluxe.com > # > # Created: 01-Feb-2011 19:30:58 > # > #-- > > <ADIF_VERS:3>2.2 > <PROGRAMID:14>HamRadioDeluxe > <PROGRAMVERSION:22>Version 5.0 build 2636 > <EOH> > > <address:48>Michael D Elliott > PO BOX 1165 > Nebo, NC 28761 > USA <a_index:3>0.0 <ant_az:3>0.0 <ant_el:4>47.0 > <ant_path:1>S <band:2>2m <call:5>K4MOA <cnty:8>McDowell <cont:2>NA > <country:24>United States of America > <cqz:1>5 <distance:7>503.537 <dxcc:3>291 <eqsl_qsl_rcvd:1>N > <eqsl_qsl_sent:1>N <force_init:1>0 <gridsquare:6>EM95bp > <ituz:1>6 <k_index:3>0.0 <lat:11>N035 38.750 <lon:11>W081 52.500 > <lotw_qsl_rcvd:1>N <lotw_qsl_sent:1>N > <mode:2>FM <my_country:24>United States of America <my_cq_zone:1>5 > <my_gridsquare:6>EN80sd <my_itu_zone:1>6 > <my_lat:11>N040 08.750 <my_lon:11>W082 27.500 <my_name:4>Zack > <name:17>Michael D Elliott <operator:16>ZACHARY BEOUGHER > <owner_callsign:16>ZACHARY BEOUGHER <pfx:2>K4 <prop_mode:3>SAT <qsl_rcvd:1>N > <qsl_rcvd_via:1>D <qsl_sent:1>N > <qsl_sent_via:1>D <qso_complete:1>Y <qso_random:1>0 <qth:4>Nebo > <rst_rcvd:2>59 <rst_sent:2>59 <rx_pwr:3>0.0 > <sat_mode:6>FM V/U <sat_name:4>AO51 <sfi:3>0.0 <state:2>NC > <station_callsign:6>KD8KSN <swl:1>0 <time_off:6>215800 > <time_on:6>215800 <qso_date:8>20110129 <tx_pwr:5>5.000 <EOR> > > <address:54>Richard G Bogen > 835 W South St > Stoughton, WI 53589 > USA <a_index:3>4.0 <ant_az:3>0.0 <ant_el:4>47.0 > <ant_path:1>S <band:2>2m <call:5>N9AMW <cnty:4>Dane <cont:2>NA > <country:24>United States of America <cqz:1>5 > <distance:7>640.187 <dxcc:3>291 <eqsl_qsl_rcvd:1>N <eqsl_qsl_sent:1>N > <force_init:1>0 <gridsquare:6>EN52jv > <ituz:1>6 <k_index:3>0.0 <lat:11>N042 53.750 <lon:11>W089 12.500 > <lotw_qsl_rcvd:1>N <lotw_qsl_sent:1>N > <mode:2>FM <my_country:24>United States of America <my_cq_zone:1>5 > <my_gridsquare:6>EN80sd <my_itu_zone:1>6 > <my_lat:11>N040 08.750 <my_lon:11>W082 27.500 <my_name:4>Zack > <name:15>Richard G Bogen <operator:16>ZACHARY BEOUGHER > <owner_callsign:16>ZACHARY BEOUGHER <pfx:2>N9 <prop_mode:3>SAT <qsl_rcvd:1>N > <qsl_rcvd_via:1>D <qsl_sent:1>N > <qsl_sent_via:1>D <qso_complete:1>Y <qso_random:1>0 <qth:9>Stoughton > <rst_rcvd:2>59 <rst_sent:2>59 <rx_pwr:3>0.0 > <sat_mode:6>FM V/U <sat_name:4>AO51 <sfi:4>81.0 <state:2>WI > <station_callsign:6>KD8KSN <swl:1>0 <time_off:6>215400 > <time_on:6>215400 <qso_date:8>20110129 <tx_pwr:5>5.000 <EOR> > > > How does that look?? > > Zack > KD8KSN > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ted > Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 5:30 PM > To: 'Jim Bennett' ; 'Zachary Beougher' ; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: LoTW Questions > > Jim, there is a 'bulk editor' in the HRD Logbook. Look in the 'more' button. > You will need to isolate your sat log, highlight all the entries, then go to > the bulk editor and add or change fields for the entire log. The > instructions are in the 'bulk editor' window. It's a little sketchy on how > it works but also somewhat intuitive. I was able to add 'satellite' in the > propagation field to all my contacts. > > Check it out as it may save some time ( I do not remember exactly how I > did it so can't be of much help on that. I just know it will work for you) > > GL Ted K7TRK > > -----Original Message----- > Is anyone else using HRD for logging? I am and after entering the mode as > Satellite, I have to load the database into Microsoft Access and edit the > mode field from Satellite to SAT. Then LOTW will accept it. > > Zach, > You might want to use MS Access to mass change the field of the mode to SAT. > > Jim > Ke4kol > > > -----Original Message----- > From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Zachary Beougher > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 9:45 PM > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LoTW Questions > > Hi Gary, > > Thanks for the reply - that helps me get a better understanding of how it > works. I have never entered the propagation mode into HRD, so I would have > to manually go through and update each entry (329 since Oct. 24), so I think > > I am going to update and upload only my portable operation QSOs DATED AFTER > Oct. 24 (when I started using HRD instead of paper). This would encompass > the EN80/EM89 operation on Oct. 30, EN70vb operation on Nov. 30, EN90/EM99 > operation on Dec. 17, 2010 and again on Jan. 29, 2011. If someone needs my > home grid (EN80) confirmed via LoTW, send me an email off list and I will > update the propagation mode and upload that as well. I just can't see > spending all of that time to make a change to all of those entries. From > now on I will enter "satellite" as the propagation mode, and then I will > upload both portable and non-portable QSOs. I did read in the instructions > about how you could cut and paste the changed in the ADIF file, but after > trying that it would take just as long to make the changes in HRD. > > 73! > > Zack > KD8KSN > > -----Original Message----- > From: Gary "Joe" Mayfield > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 1:52 PM > To: 'Zachary Beougher' ; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] LoTW Questions > > The ARRL does a nice job of spelling out the parameters here: > http://www.arrl.org/files/file/LoTW%20Instructions/N5JB.pdf > > The band that matters ( according to the ARRL ) is the band you transmit on, > > not the band you receive on. > > Here is the data you need to log the contact and have it count in LOTW > > <CALL:6> [The Station You Worked] > <QSO_DATE:8> [YYYYMMDD] > <TIME_ON:6> [HHMMSS] in utc > <BAND:4> [The band you transmitted on] > <MODE:3> [SSB, CW, FM, etc.] > <PROP_MODE:3>SAT > <SAT_NAME:4> [The bird you used] > <EOR> > > Please note it is VERY unforgiving as far as entries go. Things must be > spelled correctly! The [] above should not be included. I have yet to hear > > the exact allowable clock difference, but I'm sure it is several minutes at > least. > > 73, > Joe kk0sd > > -----Original Message----- > From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Zachary Beougher > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 12:11 PM > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] LoTW Questions > > Hi All, > > I am trying to get myself going on LoTW, and I need to know what the > generally excepted parameters are for QSO information. > > 1) In my logbook (HRD), what should I put for the freq. (2m, 440)? > > 2) What happens if my log entry is one minute off of stations B's entry > (1906z versus 1905z) - will they match up? > > 3) What should my mode be set at (FM, SAT)? > > 4) Other than date, time, call, mode, sent RST, rcvd RST, band and name (op > name), is there anything that needs to be added to it when I go to upload? > This was the default LoTW selection for HRD, so I am assuming it is correct. > > I can't think of any other questions at the moment, but any other helpful > tips for getting it started would be appreciated. > > 73! > > Zack > KD8KSN > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 7 > Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 18:54:49 -0600 > From: Scott Armstrong <aa5am(a)arrl.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-51 status on AMSAT.org page > To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <COL116-W51B35154537C54335057EEC0E40(a)phx.gbl> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > > Question for the group. > > The AO-51 status on the AMSAT.org status page shows AO-51 to have a HF component that is operational. > > Reading about the satellite and some of the related links I found mentioned something about a 10m uplink budget but no additional information. All other references to the satellite make no mention of any HF component. > > Does AO51 have a HF uplink or downlink? > > Scott AA5AM > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 8 > Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:07:58 -0500 > From: "Mark L. Hammond" <marklhammond(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-51 status on AMSAT.org page > To: Scott Armstrong <aa5am(a)arrl.net>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <2p801g00956cfur05p80Te(a)gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Hi Scott, > > AO-51 has a broad band receiver (think something like an Icom PCR-1000) that can be tuned to 10M. The problem is that the antenna is either one tuned for 2M or 1.2GHz. So---it's very inefficient and not very effective. There have been some short periods of testing, but it's not on the list of "commonly used modes." > > There is no HF transmitter on AO-51. > > Hope that helps! > > Mark N8MH > > At 06:54 PM 2/1/2011 -0600, Scott Armstrong wrote: > >> Question for the group. >> >> The AO-51 status on the AMSAT.org status page shows AO-51 to have a HF component that is operational. >> >> Reading about the satellite and some of the related links I found mentioned something about a 10m uplink budget but no additional information. All other references to the satellite make no mention of any HF component. >> >> Does AO51 have a HF uplink or downlink? >> >> Scott AA5AM >> _______________________________________________ >> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. >> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! >> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 9 > Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 19:15:59 -0600 > From: Scott Armstrong <aa5am(a)arrl.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-51 status on AMSAT.org page > To: <marklhammond(a)gmail.com>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <COL116-W62BA2A48319CC1F95A21D7C0E40(a)phx.gbl> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > > Thanks Mark. > > Clears up that mystery! Been meaning to ask that question for a few weeks and just never seem to get around to doing it. > > 73, > Scott AA5AM > >> Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 20:07:58 -0500 >> To: aa5am(a)arrl.net; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org >> From: marklhammond(a)gmail.com >> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-51 status on AMSAT.org page >> >> Hi Scott, >> >> AO-51 has a broad band receiver (think something like an Icom PCR-1000) that can be tuned to 10M. The problem is that the antenna is either one tuned for 2M or 1.2GHz. So---it's very inefficient and not very effective. There have been some short periods of testing, but it's not on the list of "commonly used modes." >> >> There is no HF transmitter on AO-51. >> >> Hope that helps! >> >> Mark N8MH >> >> At 06:54 PM 2/1/2011 -0600, Scott Armstrong wrote: >> >>> Question for the group. >>> >>> The AO-51 status on the AMSAT.org status page shows AO-51 to have a HF component that is operational. >>> >>> Reading about the satellite and some of the related links I found mentioned something about a 10m uplink budget but no additional information. All other references to the satellite make no mention of any HF component. >>> >>> Does AO51 have a HF uplink or downlink? >>> >>> Scott AA5AM >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. >>> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! >>> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >> > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 10 > Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:21:16 -0500 > From: Andrew Glasbrenner <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-51 status on AMSAT.org page > To: Scott Armstrong <aa5am(a)arrl.net> > Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Message-ID: <4D48B18C.1070807(a)mindspring.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > On 2/1/2011 7:54 PM, Scott Armstrong wrote: >> Question for the group. >> >> The AO-51 status on the AMSAT.org status page shows AO-51 to have a HF component that is operational. >> >> Reading about the satellite and some of the related links I found mentioned something about a 10m uplink budget but no additional information. All other references to the satellite make no mention of any HF component. >> >> Does AO51 have a HF uplink or downlink? >> >> Scott AA5AM > The wideband SQRX receiver will operate on HF, but early tests indicated > really poor performance. This is largely in part to a late change in the > onboard equipment just before launch, but also due to using an 18 inch > whip for receive on the satellite. > > So, it's there but it's not normally in use. We could try it again if > there is interest enough. > > 73, Drew KO4MA > AMSAT-NA VP Operations > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 11 > Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 19:48:39 -0600 > From: "Gary \"Joe\" Mayfield" <gary_mayfield(a)hotmail.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LoTW Questions > To: "'k6yk'" <k6yk(a)juno.com>, <k7trkradio(a)charter.net> > Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Message-ID: <COL114-DS166EB74A29EEC4019916168AE40(a)phx.gbl> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Yes, > > My logging program became confused and threw an error. All seems well now. > > 73, > Joe kk0sd > > -----Original Message----- > From: k6yk [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 10:50 AM > To: k7trkradio(a)charter.net > Cc: aa5am(a)arrl.net; gary_mayfield(a)hotmail.com; zack.kd8ksn(a)hotmail.com; > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] LoTW Questions > > > Anybody notice a hang-up in LOTW yesterday or today? > > I uploaded about 300 QSO's last night, they never showed up on > my count yet. So I uploaded them again this morning, same thing. > > BTW I also uploaded all the RS-13 mode T QSO's and a bunch of > older AO-27 QSO's this week, about 4000 QSO's. They went in OK. > > 73, > John K6YK > > > ____________________________________________________________ > When Banks Compete, You Win! > Refi & lower payments today: $400,000 for only $1,687/mo. No SSN required. > http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d483a296243494ecst05vuc > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 12 > Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2011 20:51:01 -0500 > From: "Jim Bennett" <jlb3nn(a)bellsouth.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LoTW Questions > To: "'Ted'" <k7trkradio(a)charter.net>, "'Zachary Beougher'" > <zack.kd8ksn(a)hotmail.com>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <2CDFC95D05164099B0FD3042D7897936@jim1> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Ted, > Thanks for tip. I didn't know that. I will try it out the next time I > update my log. > > Cu on the birds > 73's > Jim > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Ted [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 5:30 PM > To: 'Jim Bennett'; 'Zachary Beougher'; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: LoTW Questions > > Jim, there is a 'bulk editor' in the HRD Logbook. Look in the 'more' button. > You will need to isolate your sat log, highlight all the entries, then go to > the bulk editor and add or change fields for the entire log. The > instructions are in the 'bulk editor' window. It's a little sketchy on how > it works but also somewhat intuitive. I was able to add 'satellite' in the > propagation field to all my contacts. > > Check it out as it may save some time ( I do not remember exactly how I > did it so can't be of much help on that. I just know it will work for you) > > GL Ted K7TRK > > -----Original Message----- > Is anyone else using HRD for logging? I am and after entering the mode as > Satellite, I have to load the database into Microsoft Access and edit the > mode field from Satellite to SAT. Then LOTW will accept it. > > Zach, > You might want to use MS Access to mass change the field of the mode to SAT. > > Jim > Ke4kol > > > -----Original Message----- > From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Zachary Beougher > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 9:45 PM > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: LoTW Questions > > Hi Gary, > > Thanks for the reply - that helps me get a better understanding of how it > works. I have never entered the propagation mode into HRD, so I would have > to manually go through and update each entry (329 since Oct. 24), so I think > > I am going to update and upload only my portable operation QSOs DATED AFTER > Oct. 24 (when I started using HRD instead of paper). This would encompass > the EN80/EM89 operation on Oct. 30, EN70vb operation on Nov. 30, EN90/EM99 > operation on Dec. 17, 2010 and again on Jan. 29, 2011. If someone needs my > home grid (EN80) confirmed via LoTW, send me an email off list and I will > update the propagation mode and upload that as well. I just can't see > spending all of that time to make a change to all of those entries. From > now on I will enter "satellite" as the propagation mode, and then I will > upload both portable and non-portable QSOs. I did read in the instructions > about how you could cut and paste the changed in the ADIF file, but after > trying that it would take just as long to make the changes in HRD. > > 73! > > Zack > KD8KSN > > -----Original Message----- > From: Gary "Joe" Mayfield > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 1:52 PM > To: 'Zachary Beougher' ; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] LoTW Questions > > The ARRL does a nice job of spelling out the parameters here: > http://www.arrl.org/files/file/LoTW%20Instructions/N5JB.pdf > > The band that matters ( according to the ARRL ) is the band you transmit on, > > not the band you receive on. > > Here is the data you need to log the contact and have it count in LOTW > > <CALL:6> [The Station You Worked] > <QSO_DATE:8> [YYYYMMDD] > <TIME_ON:6> [HHMMSS] in utc > <BAND:4> [The band you transmitted on] > <MODE:3> [SSB, CW, FM, etc.] > <PROP_MODE:3>SAT > <SAT_NAME:4> [The bird you used] > <EOR> > > Please note it is VERY unforgiving as far as entries go. Things must be > spelled correctly! The [] above should not be included. I have yet to hear > > the exact allowable clock difference, but I'm sure it is several minutes at > least. > > 73, > Joe kk0sd > > -----Original Message----- > From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Zachary Beougher > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 12:11 PM > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] LoTW Questions > > Hi All, > > I am trying to get myself going on LoTW, and I need to know what the > generally excepted parameters are for QSO information. > > 1) In my logbook (HRD), what should I put for the freq. (2m, 440)? > > 2) What happens if my log entry is one minute off of stations B's entry > (1906z versus 1905z) - will they match up? > > 3) What should my mode be set at (FM, SAT)? > > 4) Other than date, time, call, mode, sent RST, rcvd RST, band and name (op > name), is there anything that needs to be added to it when I go to upload? > This was the default LoTW selection for HRD, so I am assuming it is correct. > > I can't think of any other questions at the moment, but any other helpful > tips for getting it started would be appreciated. > > 73! > > Zack > KD8KSN > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via amsat-bb(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 6, Issue 67 > ***************************************

