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AO-51 reloaded and operational
by Mark L. Hammond 06 Nov '10

06 Nov '10

Hi All, Thanks to a great team effort, we have the AO-51 repeater back up and operational. It will be several more hours before the PBBS is open for public access, but we expect it will be open around 2100utc today. We usually get asked, "What caused the crash?" We honestly don't know. It is unlikely to be related to the power budget; it would have just turned a transmitter OFF in that case. We often suspect the South Atlantic Anomaly as the cause, and based on the time frame of the crash this time, it is a plausible hypothesis. On behalf of the AO-51 Command Team, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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Free Antennas - Located in Vicenza Italy
by Tom Davis 06 Nov '10

06 Nov '10

The following antennas are free to anyone who is willing to pick them up (I would hate to send them to the eco center.): 1.2 m parabolic dish with balanced mounting bracket. It was used with a Yaesu G-5400, and works well. 2 m 4 element beam 70 cm 10 element beam NOAA Loop Yagi 1691 Tom Davis IK3WVJ/KB7HTA

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aa5ck QSLs
by ted 06 Nov '10

06 Nov '10

My thanks to those I was able to contact this week during my trip making it very enjoyable. I'll get to work on the QSLs and sending them, just give me a little time. No SASEs or return cards are necessary. 73....ted....aa5ck

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WD9EWK from Kingman Hamfest starting on AO-7 @ 1425 UTC
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 06 Nov '10

06 Nov '10

Hi! With the current issues on AO-51, my first satellite demonstration from the Kingman (Arizona) Hamfest will be on the 1425 UTC AO-7 pass. This will go almost directly over the hamfest here in grid DM25xf, and I hope to make some contacts to show off satellite operating. I will also be on other passes throughout the day. If you hear me on, please give me a call. I have turned off my APRS radio, since I will not be moving from this location for a while. The last spot for WD9EWK-7 at http://aprs.fi/wd9ewk-7 shows the hamfest site. Once the hamfest wraps up, I'll turn on that radio once again. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK - Kingman, Arizona http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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question about antenna distances on tower
by N. Mahdinejad 06 Nov '10

06 Nov '10

Dear Amsat Members. I have read the KO6TH webpage at" http://home.wavecable.com/~ko6th/". This was very useful for me. Thanks you for publishing such information with clear pictures. I have question about the whole setup. "70cm antenna, 2.4ghz dish, rotor in the middle, tower cam in small box, and the 2m beam on the right." What is the required distance between these antennas to avoid any interference or other problems? I also have read the amsat paper" an introduction to amateur satellites", and have that questions about KG6IAL setup on page 23. Thanks for your help and attention. Best Regards. Nayer Mahdinejad.

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SCS Tracker TNC
by Tony 05 Nov '10

05 Nov '10

Greetings all, Is there anyone on the list using the SCS Tracker TNC with WISP for 9600 baud Pacsats? http://www.scs-ptc.com/shop/products/modems/tracker-dsp-tnc Tony -K2MO

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Encounter With Comet Hartley 2010-11-04
by B J 05 Nov '10

05 Nov '10

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/epoxi/epoxi20101102.html This is going to be interesting as it will be the second comet examined by the Deep Impact spacecraft. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Did you visit/observe the BoD meeting in Chicago/Elk Grove?
by Alan P. Biddle 05 Nov '10

05 Nov '10

We try to keep a list of members who observed the BoD meeting and include it in the formal report. However, not everybody signs or even finds the sign-in sheet. Below is the list I have. If you were there but not recorded, or know of someone who was, drop me a note off list. I have a good list of those who participated already. TNX es 73s, Alan WA4SCA Secretary Known visitors/observers: Dale Hershberger, KL7XJ Sharon D Davis, KJ4YOV Bob Davis, KF4KSS Bob McGwier, N4HY Brian Klofas, KF6ZEO Craig Bledsoe, KL4E Dan Schultz, N8FGV Dave Taylor, W8AAS Dee Interdonato, NB2F Doug Quagliana, KA2UPW Jennifer Rojowski, N8GZL JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM John Paypay, K8YSE John Shew, N4QQ Keith Pugh, W5IU Larry Brown, W7LB Mark Hammond, N8MH Nick Pugh, K5QXJ Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK Phil Karn, KA9Q

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Oldest working orbiting satellite? Todays quiz!
by Chris Bloy 05 Nov '10

05 Nov '10

Hi Group, Ok, so I think I can answer the oldest working Amateur satellite is... (AO7!?) But what about the oldest:- Non-working Amateur Satellite still in-orbit? (AO-13?) Non-working commercial sat? Vanguard-1? Working commercial satellite still in orbit? Many Thanks, Chris

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AO-51 down 5 Nov 2010
by Mark L. Hammond 05 Nov '10

05 Nov '10

Hello All, I just listened for AO-51 and she was down. The bird is transmitting telemetry on 435.150 for now. Give us a few days to get it running again. 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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AO-51
by Rick - WA4NVM 05 Nov '10

05 Nov '10

GM all, I didn't hear AO-51 on the 1027z pass this morning? I hope all is well. It sounded great last night. 73, Rick WA4NVM

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More Pictures Of Comet Hartley 2
by B J 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1011/04epoxigallery1/ 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Lake Superior QSL update
by John Papay 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

All contacts made during my Lake Superior Grid Expedition have been confirmed direct by mail. It was quite a project but it is finally finished. This includes both USA and DX contacts. TI2SW was the first contact made during the expedition from Tawas, MI (EN84FG) on August 3d. KI4RDT was the last contact logged from Ludington, MI (EN63UW) on September 7th. 2069 qso's were made on 168 passes. There were about 317 unique callsigns when the /p's etc. were removed. 32 grids were activated. We operated from 97 unique 6 character grid locators. (All qsl cards included the 6 character locator to pin down our location more accurately). Paper logs were transferred to an excel spreadsheet so there are possibilities for errors. If you believe you made a contact and did not receive a confirmation (and it's a new grid for you), please email me with the contact particulars and I'll check the logs and/or the recordings available. I want to thank all of those who sent a donation to help with the costs of the qsl's and mailing. Some sent stamps, both green and USPS types. It was very much appreciated. It was great to get on a pass and hear all of the stations waiting to work me. I hope that you got through and worked the grids you needed. Sometimes we just couldn't stay very long in a particular spot but we did our best. Please think about operating the birds when you are away from home. Many grids are not represented on the birds regularly so when you do travel, someone may need the grid you are in. If you want your grid map listed on my website, either create an image using the program (details are on the website) or simply send me a list of your grids confirmed and/or worked in a text file with one 4 character grid per line. There are about 750 audio recordings of satellite passes on my website now. We should have over 1000 by the end of the year. It's a great way to hear what you sound like on the birds. It's also a good way for the new people to hear what the birds sound like so they know what to expect when they try to make their first contact. Please spread the word. http://www.papays.com/sat 73, John K8YSE

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AO-51 mode change complete 4 Nov 2010
by Mark L. Hammond 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

Mode change has been completed, as per schedule at http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php November 4 (late UTC) FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM (no PL tone) Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM and 9k6 Baud PBBS Operations, L/U Uplink: 1268.705 MHz FM at 9600 baud Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM at 9600 baud 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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NA1SS operations
by francesco messineo 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

Hi all, I've seen spots in the cluster about NA1SS making contacts on VHF lately. What are the frequency for calling/listening over Europe? I already worked NA1SS some years ago in the UHF band, I would like to give it a try on VHF too. Many thanks and 73 Frank IZ8DWF

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Cuploa Photographs
by Clint Bradford 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

Photo Gallery: Best Space-Station Cupola Views It's been 10 months since the International Space Station got the Cupola, an amazing window to the big blue marble below called Earth. Wired Magazine reviews some of the best images inside the module. http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/index/~3/RECIj8Y17YI