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Photos of ARISSat-1 loaded into Progress
by Daniel Schultz 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

Photos of ARISSat-1 loaded into Progress vehicle: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=35923 Dan Schultz N8FGV

4 3

ARRISat-1
by Kevin Deane 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

ARRISat-1 Did I miss the keps for this or are they non-existant yet?

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OSCAR-11 Report
by Clive Wallis 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

OSCAR-11 REPORT 31 January 2011 This report covers the period from 31 December 2010 to 31 January 2011. During this time the satellite has been heard from 31 December 2010 to 10 January 2011, and from 21 January to 30 January . It is expected to switch-on again 10 February for ten days, and remain silent for the remainder of the month. Excellent signals have been reported from stations located around the world, and good copy obtained from decoded telemetry frames. The satellite is now transmitting during eclipses, although signals are weaker at those times. This indicates that there is still some capacity remaining in the battery. The on-board clock is now very stable. It gained eight seconds during January. The VHF beacon frequency is 145.826 MHz. AFSK FM ASCII Telemetry Reception reports have been received from Christian SWL-CHMY, Mike DK3WN, Campo PY5JAP, Ron WB0SOK and Horatio CX8AF. Many thanks for those and to everyone who posted reports on the satellite status website. At the present time, while OSCAR-11 is operating in a predictable way, I no longer need direct reports or files by e-mail. However, could all listeners continue to enter their reports on the general satellite status website. This is a very convenient and easy to use facility, which shows the current status of all the amateur satellites, and is of use to everyone. Reports around the expected times of switch-on and switch-off are of special interest, especially for times 12:00 - 17:00 and 22:00 - 07:00 UTC, to when the satellite is out-of-range in the UK . The URL is http://oscar.dcarr.org/index.php A longer version of this report report is available on my website, and new listeners to OSCAR-11 should read this for further information. The URL is www.g3cwv.co.uk/oscar11.htm . This page contains a links to the longer report, a short audio clip to help you identify the satellite and a file of the last telemetry received. The website also contains an archive of news & telemetry data which is updated from time to time, and details about using a soundcard or hardware demodulators for data capture. There is also software for capturing data, and decoding ASCII telemetry. If you place this bulletin on a terrestrial packet network, please use the bulletin identifier $BID:U2RPT153.CWV, to prevent duplication. 73 Clive G3CWV xxxxx(a)amsat.org (please replace the x's by g3cwv)

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SO-67 Audio
by joe barkley 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

Hi All, I was a pass of SO-67 last night and the audio seems to be sort of muted or suppressed. Signals would pop through at times. Was that just me or did it seem that way to others? Thanks Joe KI4TZ

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Re: ARRISat-1
by Alex 02 Feb '11

02 Feb '11

Kevin, the keps are the same as for ISS since it has not yet been placed into its own orbit Cheers Alex

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Sooo....
by Kevin Deane 01 Feb '11

01 Feb '11

The person e-mailed me, I am over it. I suppose I look like the cry baby new guy, and I guess I was. At least the person owned up to it. A little helpful information would have been nice instead of the ridicule over the air. So whatever, I will go ride my big wheel now... Kevin KF7MYK

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Murray St Univ - Kentucky
by Clint Bradford 01 Feb '11

01 Feb '11

We just wrapped up my "How to Work Ham Sats With our HT" for Murray State University Amateur Radio Club in Murray, Kentucky. They've been an ARRL affiliate club for over 40 years. I am trying to get some new AMSAT members out of them ... We had a great time during the presentation - and, although they're freezing back there, there were 25 attendees. We were also up against a speech by Ben Stein on campus at the same time (grin). I sent the custom slideshow (with Murray-related trivia questions) to them last week, and they projected it locally. And then we hooked up with Skype tonight for the audio. Only a couple Skype fade-outs - but it was an hour-and-five-minutes, so no real complaints. Chuck Williams, KJ4HBK, arranged the meeting. He's been to my Web site, and has been working AO-51 the past couple of weeks. Great group ... great Q&A afterwards. Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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LoTW Questions
by Zachary Beougher 01 Feb '11

01 Feb '11

Hi All, I am trying to get myself going on LoTW, and I need to know what the generally excepted parameters are for QSO information. 1) In my logbook (HRD), what should I put for the freq. (2m, 440)? 2) What happens if my log entry is one minute off of stations B’s entry (1906z versus 1905z) – will they match up? 3) What should my mode be set at (FM, SAT)? 4) Other than date, time, call, mode, sent RST, rcvd RST, band and name (op name), is there anything that needs to be added to it when I go to upload? This was the default LoTW selection for HRD, so I am assuming it is correct. I can’t think of any other questions at the moment, but any other helpful tips for getting it started would be appreciated. 73! Zack KD8KSN

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Re: LoTW Questions
by k6yk 01 Feb '11

01 Feb '11

Anybody notice a hang-up in LOTW yesterday or today? I uploaded about 300 QSO's last night, they never showed up on my count yet. So I uploaded them again this morning, same thing. BTW I also uploaded all the RS-13 mode T QSO's and a bunch of older AO-27 QSO's this week, about 4000 QSO's. They went in OK. 73, John K6YK ____________________________________________________________ $65/Hr Job - 25 Openings Part-Time job ($20-$65/hr). Requirements: Home Internet Access http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4d483a292341b161194st02vuc

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SA-AMSAT Satellites
by Trevor . 01 Feb '11

01 Feb '11

There is some more info on the two Southern African AMSAT satellites at http://www.southgatearc.org/news/february2011/saamsat_projects.htm 73 Trevor M5AKA Daily Amateur Radio Email/RSS News: http://www.southgatearc.org/ Email Your News To: editor at southgatearc.org Or Upload At: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/your_news_1.htm ----

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Fwd: Re: Re: UKuke-1 Announcement
by Mark L. Hammond 01 Feb '11

01 Feb '11

>#21--must be from UK! :) > >http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/assets/pdf/UKUBEAOGS.pdf > >"UK-based entities are invited to submit a proposal for Ground Segment support on this pilot mission." > >73, > >Mark N8MH > >At 06:22 PM 1/26/2011 -0500, you wrote: >> >>That is good news. >> >>Also, I see bids are being solicited from anyone / any team who would like >>to form the official U-Kube ground station for the 1 year duration of the >>mission. >> >>There are a list of 20 requirements for the ground station at: >> >>_http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/20701.aspx_ >>(http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/20701.aspx) >> >>Two are fairly easy. 1) Must have full amateur radio license. 2) Antenna >>must have RH and LH polarisation. >> >>73 >> >>David >> >> >> >> >>In a message dated 26/01/2011 17:33:32 GMT Standard Time, >>g.shirville(a)btinternet.com writes: >> >>Sorry this time WITH the relevant link! >> >>_http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/21973.aspx_ >>(http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/21973.aspx) >> >> >>----- Original Message ----- >>From: _Graham Shirville_ (mailto:[email protected]) >> >> >> >> >>_______________________________________________ >>Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. >>Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! >>Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > >Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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ARISSat-1 test operation
by Masahiro Arai 01 Feb '11

01 Feb '11

I got this info from Sergey RV3DR. ARISSat-1 test operaion from the ISS is planed from 10 till 13 Feb. The frequcney is 145.95MHz. I think further info will be announced by ARISSat team soon. 73 Masa JN1GKZ Tokyo Japan

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eQSL
by Bob Herrell 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

Hi all, After taking with several of you, I have decided to upload my logs to EQSL also. Just finished uploading 4,082 new records. Hope that helps with your EQSL Awards. I upload LOTW every evening. 73, Bob AJ5C

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K4-LU QSO on AO7
by Luis Quintas 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

Gary (K4MF) and I (LU6QI) made several attempts during more than a month (we tried on more than 15 passes for sure) for a QSO on AO7 in cw in Mode A or B. Finally on Jan 30, 2011 we succeed. We made a fine short qso in Mode B at 2315 UTC during the orbit # 65714. It was a very clear copy with the satellite just above the horizon. The distance between Gary’s location (EL98JG) and mine (FF66TQ) is 7024,45 Km. I don’t know of any other qso between USA and Argentina on low altitude satellites, at least I never saw it reported on the AO7 Log.

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Re: K4-LU QSO on AO7
by Andrew Glasbrenner 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

Congratulations! That is a heck of a stretch even on AO-7. I've worked LU5BOJ a few times, but I believe he is farther north than you? 73, Drew KO4MA EL88pg -----Original Message----- >From: Luis Quintas <lu6quintas(a)gmail.com> >Sent: Jan 31, 2011 3:08 PM >To: Amsat-BB(a)amsat.org >Subject: [amsat-bb] K4-LU QSO on AO7 > >Gary (K4MF) and I (LU6QI) made several attempts during more than a >month (we tried on more than 15 passes for sure) for a QSO on AO7 in >cw in Mode A or B. Finally on Jan 30, 2011 we succeed. We made a fine >short qso in Mode B at 2315 UTC during the orbit # 65714. It was a >very clear copy with the satellite just above the horizon. The >distance between Gary’s location (EL98JG) and mine (FF66TQ) is >7024,45 Km. I don’t know of any other qso between USA and Argentina >on low altitude satellites, at least I never saw it reported on the >AO7 Log. > >_______________________________________________ >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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so67 - tone or no tone?
by zach hillerson 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

Now that we have a week of so67 activity I am confused about the tone. I am currently using the tone, and made 1 contact (new grid!) on the only pass I could work yesterday. I'm also reading a few reports about not using the tone as the preferred method of working so67. What is the BB vote - tone or no tone....or doesn't matter?

2 1

Call for Papers: 15th Annual SVHFS Conference Huntsville, AL
by Robin Midgett 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

Call for Papers: 15th Annual Southeastern VHF Society Conference, Huntsville, Alabama The Southeastern VHF Society is calling for the submission of papers and presentations for the upcoming 15th annual Southeastern VHF Society Conference to be held in Huntsville, Alabama on April 29th and 30th, 2011. Papers and presentations are solicited on both the technical and operational aspects of VHF, UHF and Microwave weak signal amateur radio. Time slots for Presentations are limited but all papers will be considered. Some suggested areas of interest are: Transmitters Receivers Transverters RF Power Amplifiers RF Low Noise Pre Amplifiers Antennas Construction Projects Test Equipment And Station Accessories Station Design And Construction Contesting Roving DXpeditions EME Propagation (Sporadic E, Meteor Scatter, Troposphere Ducting, etc.) Digital Modes (WSJT, etc.) Digital Signal Processing (DSP) Software Defined Radio (SDR) Amateur Satellites Amateur Television In general papers and presentations on non weak signal related topics such as FM repeaters and packet will not be accepted but exceptions may be made if the topic is related to weak signal. For example, a paper or presentation on the use of APRS to track rovers during contests would be considered. The Technical committee this year is K4IDC, Robin Midgett and N2CEI, Steve Kostro. Contact Steve Kostro, SVHFS2011 AT downeastmicrowave DOT com as soon as possible if you wish to make a presentation. There is limited presentation time left in the schedule. Submissions for presentation at the conference should be in PowerPoint (.ppt) format, and delivered in person at the conference to Robin Midgett on either a USB memory stick or CDROM or posted for download on a web site of your choice. Notify or adress Robin with any other AVA questions at K4IDC AT Comcast DOT net. Papers may be submited and published without presentation. Deadline for the submission of papers is March 11, 2011. All submissions for the proceedings should be in Microsoft Word (.doc). Pages are 8 and 1/2 by 11 inches with a 1 inch margin on the bottom and ¾ inch margin on the other three sides. All text, drawings, photos, etc. should be black and white only (no color). For further information and updates about the conference please go to www.svhfs.org Thank you, Robin Midgett K4IDC 2011 Conference Program Co-Chair, SVHFS

1 0

Palm Springs HamFest
by Clint Bradford 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

Thank you to contacted stations in Montana ... Tennessee ... Laguna Beach ... Colorado ... Texas ... the event's parking lot ... Huh? A special thanks to Patrick WD9EWK for his assistance last Saturday during the 2nd annual Palm Springs HamFest. While working the second pass of the day, I heard a familiar voice calling me. Same grid square, too - DM-13. Just after contacting Tennessee, and kiddingly telling the assemblage, "Wow - can this REALLY work THAT far? Tennessee at 2 Watts?" ... Patrick contacts me from the parking lot of the event ... (grin) SO ... We communicated with stations from 150 feet away, to 2000+ miles away in Tennessee. The group was properly impressed! Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

2 1

On This Date - Van Allen Belt
by Clint Bradford 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

On January 31, 1958 - Reacting swiftly to the Soviet success with Sputnik I, the United States makes its first foray into space a highly successful one. http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/0HfWdXXPRWY/ WIRED Magazine - First U.S. Satellite Discovers Van Allen Belt Clint, K6LCS

2 2

SSB pre-AMPS
by John Ronan 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

Ahem, as they're being discussed, I've a DBA-270 that seems to have lost the VHF side of the pre-amp (when I switch on the Pre-amp, signals drop on VHF, fine on UHF). I've never had a reason to open one, so I was wondering if its likely that I'll be able to replace the device myself? Regards John EI7IG

1 0

Fw: SSB pre-Amps
by Pedro Cruz 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

----- Original Message ----- From: "Pedro Cruz" <pccu2jx(a)sapo.pt> To: <k8tb(a)bosscher.org> Sent: Monday, January 31, 2011 2:09 PM Subject: : SSB pre-Amps > Hi Tom > > I also have an icom 910H and VHF and UHF preamps. > > You power it direct from the rig without the bias-t ? > > Whem you tx the pre amp the rig remove pwr from the preamps? > > Best 73 ! > > Pedro Cruz - CU2JX > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "K8TB" <k8tb(a)bosscher.org> > To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2011 8:56 PM > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: SSB pre-Amps > > >> Dave, >> >> I have a pair and in my case they are powered right up the coax to >> the rig by the IC-910H. They are very good, albeit expensive preamps, >> and they make a huge difference for my setup, as I have a 150 foot run >> of rg-8 to the antennas. >> >> tom K8TB >> >> On 1/30/2011 4:31 PM, Dave wrote: >>> Hi group- Is anyone using the SSBUSA-2000 and SSBUSA-7000 pre-amps? >>> How >>> are you powering them? >>> >>> Thanks, >>> >>> Dave >>> KA0SWT >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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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KB3QLK/P FM28 Delaware 1700z 1/30 - 1700z 1/31
by Zachary Beougher 31 Jan '11

31 Jan '11

Hi, Jamie, KB3QLK, will be doing a demo(s) for his club during Winter Field Day this Saturday-Sunday (30-31). He will be operating the birds using his personal call before the event, then he will be using the club’s call, KB3BHL, during the event. This will be a good opportunity for any stations (especially the western stations) to work DE for WAS. Good luck with the QSOs! Zack KD8KSN

1 2

SO67 04:20
by Ted 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

WOW ! what a pleasant change from AO51 !! (little different audio, but what a signal over So Oregon tonight) Ted, K7TRK p.s. for Damon, W4HFN, no 'goat rope' on this bird !