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Re: Oldest working orbiting satellite? Todays, quiz!
by Joe Leikhim 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

I got my first taste of satellites listening to ATS-3 with a discone, wideband tower mounted preamp, and Regency MX-3000 receiver back in about 1984. There were continual round table discussions by the Bahia from places like Roatonga. 135.575 MHz I recall. Does anyone else recall this traffic? Is it still going on? From that I started hearing various channels of Fleetsatcom between 250 and 270 MHz, loud and clear with the same setup. > >"The record holder appears to be ATS-3 still nominally operational after an > >amazing 41 years!" That's impressive! -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida www.Leikhim.com JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446

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Re: TM-D710 Odd Splits
by Clint Bradford 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

In the manual, under MEMORY, you'll find the steps for "STORING ODD SPLIT" freqs. Quite a machine! Clint, K6LCS ---------------------------------- Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.clintbradford.com

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Successful Encounter With Comet Hartley 2
by B J 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=eeJEIRNwFgJNJ1K&s=kgKUIWMzFfIOKWNHE&m=6dJJJ… 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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Re: Oldest working orbiting satellite? Todays quiz!
by Bob- W7LRD 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

I know this has been kick around before, however, w ith all the satellites up there in various stages of functionality is it not possible any of them could be "configured" for our use? 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Bloy" <chris(a)photofuture.co.uk> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Sent: Thursday, November 4, 2010 9:43:20 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Oldest working orbiting satellite? Todays quiz! Hi Robert, >> Non-working Amateur Satellite still in-orbit? (AO-13?) >> >Oscar III...then Oscar V...Oscar V has no chance of coming back to life, it was battery powered.. III? I dont think that there were enough solar cells on it to actually power the bird, but I could be >wrong. I do listen for it. > Ah, that's interesting.. I did have a quick check on Space Track via date search, but didn't know that III was still there! >> Non-working commercial sat? Vanguard-1? >Yes. Technically the rocket body is older but that is the oldest in orbit > Technically the R/B isn't a satellite?? >> Working commercial satellite still in orbit? >Probably one of the 1960's ERG's...but I can check. > From http://www.satellites.co.uk/forums/tech-head-news-items/140262-oldest-workin g-comms-sat.html : (Thanks John LA2QAA) "The record holder appears to be ATS-3 still nominally operational after an amazing 41 years!" That's a record we want AO-7 to break isn't it? Thanks, Chris Project OSCAR UK www.projectoscar.co.uk - www.projectoscar.eu _______________________________________________ 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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Odd Split setup on TM-D710
by Jeff Yanko 04 Nov '10

04 Nov '10

Hi all, I have a TM-D710 that I use for various communications, including satellites. However, I am having one heck of a time trying to get it setup so that I can at least make an attempt to work NA1SS, the space station. It uses an odd split frequency scheme but I haven't been able to set it up for such a split. I follow the instructions in the manual and still to no avail, so I'm pretty sure I know I'm getting it wrong. Please contact me off -bb and any help will be greatly appreciated. 73, Jeff WB3JFS

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SO67
by wa4hfn＠comcast.net 03 Nov '10

03 Nov '10

Just worked SO67 and it is loud .next pass almost over Memphis Guys give it try WA4HFN Damon em55

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Re: Questions about use of PC104 connector for CubeSat
by Ryan Caron 03 Nov '10

03 Nov '10

I'd suggest taking a look at AstroDev's He-100 offering, which uses the PC-104 card connector. http://www.astrodev.com/public_html2/downloads/datasheet/HeliumUserManual.p… Page 7 has the pinout, Page 20 has placement I would hesitate to use a board quite as large as that though, as it is highly optimized for the CubeSatKit, making use in other chassis difficult. I would suggest a slightly smaller board in line with Boeing's CS82 board factor. Slide 6 from this year's CubeSat Developer's Conference @ Cal Poly http://www.cubesat.org/images/cubesat/presentations/DevelopersWorkshop2010/… Are either of these the golden standard? Not exactly, but it is the closest thing I've seen to one. Ease of integration and flexibility are the key to getting your transponder flown. 73, Ryan Caron KB1LKI On 11/3/10 12:00 PM, amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org wrote: > Message: 7 > Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2010 09:30:17 -0700 (PDT) > From: William Leijenaar<pe1rah(a)yahoo.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Questions about use of PC104 connector for CubeSat > boards > To:[email protected] > Message-ID:<844462.5173.qm(a)web31801.mail.mud.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > Hello AMSATs, > > Work and home situation kept me away from having any ham time. But recently I > had some time to continue with upgrading my LE005 transponder design with a > PC104 > connector (or is it PCI-104 ?), and some other features;-) > > The PC104 is a good choice for having a standardized inter connection system on > CubeSat projects. However, I seen some deviation in the placement standard of > this PC104 connector. > >> From the following website I read: > http://www.cubesatkit.com/content/electronics/bus.html > > "The CubeSat Kit Bus utilizes the same physical connectors as the > industry-proven > PC/104 bus, but in an alternate physical location so as to avoid unintentional > damage to PC/104 or CubeSat Kit modules." > > With my focus on: "...in an alternate physical location..." > > I would like to know what this position is, and if this is now "the golden > standard" > in CubeSat world ? > > My next worry will be the pin configurations. Is there any standard for CubeSat > boards ? > > Next I would like to know how modules are controlled by the data bus. > Is it like separate pins for PTT, TX, RX etc... > Or with more smart communication with lines like: address bus, data bus, Clock, > Interrupt lines etc. (similar to old ISA PC cards) > Or maybe with I2C. > > I keep it to these questions for now... > Next questions will follow out of the answers hihi... > > 73 de PE1RAH > William Leijenaar

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Re: Questions about use of PC104 connector for CubeSat boards
by G0MRF＠aol.com 03 Nov '10

03 Nov '10

In a message dated 03/11/2010 16:47:38 GMT Standard Time, pe1rah(a)yahoo.com writes: My next worry will be the pin configurations. Is there any standard for CubeSat boards ? Next I would like to know how modules are controlled by the data bus. Is it like separate pins for PTT, TX, RX etc... Or with more smart communication with lines like: address bus, data bus, Clock, Interrupt lines etc. (similar to old ISA PC cards) Or maybe with I2C. Hi William >From my experience you can get a very good start by downloading the data sheet on one of the EPS modules from Clydespace. Lots of cubesats start by using these power systems and there are many products from other suppliers based on this pinout. The data sheet will tell you which pins are used for which function, but I dont recall seeing a diagram showing the position of the connectors relative to the mounting holes etc. My effort at a simple cubesat board based on the Clydespace EPS pinout is at: _http://funcube.org.uk/WP3/?page_id=195_ (http://funcube.org.uk/WP3/?page_id=195) As you can see, there are plenty of free pins !! Regards David. G0MRF - ( Enjoyed your presentation at Surrey a few months ago. - Thank you)

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Questions about use of PC104 connector for CubeSat boards
by William Leijenaar 03 Nov '10

03 Nov '10

Hello AMSATs, Work and home situation kept me away from having any ham time. But recently I had some time to continue with upgrading my LE005 transponder design with a PC104 connector (or is it PCI-104 ?), and some other features ;-) The PC104 is a good choice for having a standarized inter connection system on CubeSat projects. However, I seen some deviation in the placement standard of this PC104 connector. >From the following website I read: http://www.cubesatkit.com/content/electronics/bus.html "The CubeSat Kit Bus utilizes the same physical connectors as the industry-proven PC/104 bus, but in an alternate physical location so as to avoid unintentional damage to PC/104 or CubeSat Kit modules." With my focus on: "...in an alternate physical location..." I would like to know what this possition is, and if this is now "the golden standard" in CubeSat world ? My next worry will be the pin configurations. Is there any standard for CubeSat boards ? Next I would like to know how modules are controlled by the data bus. Is it like separate pins for PTT, TX, RX etc... Or with more smart communication with lines like: address bus, data bus, Clock, Interrupt lines etc. (similar to old ISA PC cards) Or maybe with I2C. I keep it to these questions for now... Next questions will follow out of the answers hihi... 73 de PE1RAH William Leijenaar ---

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WD9EWK @ Kingman (Arizona) Hamfest, 6 November
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 02 Nov '10

02 Nov '10

Hi! I will be at the Kingman Hamfest in northwestern Arizona on Saturday, 6 November 2010. This is a two-day event, but I will not be there for day one on Friday (5 November). During Saturday, I will be there with an AMSAT table and on the satellites as WD9EWK for demonstrations using FM and SSB. This hamfest is supposed to run all day on Saturday, and - if there are crowds there all day - I will be there. The hamfest is in grid DM25xf, not far from the DM25/DM35 grid boundary in another part of Kingman. Depending on when the hamfest wraps up, there may be a possibility of post-hamfest satellite activity from either the DM25/DM35 grid boundary or maybe a quick drive over the new bridge near Hoover Dam from somewhere in southern Nevada. One way to figure out where I will be operating from is with APRS: http://aprs.fi/wd9ewk-7 This will be a quick trip, and I plan on returning home late Saturday evening. Before heading home, I hope to be on passes in the evening. Possibly for SO-50 passes, and maybe as late as SO-67 and/or VO-52 passes. Since APRS coverage is pretty good in much of Arizona, the aprs.fi link above should be the best guide to my whereabouts for those passes. For anyone working WD9EWK at the hamfest or anywhere else after the hamfest, there is no need to first mail me a QSL request or SASE. Please e-mail me directly with the QSO details. If you are in the log, I will send you a QSL card (or cards). 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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AO-51 L/SU
by Bob- W7LRD 02 Nov '10

02 Nov '10

Just tried AO-51 L/SU. The S band signal is weaker than it has ever been. Or my old AO-40 (sobsob) S band rx setup is maybe failing. I was trying for "stereo" reception on uhf and S band. I did work KC9ELU just at his LOS. I had a fairly high elevation, anyone else notice this S band signal? Maybe I need a bigger dish. 73 Bob W7LRD Seattle

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interface for aprs
by Carlos Poinho 02 Nov '10

02 Nov '10

hello all anyone have a good outline of an interface for APRS and simple to build thank's in advance

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AO-51 report needed
by Andrew Glasbrenner 02 Nov '10

02 Nov '10

Was AO-51 transmitting last pass over the US? A direct, rapid reply would be wonderful. There are reports of it not being heard on David Carr's page, but that is common when at low power or S is on. 73, Drew KO4MA

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Re: [sarex] Re: 2010-11-01 ARISS Status
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 02 Nov '10

02 Nov '10

Getting very good live video and audio now at the site noted below Sion. Thanks for the link. Dave, AA4KN ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sion Chow Q. C." <9w2qc(a)9w2qc.net> To: <sarex(a)AMSAT.Org> Sent: Tuesday, November 02, 2010 10:26 AM Subject: [sarex] Re: 2010-11-01 ARISS Status > Dear All, > > For those interested in viewing the National Planetarium, KL (9M2RPN) > ARISS contact, kindly visit the following website: > > http://www.angkasa.gov.my/live_webcasting/index.html > > Thank you. > > 73, > Sion Chow Q. C., > 9M2CQC, WQ2C /HL1, > ex: 9W2QC, AB3IO > > > On Nov 1, 2010, at 9:59 PM, Carol Jackson wrote: > >> Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report >> November 1, 2010 >> >> >> 1. Upcoming School Contact >> >> S.K. Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has been scheduled for an >> Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on >> Tuesday, November 2 at 18:05 UTC. The contact will be made from the >> National Planetarium satellite ground station in conjunction with the >> "Prime Minister's - National Space Challenge Trophy 2010" event. The >> planetarium teaches space science and has an exclusive section displaying >> a mockup of the ISS as well as a rocket engine. Space participant Sheikh >> Muszaphar is frequently invited to schools to give talks to the students, >> encouraging them to study space science. >> >> 2. Successful ARISS Contact with Funakata Elementary >> >> On Friday, October 29, an Amateur Radio on the International Space >> Station (ARISS) contact was held between students from Funakata >> Elementary School in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan and astronaut Shannon Walker, >> KD5DXB on the International Space Station (ISS). The youth were able to >> get in 16 questions before the ISS went over the horizon. Approximately >> seventy students, guests and media were present. >> >> 3. Astronaut Training Status >> >> Astronauts Joe Acaba, KE5DAR and Aki Hoshide, KE5DNI participated in >> simulated ARISS school contacts with students attending Ralph McCall >> School in Airdrie, Alberta, Canada on Tuesday, October 26. The training >> sessions were terrestrial-based amateur radio contacts using ARISS >> equivalent equipment. >> >> Acaba, who is slated to fly with Expedition 31, also had an ARISS >> refresher course on Wednesday, October 27 for his upcoming mission in >> 2012. >> >> 4. AMSAT News on ARISS Events >> >> AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) ran three items in its >> October 31 ANS (AMSAT News Service) bulletin. A status on ARISSat is >> given in the entry, "ARISSat-1 Passes NASA Safety Review - Ready For Trip >> to Russia." The story, "Second Amateur Radio Station to be Activated on >> ISS" talks about the Ericssons onboard the ISS which will be installed in >> the Columbus module early next year, and the third item, "ARISS Contact >> With George Observatory Successful" covers a recent contact held with >> Texan Scouts. For all stories, see: >> http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2010/000457.html >> >> "Second Amateur Radio Station to be Activated on ISS" may also be found >> on the front page of the AMSAT Web site: >> http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/index.php >> >> 5. ARRL Article Gives Overview of ARISSat-1 >> >> The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) posted an article on its Web site >> covering ARISSat-1. The story describes the enhancements made to this >> satellite and contrasts its capabilities with those of SuitSat-1. The >> story also appeared in the ARRL Letter on October 28. "ARISSat-1 "Suits >> Up" for February 2011 Launch" may be found at: >> http://www.arrl.org/news/arissat-1-suits-up-for-february-2011-launch >> >> ---- >> Sent via sarex(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. >> Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! >> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/sarex > > > ---- > Sent via sarex(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/sarex

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FYI re:SO-67
by Andrew Glasbrenner 02 Nov '10

02 Nov '10

From the Sumbandila SO-67 team: Apologies to all who had waited for SO-67 and for only now offering a warning or explanation for the past two days' inactivity. The task scheduler on Sumbandila was updated via a mechanism that was not previously used, and which did not set the executable permissions of the binary. We did not understand the problem until this morning and could therefore not predict if the repeater would be active. We hope to fix this tonight at 18:30 UTC. In the meantime David Carr's status page was useful to know the situation even before our passes, so the ham monitoring effort was not wasted. Thanks to KO4MA, AA5PK, N5AFV, N3SCR, AJ5C and KB5WIA. 73 de ZR1CBC, Johann. P.S. Please forward my message to other interested parties. Besides your enquiry I did not see any discussion. -----Original Message----- From: Andrew Glasbrenner [mailto:[email protected]] Subject: Re: Week 1 requests Thank You Johann. Several amateurs have reported not hearing SO-67 on it's scheduled activations this week, including myself just now at 0120-0135. Is something wrong? 73, Drew KO4MA E-mail Disclaimer http://www.sunspace.co.za/emaildisclaimer.htm