1 0

First time on SO67 tonight
by John Geiger 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

Caught my first pass of SO67 tonight and had a good time on it. Thanks to Glen, AA5PK, for informing me that it no longer uses a PL tone, as I had that turned on. I was really impressed with the strength of the downlink and can tell this is going to be a fun bird to work. Even picked up a new grid tonight-EM95. Let's do it again tomorrow on SO67! 73s John AA5JG

1 0

AO7 LU-K4 Qso
by garymf＠aol.com 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

After about a month of trying Luis LU6QI and I completed a AO7 mode B CW QSO. EL98-FK66, Most of the work was on his end as I have poor shot to the south. Gary K4MF

1 0

VUCC 200 km question
by Tom 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

What was the answer, Marvin? Am I correct in assuming that all contacts must be within a 200 km in diameter circle? Tom - KØTW > Subject: [amsat-bb] VUCC 200 km question > > Thanks to kk5do and k6yk my question concerning the VUCC 200 km rule has been > answered. > > 73, > Marvin > k5mlt

1 0

x-quad
by jerry 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

Hello Group Is there anyone who compared the WIMO X-quads with crossyagi's? 73's Jerry, ON4CJQ

6 6

HF AMSAT CHAT
by Ellis Foley 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

Return Mail to wa1rks(a)yahoo.com Yep ! I remember "Rip" he also was net control on 75/80m net tues nights also. We used to go there ( late 70's early 80's) to get the keps for all the birds back then. AO7,AO8,RS 1-11, etc, then a buddy of mine (now SK) Dick WB1H'IH (his son has his call) Dick and I devised a formula for calculating the orbits from the keps on a calculator converting 60minute type values to dec. so calculator would post times correctly, We'd sit down with calculator and large yellow note pad, and spend few hours, calculating weeks worth of Birds and their times and passes. Used Mylar over lays back then to "see" birds. This is akin to "walking to school every day, uphill both ways in a snowstorm" with no shoes. HI. 73 gud dx to all . CUOTBRDS. de Ellis WA1RKS

1 0

HF satellite chat
by Alan Sieg WB5RMG 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

> Anyone want to join in on 7.190 for a satellite group rag chew 24:00 utc > WA4hfn Damon Seems that there used to be a weekly AMSAT net on 20m, or am I just showing my age... I haven't kept up unfortunately. 40m is probably good for evening/nite-time chat... Sounds like fun. /;^) -- # Alan Sieg, WB5RMG since 1976 # http://wb5rmg.wordpress.com # http://www.linkedin.com/in/alansieg # wb5rmg(at)amsat(dot)org AMSAT#20554

8 9

SO67 over the Americas
by Hans 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

Hi all The Americas schedule for SO67 for next week is on www.amsatsa.org.za <http://www.amsatsa.org.za/> Hans ZS6AKV Hans van de Groenendaal Features Editor EngineerIT www.eepublishers.co.za 012 991 4662 082 781 4631

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ANS-028 Special Bulletin - NASA TV to Show Arrival of Progress Spacecraft at ISS
by JoAnne Maenpaa 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-028.01 ANS Special Bulletin - NASA TV to Show Arrival of Progress Spacecraft at ISS AMSAT News Service Bulletin 028.01 >From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 28, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-028.01 The arrival of the Russian Progress-41 flight carrying the ARISSat-1 Amateur Radio Experiment to the International Space Station will be televised live via NASA TV starting at 8PM CST (UTC-6) on Saturday, January 29. The unpiloted flight of the Progress resupply craft is expected to automatically berth to the Pirs docking compartment at 8:40 p.m. CST. Expedition 26 Commander Scott Kelly and Flight Engineers Cady Coleman, Paolo Nespoli, Alexander Kaleri, Oleg Skripochka and Dmitry Kondratyev will be standing by during the automated docking manuevers. In addition to ARISSat-1, the cargo ship is carrying three tons of supplies for the crew members. ARISSat engineers will be meeting with Russian EVA specialists in Houston on Tuesday, February 1 to prepare for the February 16 deploy- ment of the satellite. For more information about the space station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv Check the AMSAT Web Page http://www.amsat.org for the latest ARISSat-1 information, a copy of the Symposium Slides, and a color guide showing the transponder bandplan. [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] /EX

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HF satellite group
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

Well first attempt at a 40 meter gathering wasnt a complete failer. Talked to WC7V in MT from Memphis and K7TRK was weak but there. Im open for comments and suggestions on starting an HF Amsat group. I think it would be good for all to be able to discuss things of intrest. Would we need a net control , open of round table and best utc times and frequency.Who knows we may be able to get FM operators to be a little more polite. WA4HFN Damon

2 2

Arissat-1 article
by Jeff Yanko 30 Jan '11

30 Jan '11

Hi all, A nice write up of Arissat-1 on msnbc.com http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41321591/ns/technology_and_science/ Jeff WB3JFS

2 1

satpc32 error
by lloyd vandervort 29 Jan '11

29 Jan '11

Hi, i suddenly have a problem with my satpc 32. It suddenly has this error. zugriffsverletzung bei adresse 01898848 in module" ihcom02d.dll" .schreiben von adresse 018a 33a8 translated to this Access violation at address 01898848 in module "ihcom02d.dll. write address 018a 33a8 anyone had this error ? Lloyd N9RPU

2 1

HT DJ 580 T
by Dads 29 Jan '11

29 Jan '11

Hi : I have for sale Alinco DJ580T for sale , manual ,original box charger and box. This is a dualband HT $125.00 shipped Jerry w0sat