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Nova help
by Gopal Madhavan 02 Nov '10

02 Nov '10

Hi all I have been using Nova for windows for many years now but there has been a gap of some years, but am having problems loading all the satellites Just a few of the amateur sats are shown in the list Can someone help please Thanks Gopal Gopal Madhavan VU2GMN E-mail: gopal.Madhavan(a)gmail.com

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College Satellite this Thursday evening
by Dr. Jay Garlitz 01 Nov '10

01 Nov '10

It's time for another College Satellite night! We hope to see you on the birds Thursday evening November 4th from 22:00 UTC to 0500 UTC. College Satellite nights are a monthly event held the first Thursday of the month. Mark your calendar and spread the word to college hams/club stations that you know! College club stations plan on being on birds AO51, SO50, AO7, VO52, HO-68 and more.Please give these stations a call and work them.they will identify their college club identity along with their call sign. We understand the FM birds are crowded but please welcome the college students/club stations and let them take calls from the many stations who want to speak with them. In appreciation and 73, Dr. Jay Garlitz, AA4FL Gator ARC Faculty Advisor at UF, W4DFU trustee www.gatorradio.org <http://www.gatorradio.org/>

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AMSAT-UK FUNcube Frequencies now confirmed
by Trevor . 01 Nov '10

01 Nov '10

The IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination panel has announced coordinated frequencies for the AMSAT-UK FUNcube 1U CubeSat. The frequencies are: Inverting linear transponder: Uplink 435.080 – 435.060 MHz Downlink 145.960 – 145.980 MHz Beacon 145.955 MHz CW and 1200 bps BPSK FUNcube website http://www.FUNcube.org.uk/ FUNcube SDR Dongle http://www.FUNcubeDongle.com/ FUNcube Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FUNcube/ Getting started on Amateur Radio Satellites PDF http://www.uk.amsat.org/content/view/408/168/ AMSAT-UK publishes a colour A4 newsletter, OSCAR News, which is full of Amateur Satellite information. Join online at https://secure.amsat.org.uk/subs_form/ ---- 73 Trevor M5AKA

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Request Quotation
by Farrell Winder 01 Nov '10

01 Nov '10

Please provide a quotation via E-Mail covering : 1. Satellite Tracking Software for SatPC 32 2. SatPc 32 Hardware Above items to be compatible to interface with Windows 7 via Yaesu G-5500 with GS-232B Controller. Thank you, Farrell Winder, W8ZCF

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HO-68 Schedule 01-07 Nov 2010
by Alan Kung 01 Nov '10

01 Nov '10

UTC: 31 Oct 2010 ================================ 16:30...Turn On--FM/PACSAT India, Africa, Middle East, Europe,NA 17:15...Turn Off 18:20...Turn On--FM/PACSAT NA,East Asia,Oceania 19:05...Turn Off 22:20...Turn On--FM/PACSAT NA,North Asia,East Asia, Oceania 23:05...Turn Off 01 Nov 2010 ================================ 02:06...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia, East Asia,South Asia 02:21...Turn Off 13:00...Turn On--FM/PACSAT NA, South America 13:45...Turn Off 16:15...Turn On--FM/PACSAT India,Middle East,Europe,NA 17:00...Turn Off 18:00...Turn On--FM/PACSAT India,Middle East,Europe,NA 18:45...Turn Off 22:05...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 22:50...Turn Off 02 Nov 2010 ================================= 01:49...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 02:04...Turn Off 10:45...Turn On--FM/PACSAT NA,East Asia,Oceania 11:30...Turn Off 12:45...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Europe,NA,South America 13:30...Turn Off 16:00...Turn On--FM/PACSAT India, Africa,Europe,NA South America 16:45...Turn Off 17:45...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Middle East,Europe,NA 18:30...Turn Off 19:10...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Middle East,Europe,NA 19:55...Turn Off 03 Nov 2010 ================================= 23:35...Turn On--FM/PACSAT NA,North Asia,East Asia,Oceania 00:20...Turn Off 01:32...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Asia,Oceania 01:43...Turn Off 12:25...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Europe,NA,South America 13:10...Turn Off 17:25...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,India,Middle East Europe,NA 18:10...Turn Off 19:15...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 20:00...Turn Off 20:40...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 21:25...Turn Off 04 Nov 2010 ================================ 23:20...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Oceania,Asia,Europe,NA 00:05...Turn Off 03:03...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 03:18...Turn Off 13:55...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Europe, NA,South America 14:40...Turn Off 17:10...Turn On--FM/PACSAT India,Africa,Europe,NA 17:55...Turn Off 19:00...Turn On--FM/PACSAT India,Africa,Europe,NA 19:45...Turn Off 20:25...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 21:10...Turn Off 23:05...Turn On--FM/PACSAT NA,North Asia, Oceania 23:50...Turn Off 05 Nov 2010 ================================ 02:46...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 03:02...Turn Off 13:40...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Europe, NA,South America 14:25...Turn Off 16:50...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 17:35...Turn Off 18:45...Turn On--FM/PACSAT India,Africa,Europe,NA 19:30...Turn Off 20:10...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 20:55...Turn Off 22:45...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia, South Asia,Oceania 23:30...Turn Off 06 Nov 2010 ================================ 02:28...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia,South Asia Oceania 02:43...Turn Off 13:25...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Europe,NA,South America 14:10...Turn Off 16:35...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 17:20...Turn Off 18:25...Turn On--FM/PACSAT India,Africa,Europe,NA 19:10...Turn Off 19:50...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Africa,Europe,NA 20:35...Turn Off 22:30...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia, South Asia,Oceania 23:15...Turn Off 07 Nov 2010 ================================ 02:12...Turn On--FM/PACSAT North Asia,East Asia,South Asia Oceania 02:28...Turn Off 13:05...Turn On--FM/PACSAT Europe,NA,South America 13:50...Turn Off 73 Alan Kung, BA1DU HO-68(XW-1) Project Manager www.camsat.cn

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HO-67 SubTone loading
by John Neeley 01 Nov '10

01 Nov '10

I am having a problem getting the subtone entered into the SatPC32 program for HO-67 on my FT-847. Going to the sqf file, I have entered the sequence as I have for the other satellites, making sure the name is spelled correctly, etc. This is what I have entered: SUMBANDILA(SO-67),233.6,$3F,1 Dont know why it wont transfer over to the CAT system, as had no problem with the others... any ideas?? Right now I have to enter it into the radio manually. John W6ZKH

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OSCAR-11 Report
by Clive Wallis 01 Nov '10

01 Nov '10

OSCAR-11 REPORT 31 October 2010 This report covers the period from 30 September to 31 October 2010. During this time the satellite has been heard from 09 to 19 October and from 30 October. At the time of writing it is transmitting and is expected to continue until 09 November. 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 only ten seconds in 33 days. This is comparable with its accuracy when the satellite was fully operational, when it gained approximately one minute per year. However, there is still an accumulated loss of 309 days, which has occurred during eclipses of the last few years. Operation during eclipses and stability of the on-board clock suggest that some part of the system may have recently failed 'open circuit' thus reducing the overall power drain of the system, and allowing more power to be available during eclipses. There was an unexplained current drain observed when analogue telemetry was last transmitted. This fault might have cleared. The Beacon frequencies are - VHF 145.826 MHz. AFSK FM ASCII Telemetry UHF 435.025 MHz. OFF S-band 2401.5 MHz. OFF Reception reports have been received from Jeff N3QO, Rod CX2ABP and Ian KI4HLV/6Y5 (G4JMM) . Many thanks for those and to everyone who posted reports on the satellite status website. This is a very convenient and easy to use facility, which shows the current status of all the amateur satellites. Strongly recommended for future reports! Reports around the expected times of switch-on and switch-off are of special interest. The URL is http://oscar.dcarr.org/index.php OSCAR-11 transmits on 145.826 MHz., set receiver to NBFM. The satellite has a characteristic sound, rather like raspy slow morse code, sending "di di dah dah dah dah dah dah dah" sent over a period of five seconds. If you are receiving a very weak signal, switch the receiver to CW or SSB. You should hear several sidebands around the carrier frequency and should be able to hear the characteristic 'morse code like' sound on at least one sideband. Please note that you need a clean noise-free signal to decode the signals, and your receiver must be set to NBFM mode, for a decoder to work. If you need to know what OSCAR-11 sounds like, there is an audio clip on my website www.g3cwv.co.uk/ which may be useful for identification and as a test signal for decoding. The current status of the satellite, is that all the analogue telemetry channels, 0 to 59 are zero, ie they have failed. The status channels 60 to 67 are still working. The real time clock is showing a large accumulated error, but is now incrementing accurately to within a few seconds per month. The day of the month has a bit stuck at 'one' so the day of the month may show an error of +40 days for some dates. The time display has switched into 12 hour mode. Unfortunately, there is no AM/PM indicator, since the time display format was designed for 24 hour mode. The spacecraft computer and active attitude control system have switched OFF, ie. the satellite' attitude is controlled only by the passive gravity boom gradient, and the satellite is free to spin at any speed. The watchdog timer operates on a 20 day cycle. The ON/OFF times have tended to be very consistent. The average of many observations have shown this to be 20.7 days, ie. 10.3 day s ON followed by 10.4 days OFF. Listeners to OSCAR-11 may be interested in visiting my website. If you need to know what OSCAR-11 should sound like, there is a short audio clip for you to hear. The last telemetry received from the satellite is available for download. The website contains an archive of news & telemetry data which is updated from time to time. It also contains details about using a soundcard or hardware demodulators for data capture. There is software for capturing data, and decoding ASCII telemetry. The URL is www.g3cwv.co.uk . If you place this bulletin on a terrestrial packet network, please use the bulletin identifier $BID:U2RPT150.CWV, to prevent duplication. 73 Clive G3CWV xxxxx(a)amsat.org (please replace xxxxx by g3cwv)

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FO-29 status?
by Andrew Glasbrenner 01 Nov '10

01 Nov '10

I'm really missing FO-29. Do any of our Japanese members have an update as to the situation? 73, Drew KO4MA

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PY1AT
by Andrew Glasbrenner 01 Nov '10

01 Nov '10

I haven't been able to find your email address. Please email me about our almost-QSO on AO-7 today. 73, Drew KO4MA

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Re: station add help
by PA3GUO 01 Nov '10

01 Nov '10

Hi Jack I have a Kenwood TS2000, which is very similar to the IC910. For this discussion one important difference, the TS2000 has a build in TNC, which can be used on either bands & sat mode. Many years I simply connected that build-in TNC to my PC and used Alogger under Windows (via RS232) for packet. Mostly ISS APRS, but also to command RAFT, ANDE, etc. Two years ago I bought a 2nd hand PK96, external TNC, which I connect to the TS2000 (ACC plug) and PC (RS232). Works fine. It allows me to use the build in TNC on one band and the PK96 on the other band. Also, when I use the build-in TNC, I cannot use CAT (doppler) access. So to do AND doppler compensation (HRD) AND packet I need the external TNC. Also with the PK96 I use ALogger. Another option is to feed the audio to MixW, and create a virtual link in SW: connect MixW to Alogger, then you can set up an APRS Satgate without hardware TNC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSFVTN2KKog shows how ISS APRS is decoded by MixW. Audio can directly be decoded by MMSSTV for SSTV (both TX/RX). A SW only solution gets you running for SSTV. I did SSTV over HO68 this way: http://www.pa3guo.com/ho68_sstv_dec30_007.jpg One year ago I added an interface between the radio & PC, to decouple them physically (for 20+ years I was 'unsafe'). For this I use a kit from http://www.ezkits.eu/. This is insurance only, it doesn't add anything new. Then, I use HRD for Doppler control, but it can do much more including decoding of many digital modes. When you connect the audio of the IC910 to a PC and run MixW you are operational to receive APRS already ! Maybe start there and extend then step by step. (oh, you then can also decode 9k6 from AO51) Success ! Henk -- Henk, PA3GUO http://www.pa3guo.com ============================== I'm in the process of adding digital mode to my satellite station which consists of IC910 radio using SATPC 32 12.8A. I will be using a Signalink USB & would like to know if this is the way to go. I will be using it for packet, digipeater, SSTV.etc. Two programs that I'm looking into using are MIXW & or mltimode. I would appreciate any suggestions or help about moving foreword with this configuration. Thanks for any input. Jack WA1ZDV

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AO-7 Mode A antennas
by John Neeley 31 Oct '10

31 Oct '10

I notice, looking at the logbook on the AO-7 website that the Europeans utilize Mode A alot more than use here in NA. Since the downlink frequency is in the upper 10 meter band, and I wondering what antenna they are using for receive? I have tried dipoles, horizontal loops, G5RV, etc to pretty much zero luck in hearing the bird, even with close passes. Any info would be appreciated.. John W6ZKH

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AO-51 schedule
by Andrew Glasbrenner 31 Oct '10

31 Oct '10

Here is the November schedule for AO-51. This month we are catching up on several requests for L, S and even 38k4 BBS time. In January AO-51 leaves continuous illumination for many years and many of these modes may not be possible due to power budget and battery condition. However, if we find these modes underused this month, we may modify the schedule as we go. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Operations October 31 (late UTC) FM Repeater, L/SU Uplink: 1268.705 MHz FM (no PL tone) Downlinks: 2401.200 MHz FM*and* 435.300 MHz FM (at low power!) November 4 (late UTC) FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM (no PL tone) Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM 9k6 Baud PBBS Operations, L/U Uplink: 1268.705 MHz FM at 9600 baud Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM at 9600 baud November 14 (late UTC) 38k4 Baud PBBS Operations, L/U Uplink: 1268.705 MHz FM at 9600 baud Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM at 38,400 baud November 18 (late UTC) FM Repeater, L/SU Uplink: 1268.705 MHz FM (no PL tone) Downlinks: 2401.200 MHz FM*and* 435.300 MHz FM (at low power!) November 21 (late UTC) FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM (no PL tone) Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM 9k6 Baud PBBS Operations, L/U Uplink: 1268.705 MHz FM at 9600 baud Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM at 9600 baud

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Re: AO-7 Mode A antenna
by James Jipping 31 Oct '10

31 Oct '10

Good Afternoon, All: Ever have someone tell you to read and read, again any email you write before you send it ?? After church today, I went to get my email, and saw what I sent to "you all". DAH! A correction or two concerning that successful antenna. The one I described was used with marginal success. The one that really worked the best was in fact four slopping dipoles (at 45 degrees to the tower) , one for each directional side of the steel tower --- N, E, S, W, attached to the tower at about 40 feet up. Two relays gave me antenna selection at the tower so I could have only one feed line to the shack. I regularly worked all the AO and RS satellites is all directions. Mode A to Hawaii was a real challenge, but I did it often. Good Luck Jim Jipping, W8MRR

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SO67 Schedules
by Hans van de Groenendaal 31 Oct '10

31 Oct '10

For updates on SumbandilaSat SO67 and operating schedules visit www.amsatsa.org.za. Week One of every month covers the Americas, week 2 Europe, week 3 Middle East/.India, week 4 Japan and Australasia 73 Hans ZS6AKV

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Re: AO-7 Mode A antenna
by James Jipping 31 Oct '10