1 0

ANS-030 AMSAT Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 29 Jan '11

29 Jan '11

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-030 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: * ARISSat-1 Arrives at the International Space Station * AMSAT-UK FUNcube System Accepted for UK Space Agency UKube1 Payload * 1000 Days in Orbit for Ham Radio Satellite Delfi-C3 * ND9M/VQ9JC Maritime Mobile Satellite Operations Planned * Catch a Visual Glimpse of NanoSail-D in Orbit * Echoes of Apollo Call for Student Investigators & Adult Engineering Mentors * Satellite Shorts From All Over * ARISS Status - 24 January 2011 SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.01 ARISSat-1 Arrives at the International Space Station AMSAT News Service Bulletin 030.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 30, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-030.01 On January 28 at 0132 UTC,a Soyuz rocket lifted off from Kazakhstan carrying the Russian Progress M-09M cargo vehicle to orbit headed for the International Space Station (ISS). While the primary cargo of the Progress vehicle is fuel, oxygen, food and other supplies, the Progress also contains AMSAT's ARISSat-1 Amateur Radio satellite. Progress docked with the space station just two days after launch, on January 30 at 0239 UTC. Currently ARISSat-1 is planned to be manually deployed from the ISS by Russian cosmonauts Dmitry Kondratyev and Oleg Skripochka during a spacewalk on February 16. ARISSat-1/RadioSkaf V will have simultaneous 2m FM, CW, BPSK and transponder transmissions. These multiple transmissions are created by a new software defined transponder (SDX) board. Features provided by the SDX include: * The FM transmissions with cycle between a voice ID, select telemetry values, 24 international greeting messages in 15 languages and live SSTV images. * The CW transmissions will be callsign ID, select telemetry, and callsigns of people actively involved with the ARISS program. * The BPSK transmissions will feature a new 1kBPSK protocol developed by Phil Karn, KA9Q to be readable in low signal level conditions. The BPSK data will alternate betwen telemetry and Kursk experiment data. Free ground station soundcard demodulator and display software will be available before deployment for multiple platforms. * There also is a 16kHz wide amateur radio U/V transponder between the BPSK and FM signals. * The Kursk experiment will be sampling the amount of vacuum each day for 90 minutes and sending down data to map the vacuum change as the satellite slowly spirals into the atmosphere. [ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.02 AMSAT-UK FUNcube System Accepted for UK Space Agency UKube1 Payload AMSAT News Service Bulletin 030.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 30, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-030.02 Graham, G3VZV announced on behalf of AMSAT-UK this week that the FUNcube system has now been formally accepted as a participant in the UK Space Agency Announcement of Opportunity for payload pro- viders for its pilot CubeSat mission, UKube1. Seven finalist payloads are currently under consideration with the final three or four flight payloads to be announced in March, 2011. This includes the AMSAT-UK FunCube telemetry system for science education, which will be integrated with the spacecraft as part of the program. Graham explained, "While the UK Space Agency release does not mention the FUNcube linear U/V transponder function during evenings and week- ends, this functionality will be included in the same way that it is planned for the actual FUNcube-1 cubesat itself. The FUNcube develop- ment team is looking forward to the extra challenge of producing two sets of everything in the very short time scales required by both pro- jects!" [ANS thanks Graham, G3VZV for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.03 1000 Days in Orbit for Ham Radio Satellite Delfi-C3 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 030.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 30, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-030.03 Sunday, January 23 saw the 1000th day in orbit for the Amateur Radio satellite Delfi-C3, which was the first 3U CubeSat to carry a linear transponder. Wouter, PA3WEG wrote, "The downlink is still OK and telemetry shows no big degradations. This means Delfi-C3 is still in good health. Apart from the problems with the transponder and some occasional resets and lockups, scientific data is still being received. Also, this data is still forwarded by radio amateurs to our server. Once again our big thanks for receiving Delfi-C3 and your continued support of the project." Visit the Delfi-C3 web page at: http://www.delfic3.nl/ The radio amateur section at: http://tinyurl.com/6f362zu has the information you need to receive the satellite. There is also a link to the Rascal Software if you would like to have your amateur radio station become a part of the global Delfi-C3 monitoring network. [ANS thanks Wouter Weggelaar, PA3WEG and his Delfi-C3 team and the SouthGateARC site for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.04 ND9M/VQ9JC Maritime Mobile Satellite Operations Planned AMSAT News Service Bulletin 030.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 30, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-030.04 Jim, ND9M/VQ9JC plans to operate the amateur radio satellites from his merchant marine ship presently enroute from Diego Garcia (grid MI62) to Charleston, SC (FM03) via the Pacific Ocean. Jim says he has an FT897D and an FT817ND with an Arrow-2 antenna. He plans to be active from quite a few wet grids along the way. His ocean route will take him through grid fields include MI, NI, OI, OJ, PJ, PK, QK (24 hours at Guam), QL, RL, RM, AM, BM, CM. and DM. Jim's job is seven days a week for four months straight and he will not generally be available during the normal daytime working hours so operating opportunities during these times cannot be predicted. The majority of passes he can be on will be in the late afternoon and early evening, so AO51, FO29, and AO7 Mode B will be the focus. Early morning AO7 passes will occasionally be available. Operating during late evening passes will be likely once the ship crosses the International Date line and enters the eastern Pacific. Jim's port- able satellite station will be setup on the ship's helicopter deck. The ship will be off the coast of southern California by the end of February and should be there for about 10 days before resuming the voyage towards Charleston via the Panama Canal, then northward around Cuba towards Jacksonville (EM90) for another stop at the end of March. The voyage will finish in April in Charleston, SC. Jim says he has applied for an IARP permit for Panama so that, barring unforeseen regulations, he will be able to operate whatever passes occur as the ship transits the Canal. E-mail contact for Jim is via james.t.clary.civ(at)msc.navy.mil. He plans to post regular updates on his trip's progress to the AMSAT-BB. [ANS thanks Jim ND9M/VQ9JC for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.05 Catch a Visual Glimpse of NanoSail-D in Orbit AMSAT News Service Bulletin 030.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 30, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-030.05 In a posting on http://www.nanosail.org/ Spaceweather.com and NASA announce they are joining forces to encourage photography of Nano- Sail-D, the first solar sail to circle Earth in low orbit. Amateur and professional astronomers and even casual sky watchers can participate. The solar sail will occasionally be visible to the naked eye when sunlight glints off the spacecraft's 10 m2 sail, pro- ducing a spectacular flash akin to an Iridium Flare. UniverseToday predicts NanoSail-D could be five to 10 times as bright as the planet Venus, especially later in the mission when the sail descends to lower orbits. Even novice photographers can capture such a bright event. Advanced astrophotographers, meanwhile, will want to try to image the sail through backyard telescopes. It will be a challenge (the sail is only 1 arc second across), but even fuzzy pictures could help NASA monitor the condition of the spacecraft. Cash prizes will be awarded to the first ($500), second ($200), and third ($100) place photos, judged by a NASA-appointed panel on the basis of beauty and technical merit. The contest begins now and ends when NanoSail-D reenters the atmo- sphere in April or May 2011. These sites provide viewing predictions: http://spaceweather.com/flybys/ http://www.heavens-above.com NASA's Science News web site has additional NanoSail-D news and a link to audio from the satellite recorded by Henk, PA3GUO: http://tinyurl.com/4s7nj4r (nasa.gov) [ANS thanks SpaceWeather.com and UniverseToday.com for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.06 Echoes of Apollo Call for Student Investigators & Adult Engineering Mentors AMSAT News Service Bulletin 030.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 30, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-030.06 Pat Barthelow, AA6EG of the Echoes of Apollo Project (the folks who brought us the 70cm Arecibo EME activity) is working with kids on the Google Science Fair. The students and adult mentors have devised a simple experiment to measure the distance to the moon using Moon Bounce. Pat has several EME stations committed and is looking for more tech- nical support. He is also looking for additional young Co-Primary Investigators (Age 13-18) to participate. Time is of the essence. Reply directly to: apolloeme(a)gmail.com Pat says the students will develop the experiment, lead, analyze. Adults are needed to nurture, guide, mentor with these goals in mind: + Key a CW transmission or alternatively, send an audio impulse via microphone to EME TX. + Starting the time clock on the impulse transmission whether Audio "Clack" or CW key. + Recording for Science Fair presentation, using Multimedia video/audio eqiupment in the Moon bounce Station. + Stopping the clock when the audio/RF does RT to moon (~2.5 Seconds) and returns, and is demodulated by Moon bounce RX and presented at Audio speaker terminals. + Pre-measure station delays in TX and RX to develop a constant for internal equipment delays. + Measuring the EME interval as closely as possible, with simple equipment, say, to milliseconds. Probably take the Multimedia video/ audio to a Video editor, to measure delay, digitally. + Compare distance to the moon in the NASA, or US Naval Observatory databases for their actual distance to moon, at the moment of the experiment. + Student analyzes for errors, error sources, discusses return signal distortion, due to doppler, Libration, pulse stretching, due to spherical moon, etc. + Student suggests follow up experiment, to minimize measurement errors, or assuming more sophisticated equipment became available. QUESTION: For an analog RX to audio output, what would be the best way be to measure the internal propagation delay in an [Analog, Digi- tal] receiver, from the time of arrival of the RF at the Antenna con- nector to demodulated output [Analog, Digital] at the speaker, or computer screen. For analog receivers, is the internal RX propagation delay, in order of: microseconds? Milliseconds? For Digital receivers? Best Regards, Pat Barthelow, Echoes of Apollo apolloeme(a)gmail.com [ANS thanks Pat Barthelow, AA6EG of the Echoes of Apollo Project for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.07 Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 030.07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 30, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-030.07 + Clint, K6LCS has posted his AMSAT and amateur satellite handouts he plans to use at the Palm Springs HamFest. One is an "Intro to AMSAT" newsletter with membership form, the other an ARISSat-1 Update and Band Plan. Both are posted at: http://tinyurl.com/ps-handouts Clint invites you to use or adapt either for your projects and pre- sentations. + Two videos of Japan's H-IIB rocket launch with the Kounotori 2 cargo resupply transporter January 22 from Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan can be viewed at: http://tinyurl.com/64zuajp Kounotori2, or 'White Stork' in Japanese, is loaded with crucial sup- plies destined for the International Space Station (ISS). Video and photos of the arrival and capture of the Kounotori2 can be seen at: http://tinyurl.com/4vop4rt + A new video gives the latest news on the Euroluna 2U CubeSat project with the Amateur Radio callsign OZ9LUNA. It describes the 2U cubesat, work on the software and the attitude control, and work ongoing on the ion motor. Watch on-line at: http://tinyurl.com/4cnfahv + An interesting science blog posting about the special relativity you would encounter while traveling at the speed of light is posted at: http://tinyurl.com/5sj7q2p (UniverseToday.com) This may present a way to change the subject to something scientific if the subject on 75 meters LSB QSO gets stuck on the state of the other fellow's gallbladder. + The folks from the HiRISE Camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have put together a video of the latest images from the Red Planet: http://tinyurl.com/6hc7edb. The Mars Express spacecraft took a ser- ies of detailed images of the Martian moon Phobos. These images have been morphed into a seamless flyby movie which can be viewed on-line at: http://tinyurl.com/4srutec + The next Hudson Valley Satcom Net will meet on Thursday, February 3 at 8PM EST (UTC-5) on the Mt.Beacon ARC 146.970 MHz repeater (-600 & Pl 100). You can also join via Echolink on the N2EYH-L node. All hams are welcome! More info at htp://www.hvsatcom.org/ (Stu, WA2BSS) [ANS thanks everyone for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-030.08 ARISS Status - 24 January 2011 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 030.08 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. January 30, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-030.08 1. Two Italian Schools Experience ARISS Contact On Tuesday, January 18, two Italian schools, "Istituto Comprensivo Ladispoli" and Middle School "Corrado Melone", located in Ladispoli, Rome, Italy participated in a joint Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Paolo Nespoli, IZ0JPA. Twenty-eight space-related questions were answered and greetings exchanged over two ISS passes. ARISS mentor Francesco De Paolis, IK0WGF introduced the event and presented the ARISS program to an audience of 250 students, teachers and visitors. National Television (RAI NEWS 24 hours), local media and newspapers covered the event. The contact was the highlight of a curriculum covering space, geography and telecommunications. 2. Expedition 24 Crew Debrief Session An ARISS debrief session was held with Expedition 24 crewmembers Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC and Shannon Walker, KD5DXB on Tuesday, January 18. The feedback they provided on the ISS Ham radio equipment and school contacts will aid the ARISS team in updating its program procedures. 3. ARISS International Meeting Held The monthly ARISS International Team meeting was held on Tuesday, January 18. Topics of discussion included the upcoming face to face meeting and a status on the Columbus module equipment as well as ARISSat-1. Minutes have been posted. See: https://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2011-01-18.htm [ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org

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KD8KSN/8 EN90/EM99 Next Saturday (29th)
by Zachary Beougher 29 Jan '11

29 Jan '11

Hi All, Due to the fact that several stations that wanted either EN90 or EM99 or both did not get to work me last time since I went during the week, I have decided to make another trip out to the boundary next Saturday (29th) from about 1800z – 2030z. I plan to be on the following passes from this boundary: AO27 – 1817z AO27 – 1952z AO51 – 2012z This trip will be a little shorter than last time, but passes should be a little more productive since it will be on a weekend. I will have the D7 beaconing in between passes - http://aprs.fi/kd8ksn-9 I will only be running 5w, or 6-7w if it is plugged into the vehicle, so I may not be on the internet depending on were I am in relation to a digi. I will QSL everyone in the log as I did last time, so no need for a return card/SASE. I will post a reminder as the time gets closer. 73! Zack KD8KSN

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HF on 40
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 29 Jan '11

29 Jan '11

7.190 opened up into a net .so try 7.215 for satellite rag chew group at 2400 utc

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HF satellite group
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 29 Jan '11

29 Jan '11

Anyone want to join in on 7.190 for a satellite group rag chew 24:00 utc WA4hfn Damon

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LoTW & SO-67
by Bob Herrell 29 Jan '11

29 Jan '11

All 48 of my SO-67 contacts have been uploaded to LoTW. 73, Bob AJ5C

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New to FM birds
by Scott Armstrong 29 Jan '11

29 Jan '11

Hi All, Just finished the mod on my IC-3200a to move the TX/RX down to 430-440 MHz. Still need to round up some coax for the antenna but almost ready to start attempting to receive some of the FM birds. Not sure which antenna I'm going to use but have a CC424b and a KLM crosspol antennas available. The KLM antenna was given to me so have no idea if it is working OK . The CC should be OK. I also will not have a preamp. Which satellite has the strongest signal and would be the best to begin monitoring the FM birds? Thanks in advance, Scott AA5AM

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close encounter
by jerry 29 Jan '11

29 Jan '11

There is supposed to be a close encounter of DO-64 and another satellite . I've misplaced the info . Does anyone have an update ? Thanks Jerry WB5LHD

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2 ht vs. 1-duplex ht
by zach hillerson 29 Jan '11

29 Jan '11

Good afternoon all - As I am officially hooked after my first week of operating the satellites, I am trying to gain a bit better operating setup. I love the arrow and tripod that I am using and find the Yaesu FT60 to be perfectly suitable. I am thinking that operating duplex would be a big help so that I will know if I am making it into the hectic afternoon passes of AO51. I'm not thrilled with having extra stuff to lug in and out, front yard and back etc... but I want to do what's best for making contacts. Is there a group consensus of whether 1 HT that is true duplex or running two HT's is a better formula? I's love to hear your thoughts, Zach

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Kedr spacecraft - photo
by andy thomas 29 Jan '11

29 Jan '11

Nice picturs of the Kedr satellite mission at: http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=35923 73 de andy g0sfj

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ISS Extended Mission Plans
by Armando Mercado 28 Jan '11

28 Jan '11

Hello, A couple of news articles about flying ISS to 2020. http://www.spacenews.com/policy/110128-france-back-iss-extension.html http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=n… Nears ISS Extension Agreement 73, Armando N8IGJ

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WD9EWK SO-67 QSOs now in LOTW
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 28 Jan '11

28 Jan '11

Hi! I just finished uploading my SO-67 QSOs to LOTW. It works as I expected, after downloading and installing the new TQSL configuration file I referenced in my -BB post this morning. The TQSL program has not changed from the current version (1.13), but the TQSL configuration changed to include SO-67 in the list of satellites supported by LOTW. I had one QSL from my uploaded SO-67 QSOs, so I can't take credit for uploading the first SO-67 QSOs into LOTW. Kerry WC7V had a QSO in there from this morning that matched up with one of my QSOs. Others will certainly match up as others start to add their SO-67 QSOs to LOTW. And, with the SO-67 QSOs now in LOTW, I have my complete satellite log in that system. Have a good weekend, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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VUCC fees
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 28 Jan '11

28 Jan '11

Has anyone complained to the arrl over the .20 cents fee for grids? and if so have you heard back from anyone there? WA4HFN Damon

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Russian Progress M-09M in orbit with ARISSat-1/RadioSkaf-V
by Joe Fitzgerald 28 Jan '11

28 Jan '11

ARISSat-1 is now in orbit, but still cocooned in the Progress cargo ship. See launch pictures at: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=23441.0;all Woo-hoo! Joe KM1P

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Yaesu 5500 Rotor Problem
by Bill Gillenwater 28 Jan '11

28 Jan '11

The meter for elevation on the Yaesu 5500 is not working. Any idea what might be wrong? Are there places to have them fixed if I can't shoot the bug? Thanks. Bill K3SV

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SATPC32 Doppler.sqf with all sat
by CA3SOC Raul Romero 28 Jan '11

28 Jan '11

any send doppler.sqf file with all satellite add need cubesat amateur new-sat Tnx Raul Romero 9-7190753 ce3soc(a)gmail.com

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SO-67 now in LOTW
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 28 Jan '11

28 Jan '11

Hi! I just noticed this change when reading through the LOTW FAQ page: https://p1k.arrl.org/lotw/faq SO-67 is now listed as a satellite supported in LOTW. I also saw that there is a new TQSL configuration file as of yesterday (27th) available for download. To get the new configuration file, you can download it from this link: https://p1k.arrl.org/lotwuser/config.tq6 or get the new configuration with the valid certificates LOTW has for you at: https://p1k.arrl.org/lotwuser/certs.tq6 If you are not already logged into LOTW when using either of these links ending in "tq6", you will be taken to the LOTW login page before the download starts. I will upload my SO-67 QSOs tonight, which will complete my goal of putting all of my satellite QSOs into that system. After that, it will be a simple matter of periodic uploads to put future QSOs into the system. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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VUCC 200 km question
by Marvin Tamez 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Thanks to kk5do and k6yk my question concerning the VUCC 200 km rule has been answered. 73, Marvin k5mlt

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VUCC rule
by Marvin Tamez 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Hello group, I need help interpreting the following VUCC rule. For VUCC awards on 50 through 1296 MHz and Satellite, all contacts must be made from locations no more than 200 km apart. I'm I correct to interpret it to mean that all one's operating locations, QTH and portable, must be within 200 km of each other on QSO's submitted for this award? Your help is greatly appreciated. Marvin K5MLT

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The Army's First Nanosat
by Alan Sieg WB5RMG 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Here is an article I saw about the US Army's recent Nanosat experiment. Reading this I remembered how cool it was in 1990 when we hams enjoyed store and forward email messaging with a global scope thanks to PacSat and LuSat. It may have been simple and un-glamorous, especially in light of today's internet and cel-a-phone capabilities - but it was certainly way ahead of its' time. I'm glad the Army is getting on board with the cubesat vision, I'm sure they can make good use of the capabilities... >From the 'Redstone Rocket', a weekly newspaper here in Huntsville, AL. http://www.theredstonerocket.com/node/216 Thanks /;^) -- # Alan Sieg, WB5RMG since 1976 # http://wb5rmg.wordpress.com # http://www.linkedin.com/in/alansieg # wb5rmg(at)amsat(dot)org AMSAT#20554

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Nice Progress launch article mentioning ARISSat-1
by Joe Fitzgerald 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

With Progress launch picture. http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp26/110127prog41p/ -Joe KM1P

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Re: QSL Information
by Zachary Beougher 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Hi Ron, According to his QRZ page under the "detail" tab, he responds to direct only - no eQSL or LoTW. I don't know how current that info is, so things may have changed. I am planning on sending a request along with an SAE and IRC to his Germany address, and we will see what happens. I am forwarding this to the BB just in case someone else has heard different. 73! Zack KD8KSN -----Original Message----- From: Ronald Oldham Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2011 4:21 PM To: kd8ksn(a)amsat.org Subject: QSL Information Hi Zack... You completed a contact with PJ6/DL7VTX ( Grid FK87 ) today on the AO-27 pass around 19:13 UTC. Do you have any QSL information on this station? Any info would be appreciated. 73, Ron - N8RO

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SO-50 PAVE/PAWS Interference
by Giacobbe Lauser 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Is anyone else in Northern California having interference on the SATS from PAVE/PAWS, particularly on the downlink for SO-50? I notice some S3+ modulated noise blocking all weak signals. If I'm lucky, I hear the Sats at S3, so the noise is really squashing at least that Sat and others on passes to the north. - Jake, K3UAZ

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So I am not the only one...
by Kevin Deane 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

I agree 100%. I am still pretty new at this, I also have trouble finding up to date sites. So a friend of mine let me have like half of this site and I get to put whatever I want on it, and he does practically all the work! all I have to do is keep it updated. Easy right? So if anyone has information they would like to contribute please e-mail me or post it on the forum @ nvllrc.org, theres just an article I wrote and a bunch of relevent links at the bottom so far. I have lots of time to keep it up to date and will put whatever you guys want on there!!! I put that AO-51 pdf on there. Anyway, if you guys arent against the new and young guys. I am trying to make it so people dont make the same mistakes I did, like cloggin up the passes with calls when I had no ears. Stuff like that. You know the way you guys want it done not just guesswork and trial and error. So not that anyone will do it but at least there will be one site with usefull info and you dont half to go through old posts, or ask for new post and whatever please help!! Still excited, Kevin KF7MYK

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International Space Station
by Ted 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

I thought this link was interesting Space Station Look at what happened from 1998 until 2008. In just ten years it has grown and grown. Watch the pieces come together as they are sent up from Earth. This is the International Space Station (ISS) Assembly diagram, piece by piece. I had no idea the Space Station had grown to this size. <http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm> click here

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TLE's for new satellites
by Bob Bruninga 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

RAX, OREOS, NANOSail-D, I feel dumb asking this, 1) Because we see these questions everyday here and I ignore them all 2) I assume they just have not looked on celestrack But now I went to get TLE's for the recent launches and I'm getting nothing. AMSAT web pages have nothing on them. CELESTRAK has nothing. Or I can't find them. I've spent 2 days getting ready for a student lab searching for individual pages (if you can find them). But it seems to be extraordinary that people with satellite pages: Never put the object number RIGHT UP FRONT once they are launched. Some (FAST-1 and FAST2) list TLE's with object numbers in the 90xxx range which I assumed were just pre-launch predictions. Then I have to cut and paste and fight all the checksum problems. For decades, I have always just gone to CELESTRAK and everything was there. Clearly I'm having a brain freeze. STK even has no satellites in its database above 36xxx. What happened while I was asleep? Thanks Bob

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Re: Yaesu 530
by Tyler Nicholas 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Hi Zach, I found my FT-530 on QTH.com and it had a charger and a battery with it. There's one on eBay right now that looks to be ok. I would just watch eBay, QRZ, QTH, and eham for some to pop up. The FT-530 has a good receiver and hears great when you are transmitting on 2m. Another feature that makes satellite operation on the FT-530 a breeze is the sub tune feature. It allows you to leave 70cm as the active band for tuning with the VFO while the PTT button transmits on the 2m side. This makes things so easy because you never have to switch bands back and fourth all the time to adjust your downlink frequency. Tyler Nicholas K5TDN Sent from my iPhone On Jan 27, 2011, at 9:03 AM, zach hillerson <qstick333(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Thanks for your response to my query regarding duplex vs. 2 ht. I agree with you that a singular, well performing duplex ht is ideal. If I could find a used duplex I would much prefer that to spending $500 on a new Kenwood. I'm wondering where you managed to find your Yaesu 530? Do you think posting a WTB on QRZ is a decent way to go about looking? > > Finally - is the 530 the preferred duplex ht? > > Thanks for your great post and help, I appreciate it. > > Zach Hillerson > KJ4ZVV > >