31 Oct '10

Back to the "Good Ole Days". The best antenna I ever had to receive sat signals on 10 meters was a pair of crossed dipoles at an angle of 45 degrees to the steel tower. It worked very well in several configurations. The two dipoles were: 1. Just tied in parallel. Impedance matching was a little bit of a concern 2. I tried a pair of impedance matching stubs much like that used for circular polarized antennas for 2 m and 70 cm. 3 I tried a pair if relays that allowed me to select any pair of the four legs for some sort of directivity using the tower as a "reflector" I used this configuration for all the old AMSAT and Russian mode A birds with with much better than avearge success. Helpful ?? Hope so! Jim Jipping, W8MRR AMSAT # 5512 Low number translates to old geezer

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Re: AO-7 Mode A antennas
by Daniel "Nick" Kucij 30 Oct '10

30 Oct '10

Jeff: I have not used an external 10M preamp yet, but I just got an ARR from another op, so I'll be giving it a try. So far, I've used my FT-847 and the internal preamp. It has not been as consistent as Mode B, but when the 10M signal is coming in, reception is usually fair to good. I have noticed quite a bit of QSB at times, so it's worth being patient. Nick KB1RVT

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Re: AO-7 Mode A antennas
by Daniel "Nick" Kucij 30 Oct '10

30 Oct '10

I've had recent Mode A success into Europe (Germany, France and Italy), using a cut-down Radio Shack CB magmount whip. It's stuck on to a large metal serving tray "borrowed" from the kitchen. I hide it behind an easy chair in a corner of the shack. 73 & GL! Nick KB1RVT

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rotor parts
by Dads 30 Oct '10

30 Oct '10

Hi : Does anyone have any interest in Alliance rotor parts ?? I have over 20 boxes of various rotor parts in there original boxes. I will also throw in a few new CDR parts all for $100.00 Jerry w0sat

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station add help
by Jack Barbera 30 Oct '10

30 Oct '10

I'm in the process of adding digital mode to my satellite station which consists of IC910 radio using SATPC 32 12.8A. I will be using a Signalink USB & would like to know if this is the way to go. I will be using it for packet, digipeater, SSTV.etc. Two programs that I'm looking into using are MIXW & or mltimode. I would appreciate any suggestions or help about moving foreword with this configuration. Thanks for any input. Jack WA1ZDV

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Interference
by Aquilino Torres 30 Oct '10

30 Oct '10

Mr. Larry: Good afternoon, this same 145,800 khz FM interference occurs in Bogotá Colombia, there are several telephones in service, brand SENAO, which are sold freely without control of the communications authorities Personally I can not work as an amateur radio on ISS 145,800 kHz FM frequency, sometimes the case with the satellite AO-51. Amateur radio frequencies are occupied by squatters, such as taxi companies, hotels, among others, however that writing and recordings have been made known to the authorities of Control communications, but so far has resulted in a eradication of these pirates. Aquilino Torres HK3Z

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KD8KSN/p EN80/EM89 this Afternoon
by Zachary Beougher 30 Oct '10

30 Oct '10

I have made a last-minute decision to operate from the EN80/EM89 gridline this afternoon. I will be on the AO27 pass at 1946z and AO51 at 2040z. There is a very, very slight chance I will NOT be on AO27 at 1946z, but that is a very remote chance. 73! Zack KD8KSN

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RCI-SE G5500 Interface
by Dean Maluski 30 Oct '10

30 Oct '10

Trying to setup Sat32PC, I have a G-5500 rotor and using an RCI-SE control board. I have been using Linux gpredict and hamlib to control rotor OK but wanted to try Sat32PC so trying setup a system. ARSWIN says I'm at 45 degrees when antennas are actually at 90 degrees. If I tell ARSWIN to go to 90 degrees antennas will then be at 180 degrees. Nowhere in setup can I find something to correct this.

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Activando EK44
by David Maciel 29 Oct '10

29 Oct '10

Hola grupo por cuestiones de trabajo me encuentro en Tapachula,Chiapas, intentare activar EK44 desde Aquí, no puedo asegurar los pases exactos porque no traje el mejor equipo para hacerlo ni el GPS, pero me gustaría poder contactar con alguien para poder informar de mis salidas, si alguien tiene BlackBerry será mas fácil para mi avisar, si puedo mando un Email mas adelante, si alguien quiere contactar en el BlackBerry mi PIN es: 2276D6AD. Si el tiempo lo permite y encuentro posición y el punto para EK45 también lo podre activar para ustedes, saludos y estamos en contacto..... Hi group for work I am in Tapachula, Chiapas, will try to activate EK44 >From Here, I can not ensure accurate passes because I did not bring the best equipment to do so, or GPS, but I would like to contact someone to report my departure if anyone has BlackBerry (Only XE) will be easier for my warning, if I can send an email later, if anyone wants to contact in my BlackBerry PIN is: 2276D6AD. If time permits and meeting point for position and EK45 also be activated for you, and are in contact greetings ..... XE3DX - 4B3DX David Maciel xe3dx(a)amsat.org www.qsl.net/xe3dx/ Amateur Ham Radio POR FAVOR, si vas a reenviar este e-mail: - Borra mi dirección. - Protege a quien(es) se lo envías,colocando la(s) dirección(es) en la casilla CCO (con copia oculta). ¡Gracias!

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UO-11 Back On
by Armando Mercado 29 Oct '10

29 Oct '10

UO-11 is back on, heard at 0303UTC over the central US. My satellite program shows UO-11 in eclipse during this pass. 73 Armando, N8IGJ

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Radio Interference on ISS
by KI6RRQ 29 Oct '10

29 Oct '10

Yep Larry, I'm in San Diego, CA, I hear them on the ISS down link all the time, I have tried to tell them in English that they were on a satellite downlink but they don't speak English and I am usually on an HT so they are not hearing me. I will try to bring my digital voice recorder with me, next time to see if I can capture a call sign. 73 Rich KI6RRQ "Last year in Mexicali Mexico we spot a company that uses ISS down link freq 145.800 Mhz to communicate on simplex, as soon as we get their phone number by monitoring for a few days we give them a courtesy call and they politely agree to change their operating freq. I did not record the audio from this pass but would like to get it to see if we can get more details. 73's Larry KI6YAA"

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K0BAM/p Next 3 Days
by Zachary Beougher 29 Oct '10

29 Oct '10

The below information came from Jim, K0BAM regarding his traveling plans the next few days.... The weather is nice, so I'm gonna do some wandering in the next few days. Today DM67 (11,000 ft) San Juan County, CO - I'll be on AO-27 @ 2015 UTC and AO-51 @ 2300 UTC Saturday DM57 (10,000 ft) at San Miguel and Deloris Counties CO - AO-27 @ 1946 UTC and 1926 UTC; AO-51 @ 2219 UTC and 2300 UTC Sunday DM58 (5,000 ft) Delta County, CO - AO-27 @ 2100 UTC; AO-51 @ 2317 UTC. 73! Zack KD8KSN

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"6HE" beacon?
by PY2ZX 29 Oct '10

29 Oct '10

Hello, During latest Comprida Island expedition (GG64, IOTA-SA-024) we heard a strange CW signal "6HE" at 144,470 MHz, CW, pointed aprox. 60 ~ 70 degrees, to the ocean toward Rio de Janeiro. Does anyone has heard anything like that? Seems like a radio buoy but I never listen it on 2 meters. Any ideas? The video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy98eqXrq-k Flavio PY2ZX

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international SAT contacts
by Matt Wilbur 28 Oct '10