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Now that LOTW has caught up with my uploads...
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Hi! It looks like LOTW took about 5 minutes or so after I shut down last night to get the rest of my uploads processed. The numbers now stand at 9911 QSO records, with 1332 QSLs (13.4% confirmation rate). I also had to adjust the ruleset for my VUCC "account" based on activity in and around Phoenix, since it was picking up at least a couple of QSOs I know would be outside the 200km limit in the VUCC rules. I'm now at 87 grids confirmed for my Phoenix-area activity, based on LOTW QSLs. Not enough for a VUCC application solely on LOTW QSLs, but not bad considering VUCC just became an option through LOTW. I spent almost as much time last night getting the last 2100 QSOs uploaded as I did the other evening working on the larger part of my log, since I had more station locations to define. I made 60 uploads in total last night. Some of those locations only had a handful of QSOs, and a couple had exactly one QSO. I had to redo a couple of uploads, since I fat-fingered the grids for a couple of the station locations (locations at 4-grid intersections - ones that really need to be done carefully). I also found that I had to upload some QSO records again, so I could have a station's call with "/P" after it. I expect this will probably be the main reason I won't see some QSLs; not having the appropriate indicator added to a station's call. This is not a big deal, as I can make a new QSO record and quickly go through the process to upload the additional record. If you think there should be QSLs with any of my calls that you are not seeing, please e-mail me directly so we can take a look at specific instances. Once SO-67 is supported by LOTW, I can upload those QSOs. Then my complete satellite log will be there. I will upload my future satellite activity to LOTW periodically, and hope to go through my logs to get 6m activity and possibly other contest logs I have in electronic form up there. And, soon, save enough pesos to make my initial satellite VUCC application, plus a lunch for my friendly card checker as he goes through all of those cards. :-) 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Re: W6RO QSL & VUCC
by John Papay 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Jeff, Here's the VUCC rule on the grid square: 7(b) For the convenience of the Awards Manager in checking cards, applicants may indicate in pencil (pencil ONLY) the grid locator on the address side of the cards that DO NOT clearly indicate the grid locator. The applicant affirms that he/she has accurately determined the proper location from the address information given on the card by signing the affirmation statement on the application. For more proof, you can simply use qrz.com. In the case of W6RO, it does not show the actual location of the ship but you can do so by using the google map for grids and find the ship on the satellite view. This will spot the lat/long and translate into a grid square. You only have to certify that you have determined the correct grid square; you don't have to prove it to the card checker. It's always good to go right to the rules when there is any question. Don't assume that the card checker always knows them. You will find that you will get other cards over time that don't have the grid square on them. Simply determine what the grid square is and follow the rule above. It's always a good idea to print out the VUCC rules and take a copy with you when you get your cards checked. 73, John K8YSE

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ND9M/MM Voyage - VQ9-W4 via Panama
by Clary, James T, Civilian 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Greetings from the Indian Ocean! My merchant marine ship is enroute from Diego Garcia (grid MI62) to Charleston, SC (FM03) and is taking the Pacific route this time. I've got the FT897D and FT817ND with the Arrow-2 with me, and I'll be QRV from quite a few wet grids along the way. Unfortunately, my XYL Cori isn't along for the ride; she's at home recovering from shoulder surgery and getting ready for our next road trip. The grid fields that I expect to travel through while enroute to the Left Coast and hopefully operate from include: MI, NI, OI, OJ, PJ, PK, QK (24 hours at Guam), QL, RL, RM, AM, BM, CM. and DM. My job is seven days a week for four months straight, which is why I get long vacations for those long road trips! The downside is that I have to miss passes that occur during the normal daytime working hours. I can sometimes get away at key pass times, so AO27 and HO68 (when it's QRV again) are possible, but can't be predicted. Another downside is that with an easterly voyage of this length, we'll be going through a lot of time zones. (We're currently at GMT +6.) We'll go through 10 time zones before we hit the USA, and at an average of a time zone every three days (and losing an hour of sleep each time as well as gain a day somewhere along the line), the body will start to adjust to the new time just when we have to set clocks ahead again. It's going to get old very fast! The majority of passes that I'll be on will be in the late afternoon and early evening, so AO51, FO29, and AO7 Mode B will be the focus. Early morning AO7 passes will occasionally be on the plate too. Likewise, I should be on late evening VO52 passes but likely only once we've crossed the Int'l Date Line into the eastern Pacific. I have to set up on the ship's helicopter deck that normally has no lighting and isn't patrolled. The ship is very, very safe, but since we're at sea, I have to pay extra attention to wherever I am outside on the decks especially after dark. My LED headband lamp up gives me pretty good light up there, but it would be way too easy to disappear over the railing, and it's a big ocean! We'll be off the coast of southern California by the end of February and should be there for about 10 days before we resume our voyage towards Charleston. Our route will then take us through the Panama Canal and northward around Cuba towards Jacksonville (EM90) for another stop at the end of March; after a week or so there, we'll finish the trip with a quick run to Charleston where I'll sign off the ship in April. Cori will meet me at the ship, and we'll head home to Panama City, Florida. I've applied for my IARP permit for Panama so that, barring unforeseen regulations, I'll be able to operate whatever passes occur as we transit the Canal. It's way too early to know if we'll actually stop at Panama, but I'll be ready with the gear to operate from the country itself for those who need DXCC credit. I'm cut off from the internet for the next three months, so I will not have access to my regular AOL e-mail account. Any queries or sked suggestions should be sent to me at the following shipboard address for now: james.t.clary.civ(at)msc.navy.mil. The address obviously has a lot of dots, but they have to be in there to get through. As always, I'll send regular updates on my trip's progress to the BB. CU on the birds! 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC Grid NI02

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WD9EWK LOTW uploading - finished!
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 27 Jan '11

27 Jan '11

Hi! I just finished uploading my satellite QSOs into LOTW. Except for any SO-67 QSOs, they are now all in LOTW. The server is still processing a few of my uploads with over 600 QSOs remaining, but it now has 9277 of mine. Of those, 1230 are QSLs, a confirmation rate of 13.2%. My "VUCC account" in LOTW for my WD9EWK activity in and around Phoenix shows 96 grids confirmed. If a few more QSLs can be had from the remaining uploads LOTW still needs to process, I may have enough to use LOTW for my initial satellite VUCC application. I'll take a look in the morning, to (hopefully) see that the rest of my uploads have been processed. At one point in the past hour, I received a strange error message in my browser when trying to see my LOTW activity. Too many users - after midnight local time (0700 UTC)! Oh well.... Time for bed. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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W6RO QSL & VUCC
by Jeff Yanko 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

Hi all, After making my submission to VUCC Satellite, yes it was still "a go" to get this award after the surprise fees were implemented. I was told by the local card checker that the W6RO, Queen Mary, QSL was not valid due to the fact that the grid, DM03, was not to be found anywhere on the card. After looking over the card myself again, he was correct. It had all of the QSO data and the information about the Queen mary but the DM03 grid was no where to be found. Not sure if anybody else had this problem with their checker, etc. but my card checker caught it very well. I never thought to look for the grid since most cards have them on it. So if you have a W6RO waiting to be submitted and it doesn't have the grid printed on it from the person filling out the QSL, don't bother sending it in, it will be considered invalid. Upon learning about this from my card checker, I dropped the organization who operates and maintains the W6RO station and told them the situation. Hopefully, they will include the grid square on their cards in the future. DM03 is not exactly an easy one to work since most of it is in water. 73, Jeff WB3JFS

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Net Statistics
by Clint Bradford 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

Although I've been involved on the 'Net for over 20 years, in no way do I claim to understand it all. Here's a site that shows the status of several Internet resources ... engrossing statistics ... and YES, I do have a source of caffeine (coffee pot) in the home office. http://www.internetpulse.net/ Clint

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Stardust-NExT Probe Spots Comet Tempel 1
by B J 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-029&cid=release_2011-029… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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FW: Re: HO-68 Status
by Kevin Deane 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

From: summit496(a)live.com To: clintbrad4d(a)earthlink.net Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] Re: HO-68 Status Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:08:41 -0800 http://www.southgatearc.org/news/january2010/ho68_schedule_2301.htm I just found this one... I will be on this weekend maybe we could try a prearanged attempt on some of the birds? Kevin KF7MYK > From: clintbrad4d(a)earthlink.net > Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:30:39 -0800 > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: HO-68 Status > > >> ... Is there a webpage that shows the current on/off times for HO68? The one that you link to from the satellite status page on the AMSAT website hasn't been updated since December. > > Just to be absolutely clear and accurate, the AMSAT page refers us to the official page of the project. It is the HO-68 project team's non-updating that is to be "faulted," and by no means AMSAT's. > > I mean, if the actual project's site isn't being maintained ... we cannot fault those who point to it. > > Sorry, John ... I just answered another message elsewhere that "demeaned" AMSAT for no legitimate reason ... Clint gets a little defensive at times ... (grin) > > Clint, K6LCS > > > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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FW: 2 ht vs. 1-duplex ht
by Kevin Deane 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

From: summit496(a)live.com To: qstick333(a)yahoo.com Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] 2 ht vs. 1-duplex ht Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:01:37 -0800 Hello I too am recently addicted, I dont know exactly what you are using, I do not have a duplex rig, and am reluctant to get one considering all the controversy, and real full duplex and so on. I do know that ANY dual band antenna and ANY dual band and duplex whatever you are compromising. Try and cram everything in one rig and one antenna one coax.... It is just not as good as 2 seperate stations period. Unless you are gonna spend all kinds of money on one of those dream radios, you know? I wrote an article on my attemps and failures starting out with the sats, >>> nvllrc.org <<< FM Satellites section. A friend of mine made a little web site recently and let me put sat stuff on there. It is brand new so dont expect much, but I put all the usefull info I had at the end of the story, I will be adding a bunch of stuff this week that I found. What we use is in there, I think we spoiled ourselves with fairly good equip to start out. It is definately not great but works really well. So anyway, just thought I would give you my 2 cents. I find it really nice to have a totally different radio, ant, coax, for the receive, I can hear all the birds clear as day! But we need another SSB rig to work the big boy sats, I am dying to do that! I will be on this weekend, I didnt get your call so I dont know how far you are but I would love to try a pre aranged contact??? New Guy Kevin KF7MYK DM09 > Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:19:40 -0800 > From: qstick333(a)yahoo.com > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] 2 ht vs. 1-duplex ht > > Good afternoon all - > > As I am officially hooked after my first week of operating the satellites, I am trying to gain a bit better operating setup. I love the arrow and tripod that I am using and find the Yaesu FT60 to be perfectly suitable. I am thinking that operating duplex would be a big help so that I will know if I am making it into the hectic afternoon passes of AO51. I'm not thrilled with having extra stuff to lug in and out, front yard and back etc... but I want to do what's best for making contacts. > > Is there a group consensus of whether 1 HT that is true duplex or running two HT's is a better formula? I's love to hear your thoughts, > > Zach > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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: Antenna Observations/Question
by John Becker 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

a coat hanger will "some what" work also. But I really guess that age old saying of - " you get what you pay for " Best sums it up. In a "Dirty Harry" voice - "do you want it to just work or work great?"

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Re: UKuke-1 Announcement
by G0MRF＠aol.com 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

That is good news. Also, I see bids are being solicited from anyone / any team who would like to form the official U-Kube ground station for the 1 year duration of the mission. There are a list of 20 requirements for the ground station at: _http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/20701.aspx_ (http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/20701.aspx) Two are fairly easy. 1) Must have full amateur radio license. 2) Antenna must have RH and LH polarisation. 73 David In a message dated 26/01/2011 17:33:32 GMT Standard Time, g.shirville(a)btinternet.com writes: Sorry this time WITH the relevant link! _http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/21973.aspx_ (http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/21973.aspx) ----- Original Message ----- From: _Graham Shirville_ (mailto:[email protected])

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Re: HO-68 Status
by Clint Bradford 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

>> ... Is there a webpage that shows the current on/off times for HO68? The one that you link to from the satellite status page on the AMSAT website hasn't been updated since December. Just to be absolutely clear and accurate, the AMSAT page refers us to the official page of the project. It is the HO-68 project team's non-updating that is to be "faulted," and by no means AMSAT's. I mean, if the actual project's site isn't being maintained ... we cannot fault those who point to it. Sorry, John ... I just answered another message elsewhere that "demeaned" AMSAT for no legitimate reason ... Clint gets a little defensive at times ... (grin) Clint, K6LCS

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HO68 status
by John Geiger 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

Is there a webpage that shows the current on/off times for HO68? The one that you link to from the satellite status page on the AMSAT website hasn't been updated since December. 73s John AA5JG

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ARISSAT-1
by jcowens1＠comcast.net 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

What is the projected active date for ARISSAT-1?? John Owens - N7TK Celebrating over 50 Years in Ham Radio No. 1 Honor Roll

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VUCC FEE
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

My division director recommends email your concerns to Dave Patton (nn1n(a)arrl.org) and copy their Division Director as well so lets flood them Im looking to AMSAT for new awards WA4HFN Damon

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Re: APRS via Satellite
by PA3GUO 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

And this is how it looks like in the dark, in passes when it is dark outside, but when ISS is still 'flying' in sunligth: you hear & see ISS on your THD7 ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSFVTN2KKog (best seen in HD, as ISS is a bright, yet tiny little dot moving in the sky) Henk, PA3GUO >> Which APRS satellites are active and may be reached >> with a Kenwood THD-72? I'm trying to get some people >> interested in our hobby. > Well, the easiest and best is the ISS. Your normal terrestrial APRS >settings should work just fine. > >Just listen on 145.825 during mid-day in the Northern Hemisphere and you >can't miss it. I hear it every day. Of course it is moving earlier about >20 minutes a day, so use your tracking program to give you exact times. > >Bob, WB4APR

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UKuke-1 Announcement
by Graham Shirville 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

Sorry this time WITH the relevant link! http://www.ukspaceagency.bis.gov.uk/21973.aspx ----- Original Message ----- From: Graham Shirville To: amsat-bb(a)AMSAT.Org Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 3:42 PM Subject: Re: AMSAT-UK - Next Cttee Mtg 26 March Hi All, Here is some good news just released by the UK Space Agency about the UKube-1 project. You will see that the FUNcube system is formally part of the project. Whilst the release does not mention the FUNcube linear U/V transponder function during evenings and weekend, this functionality will be included in the same way that it is planned for the actual FUNcube-1 cubesat itself! The FUNcube development team is looking forward to the extra challenge of producing two sets of everything in the very short timescales required by both projects:) best 73 Graham G3VZV

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Re: AMSAT-UK - Next Cttee Mtg 26 March
by Graham Shirville 26 Jan '11

26 Jan '11

Hi All, Here is some good news just released by the UK Space Agency about the UKube-1 project. You will see that the FUNcube system is formally part of the project. Whilst the release does not mention the FUNcube linear U/V transponder function during evenings and weekend, this functionality will be included in the same way that it is planned for the actual FUNcube-1 cubesat itself! The FUNcube development team is looking forward to the extra challenge of producing two sets of everything in the very short timescales required by both projects:) best 73 Graham G3VZV

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Re: nano sail
by PA3GUO 25 Jan '11

25 Jan '11

Hi Jerry, That was O/OREOS: http://www.pa3guo.com/ooreos.html Try to catch some of it its packets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=NL&v=Qh6lH5vqw-Y (freq mentioned in this video is wrong, it is 437.305) Decoder of the telemetry is here: http://www.dk3wn.info/files/ooreos.zip Henk, PA3GUO > Just heard a packet signal on 437.305 - 437.300 . Did not print so don't know which sat it was . That was 15 minutes ahead of fast1 but was in the LOS path best I could tell . Didn't see anyother sat with that downlink anywhere close . Maybe NanoSail still ticking ?

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Palm Springs HamFest - Handouts
by Clint Bradford 25 Jan '11

25 Jan '11

For this weekend's Palm Springs HamFest, I have prepared a couple handouts. One is an "Intro to AMSAT"newsletter with membership form, the other an ARISSat-1 Update / Band Plan. Please feel free to use/adopt either for your projects and appearances. Both are posted at ... http://tinyurl.com/ps-handouts ... or, if your system doesn't like "re-direction" commands, http://preview.tinyurl.com/ps-handouts Clint, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com

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HO-68 Pass Heard
by Giacobbe Lauser 25 Jan '11

25 Jan '11

I thought I would give a listen for the HO-68 beacon this evening, and even though I don't have CW on the FT-60R, I knew that you could listen low and hear a bit of the signal on the FM side bleeding through. Sure enough, I heard a weak, high-pitch CW identifier repeating itself waaaay down in the noise about S1 on 435.775 mHz at 0437 UTC. I caught "J1SA" pretty clearly with several pauses thrown in afterward before the repeat, confirming later that the call is B"J1SA"-11. Pretty cool! - Jake, K3UAZ Martinez, CA CM88wa

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LOTW & VUCC Discussion
by John Papay 25 Jan '11

25 Jan '11

We now know more about the VUCC fee changes than we did when the discussion started thanks to comments by Bill Moore and others. As someone stated, the sticker shock has everyone upset. If the costs of the VUCC program justify what is being charged, there's not much you can do about it unless you find someone in addition to Yaesu to sponsor the program. The money has to come from somewhere. As Americans, we are painfully aware of what happens when you spend more than you take in. The League should have been adjusting rates over the years. The Post Office, our government and businesses all do this gradually to avoid a rebellion. If this had been done, we wouldn't be having such a big outcry right now. I think the other problem with how this was done involved notification. Announcing that effective today, the cost for VUCC submissions is going up drastically, was not a good move. Rolling out the costs for LOTW VUCC submissions is one thing, but including the traditional filing rates as part of it without publishing an "effective date" ahead of time is another matter. It wasn't well thought out. Now that it is done, how do we proceed from here? I think there are two main issues that can be looked at by the Directors. They control what happens at the League. My Director has been very responsive to things that I have brought to him. I hope your Director is equally as responsive. Just make sure that when writing to them that you don't rant. State the facts and be specific as to what you want them to do. The first thing they should look at is the cost of the VUCC program. Bill Moore has suggested that they don't even break even considering everything involved. Ask your Director to get the numbers and validate the claim. Any evaluation should include monies derived from the website. Yaesu sponsors LOTW but it is unclear as to what extent they do. There may be other sources of funding as well. As a subset of the cost, ask your Director to find out why hybird applications are part of the DXCC LOTW program but are not provided for in the VUCC program. After all, it's the same system. I would expect that we will always be submitting some cards along with LOTW matches. Most of the cost of a paper submission is subsidized by the card checkers. It takes a lot of time to scrutinize a card to find the Grid. After the initial application, only the Grid numbers are sent to the ARRL. A typist can enter 4 character grids into a computer very quickly. Callsigns, date, time, band, etc. are not entered for VUCC. If you send your cards to the ARRL and a paid employee has to go through the cards, the cost is significantly higher than if a volunteer does it. Hybrid applications for a single filing fee should be part of VUCC as they are now for DXCC. The ARRL Membership was not given a warning about the fee increases. Establishing the fees for LOTW VUCC is one thing. Increasing the fees for paper submissions should have had an effective date into the future. This would allow those who were on the verge of filing the opportunity to do so at the current rate. Ask your Director to have the old paper fees reinstated until say, May 1st. This will give the applicants and the volunteer card checkers some time to process everything. If the new fees are found to be reasonable they go into effect after that date. I have been licensed for 50 years and prior to getting my license I was involved with ham radio for more than 10 years. I attended many club meetings with my older cousin. The topic of dissatisfaction with the ARRL was always a big deal. The hams talked about it all the time. But if you think that we would be where we are now with Ham Radio if the ARRL had not been there representing our interests, you are sadly mistaken. Radio spectrum is always in demand. You can't make more of it. You can digitize and process till you are blue in the face but there is never enough spectrum. Cellphones sound lousy because they don't have enough bandwidth. But we put up with it because they are portable and there is no other choice given the number of users. If the ARRL had not been there for us, we would all be on 80 meters. The League is our voice. If you don't like what they are doing, contact your Director or run for the position yourself. Ham Radio is a hobby but there are costs involved. You can choose what you want to spend. No one is forcing you. But do consider that we need the ARRL to preserve ham radio into the future. It takes money to run the organization and we are up against others who have very deep pockets. Supporting the ARRL makes good sense as does supporting AMSAT. They are our advocates. 73, John K8YSE

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Re: VUCC costs
by mlolmsted＠fuse.net 25 Jan '11

25 Jan '11

Nice explanation of the costs for VUCC in the Jeff Yanko blog. However, I did not see what happens with LOTW submisions. If the cost of awards keep going up, maybe the ARRL should offer award insurance as well as equipment insurance. Just a thought. :>) Merle, AA4QE

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Antenna Observations/Question
by Richard Lawn 25 Jan '11

25 Jan '11

I've been on the birds off an on for years. I have an M2 cir. polarized pair at home QTH and am looking into a more modest installation for a summer cottage. I've built the K5OE eggbeater imitations and founds them to be only fair.I could by M2 eggbeater pair but I'm trying to do this on less $. I also have an Arrow antenna which I've tried some with a HT with only fair results. Any other suggestions out there? Mount the Arrow more permanently but at a fixed elevation and use a simple rotor to change azimuth? How about a homebrewed quagi? Any suggestions appreciated. Rick W2JAZ

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Road Trip
by Jim Adams 25 Jan '11

25 Jan '11

I'll be portable working AO-27, AO-51 and SO-50 from DM58 and DM69 for the next few days. Can't really say what passes, but will work as many as possible from my 10,000 foot perch. Jim Adams K0BAM Ridgway, Colorado

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