28 Oct '10

Hi all, I sent a note a few weeks ago about a trip to Kauai and the potential for satellite contacts. It was pretty comical, the only chance I had to actually hit a pass was one where a satellite went directly overhead. I ran out, got full quieting, was all kinds of excited, and .. well.. I was the only guy in the footprint :-) I'm heading to Seychelles tomorrow (LI75RJ, out in the indian ocean) for an 8 day trip and bringing my HT and Arrow2. Am I being overly hopeful that I'll have anyone to talk to if I can catch few passes? I'm a new ham and new to satellite contacts so just not sure if it's worth the trouble to try. ?? thanks Matt NM6W (S79RC from 31Oct-8Nov)

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ISS Inhabited For 10 Years
by B J 28 Oct '10

28 Oct '10

http://spacecoalition.com/blog/benefits-of-space-exploration/space-station-… http://tinyurl.com/2g3beup http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/10years.html http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/expedition_10_years/ It's been continuously occupied for longer than Mir. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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ISS NA Flyby
by Jeremy Kiehner 28 Oct '10

28 Oct '10

Tonight about 2320 28/10/10 UTC I finally made contact with NA1SS, Col Wheelock. A BEAUTIFUL flyby I watched, turned on HT in the truck, heard voice. Few attempts later I made contact. We talked briefly about the views. I can only imagine his view of the eastern US during our night while I watched them fly over head. Safe journey crew! Thanks for QSO Jeremy -KB3DLP FM19 York, PA

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AMSAT at Fort Wayne Hamfest
by Doug Kuitula 28 Oct '10

28 Oct '10

Hi all, For those of you that are going to be at the Fort Wayne, Indiana Hamfest. I just wanted to let you know that the AMSAT Forum will be on Saturday, Nov. 13, at 1:15pm. Hope to see you there. For more info check the following : www.fortwaynehamfest.com 73 de Doug KA8QCU

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What does it mean?
by Michae J. Wolthuis 28 Oct '10

28 Oct '10

I just contacted Eric, who gave me fp/kv1j - gn17. What does the fp stroke mean? Do I enter this into AC Logger as kv1j without the fp/? Something new on AO-51, I'm learning! Mike Kb8zgl

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Radio Interference on AO-27
by Larry Teran 28 Oct '10

28 Oct '10

I think there were some post on the past about this topic. Today 10/28/2010 on the AO-27 pass around 2049z we heard some signal of two people getting into the satellite, I was able to recognize the accent and they were from Central or South America as I can hear they were talking about the results from a medical testing that makes me think about a hospital or a medical laboratory. the satellite reach it's high altitude from me at 45 degrees they no longer interfere, thats when the Central America region went out from the foot print, Last year in Mexicali Mexico we spot a company that uses ISS down link freq 145.800 Mhz to communicate on simplex, as soon as we get their phone number by monitoring for a few days we give them a courtesy call and they politely agree to change their operating freq. I did not record the audio from this pass but would like to get it to see if we can get more details. 73's Larry KI6YAA

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Last pass on AO-51
by Michae J. Wolthuis 28 Oct '10

28 Oct '10

My tape recorder stopped on the last pass, I have a callsign on the log I thought was WA8JDR in EN44, but qrz.com says no good. Anyone know who it was? Thanks, Mike Kb8zgl

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Re: Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2010-10-27 16:30 UTC
by Mike Rupprecht 27 Oct '10

27 Oct '10

All, Testu san JA0CAW will broadcast the downlink of this contact also via our webradio. See my SatBlog -> Webradio or simply click here: http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?page_id=17689 73, Mike DK3WN Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Funakata Elementary School, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, direct via 8N2FE Contact is a go for: Fri 2010-10-29 08:20:08 UTC 63 deg

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HudsonValleySatcomGroupNet Oct28@8PM on N2EHH-L or Mt beacon 146.970pl100
by Cotejaune2＠aol.com 27 Oct '10

27 Oct '10

Hello all. It is time again for the HVSGN on Thursday on Echolink N2EYH-L at 8 PM or on the MT beacon repeater 146.970 pl 100. Please join us for the net. 73 Gary/WA2AQH

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Re: UoSAT article
by Trevor . 27 Oct '10

27 Oct '10

Hi Gordon, Looks like that article provides all the Missing Frequency Information requested at http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/satInfo.php?satID=31 73 Trevor M5AKA --- On Tue, 26/10/10, Gordon JC Pearce <gordonjcp(a)gjcp.net> wrote: > From: Gordon JC Pearce <gordonjcp(a)gjcp.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] UoSAT article > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Date: Tuesday, 26 October, 2010, 22:58 > Hi all, > I recently acquired a large box of electronics and > radio magazines > from the early 80s. Looking through them I discovered > an article on > UoSAT in the August 1981 issue of Hobby Electronics, which > I've scanned > in and uploaded here: > > http://www.gjcp.net/media/space/uosat.pdf > > I hope you find it as interesting a glimpse into history as > I did. > Jeez, I was 7 when I first read that article... ;-) > > Gordon MM0YEQ > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. > Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur > satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >

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question about ao-51
by N. Mahdinejad 27 Oct '10

27 Oct '10

Dear amsat members. I have question about reciveing analouge signals from satellites in S- band. In amsat webpage there is only ao-51, is there any other satellite or not? another question is about ao-51, for receiving from ao-51 in s-band which technical specification of antenna is need? Is there need to track the satellite in s-band, or not, the position of antenna(azimuth & elevation) is fix. i mean is there need to locate antenna up the rotator? Any help would be gratefully appreciated. Best Regards. N.Mahdinejad

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Hudson Valley Satcom Group Net 10/14/10@8PM On EcholinkN2EYH-L
by Cotejaune2＠aol.com 27 Oct '10

27 Oct '10

Hope to hear you on the Net. Please join us. 73 Gary WA2AQH

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SatPC32 options not saving.
by Tom Schuessler 26 Oct '10

26 Oct '10

Hello all, I recently bought the current version of SatPC32 from AMSAT and have installed it on two different computers each running Windows 7 67 bit. The programs run fine but when changes are made to the "Options" dialog, they do not stick after the program is restarted. The userdata folder is apparently this path C:\Users\Tom\AppData\Roaming\SatPC32. What is the file in this that stores these settings and why would it not be written to? Have others experienced this issue? Would like to fix this as I have a demo coming up and want to have the program work properly. Tom Schuessler 2713 Lake Gardens Drive Irving, Texas 75060 972-986-7456 214-403-1464 (Cell) n5hyp(a)arrl.net

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Competition For Commercial Spacecraft Development
by B J 26 Oct '10

26 Oct '10

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1010/25ccdev/ The funding will depend upon the passage of legislation by Congress. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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New Launch Date For Falcon 9
by B J 26 Oct '10

26 Oct '10

http://spaceflightnow.com/falcon9/002/101026launchdate/ It's been moved to November 18. 73s Bernhard VA6BMJ @ DO33FL

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LoTW and HO-68
by John Boudreau 26 Oct '10

26 Oct '10

It seems that ARRL finally brought together a team of crack software engineers to edit the satellite config file in Logbook of the World so it would accept QSO's made on HO-68. Unfortunately, it looks they did not have enough keystrokes available to also add SO-67. Perhaps next year... John - VE8EV

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Wanted: Az/El Rotor
by David Mennerich 26 Oct '10

26 Oct '10

Hi all - if you have an Az/El rotor (e.g., 5400B) that you're not using anymore and would be interested in selling, please let me know. Thanks, Dave N2TEB

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Air Force Lost Comms with 50 ICBMs
by Clint Bradford 26 Oct '10

26 Oct '10

For 45 minutes last Saturday, our Air Force was unable to communicate with nor monitor 50 nuclear missiles. Read Wired.com article at ... http://t.co/zxyTGFV Clint Bradford

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UoSAT article
by Gordon JC Pearce 26 Oct '10

26 Oct '10

Hi all, I recently acquired a large box of electronics and radio magazines from the early 80s. Looking through them I discovered an article on UoSAT in the August 1981 issue of Hobby Electronics, which I've scanned in and uploaded here: http://www.gjcp.net/media/space/uosat.pdf I hope you find it as interesting a glimpse into history as I did. Jeez, I was 7 when I first read that article... ;-) Gordon MM0YEQ

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ND9M/P update
by KERRY LA*DUKE 26 Oct '10

26 Oct '10

All, I spoke with Jim on 20M cw and he said satellite operations form en16 and 17 were off today because of wx. High winds and rain are making operating and driving conditions poor. He indicated satellite operations were possible tomorrow October 27, 2010 wx permitting. 73 WC7V Kerry

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ND9M Road Trip Update #14
by claryco＠aol.com 26 Oct '10

26 Oct '10

Depending on this afternoon's weather, I'll operate from EN17 during the AO27 passes that rise locally at 26/1824Z and 2002Z and hopefully on AO51 at 26/2141Z and 2320Z. We've got rain today and a blizzard warning starting this afternoon. We can hardly complain about the timing of course since we're wrapping up the state. We've been incredibly fortunate that every day of the seven weeks we've been on the road, the daily temps have been in the 60s or higher, and yesterday was the first day we had rain! Sounds like a good time to blow out of North Dakota! A return to EN16 is possible for tomorrow, hopefully from the MN side and away from the blizzard! This will conclude the focus on running grids on this trip. After we leave ND, we'll be taking the interstate (probably I-94 to I-65 with a three-day stop off in EN61) back to Florida. I'll still operate from the grids that we hit when it's pass time, but the ones we'll be in aren't likely to be greatly needed. Feel free to contact me off list if there's something in particular you need along that route. 73, Jim, ND9M / VQ9JC Grand Forks ND / Grand Forks Co. / EN17

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K8YSE QSL Cards
by Zachary Beougher 25 Oct '10

25 Oct '10

Hi All, I wanted to publically thank John, K8YSE, for the incredible job during his Lake Superior grid expedition this past August. I received a very thick envelope in the mail today (always a good sign), and was EXTREMELY happy to find 19 new grids contained within the QSL cards! The cards where great with all the pictures, grids, location info, etc. What an incredible setup - WOW! Thank you again, John, for your hard work, and for activating so many of these grids and making them available to us ops! 73! Zack KD8KSN

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Project Oscar Uk
by Chris Bloy 25 Oct '10

25 Oct '10

Hi All, I have recently launched a new project in the UK call Project Oscar to promote Amateur Satellite service here in the UK. After all the talk of abuse and use of satellite in Europe, I hope to bring something to the market! Its aimed at beginners and we do work with Scouts and local radio clubs to promote better usage and practice! I cannot talk for the rest of Europe, but I will do my best in the UK! Please have a look and make any suggestions. http://www.projectoscar.co.uk Thanks, Chris Project Oscar UK

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Re: AO-51 short experiment
by PA3GUO 25 Oct '10

25 Oct '10

My 2 cents: A. I like to have MORE APRS satellites, like PCSAT, RAFT, ANDE, ISS. To my best knowledge we do not have an alternative for such services. B. We do need to improve the usage / behaviour. >From the RAFT days I recall: - HAMs using 2 second interval beacons ( !! ) - HAMs abusing features in ISS APRS SW (UISS ??) that allows smart beaconing (as soon as satellite is in view launch a salvo of beacons) (cool feature - but it can be abused) Unfortunately, it's just a limited amount of users, whom are difficult to reach. Once I had the idea of a payload / mode in a satellite that would do just what has been done on AO51: on a scheduled time, start a recording on a programmed frequency, store the recording, be able to re-play or donwload. Kind of like a iPOD + wide band scanner into a cubesat (Spy-In-Space). We could use this as a 'debug' tool, and also demonstrate we do pro-active 'maintenance' on our bands and our own usage of those. Just a thought. Most likely technically way-off & incorrect ... Henk, PA3GUO

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QSL cards mailed today, QSLs for DM30 activity on Saturday, DM31?
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 25 Oct '10

25 Oct '10

Hi! On my way to the office this morning, I dropped a few dozen envelopes at the post office. I finished printing and writing out cards covering my trips over the last 3 weekends (7-11 October for the AMSAT Symposium and post-Symposium travel in/around Illinois, 16 October to a hamfest in Tucson AZ followed by a quick trip to DM51/DM52, and Saturday's quick trip to DM32/DM42 south of Phoenix) yesterday. They should start showing up in mailboxes over the next few days. On Saturday, there were a group of Mexican hams operating on HF and satellites from grid DM30 south of the Arizona/Mexico border. I think that most of the satellite operating from there was done by Alex XE2BSS. If you worked XE2BSS and would like a QSL card, I am Alex's QSL manager. Please send those requests to me. I heard three other calls from that group on an SO-50 pass Saturday morning (David XE2DAK, Eliseo XE2TPJ, and Uriel XE2VAS). I don't know how active these 3 were on FM passes later in the day. Of those 3, I am also the QSL manager for XE2VAS. If you need assistance in getting cards from any of these 4, please feel free to e-mail me. I know all 4 of these guys, and may be able to help with the QSL exchange. Over the past 2+ years, I have operated from every grid that covers the state of Arizona. For all of these grids except one, I have made multiple trips to those grids. I have only made one trip to DM31 in southern Arizona in September 2009, and have thought about making a return trip now that the summertime heat is done for the year. Most of DM31 is in Mexico, except for the northeast corner that reaches into the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and the border town of Lukeville AZ where I operated from last year. I would probably make a return to Lukeville on a future trip. I don't currently have a Mexican ham permit, and - even if I had a valid XE permit - I'm not interested in crossing the Mexican border at that point. Since there are new operators coming onto the satellites all the time, and some (many?) may have missed my last trip down there. If there is any interest in another trip down to DM31, please e-mail me directly. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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Sept Financials
by Martha 25 Oct '10

25 Oct '10

Attached are the Sept 2010 Financial Reports -- 73- Martha

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HO-68 Schedule 24-31 Oct 2010
by Alan Kung 24 Oct '10

24 Oct '10

UTC: 24 Oct 2010 ================================ 16:40...Turn On--CW/SSB India, Africa, Middle East, Europe,NA 17:25...Turn Off 18:30...Turn On--CW/SSB Africa,Europe,Middle East,NA 19:15...Turn Off 19:55...Turn On--CW/SSB Africa,Europe,Middle East,NA 20:40...Turn Off 22:35...Turn On--CW/SSB South America,NA,North Asia 23:20...Turn Off 25 Oct 2010 ================================ 02:11...Turn On--CW/SSB North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 02:26...Turn Off 13:10...Turn On--CW/SSB NA,South America 13:55...Turn Off 16:25...Turn On--CW/SSB India, Africa, Middle East, Europe,NA 17:10...Turn Off 18:15...Turn On--CW/SSB NA,East Asia,Oceania 19:00...Turn Off 26 Oct 2010 ================================ 00:05...Turn On--CW/SSB NA,North Asia,East Asia, Oceania 00:50...Turn Off 02:04...Turn On--CW/SSB North Asia, East Asia,South Asia 02:19...Turn Off 10:15...Turn On--CW/SSB Oceania,Asia,Europe 11:00...Turn Off 12:55...Turn On--CW/SSB NA, South America 13:40...Turn Off 16:05...Turn On--CW/SSB India,Middle East,Europe,NA 16:50...Turn Off 18:40...Turn On--CW/SSB India,Middle East,Europe,NA 19:25...Turn Off 19:35...Turn On--CW/SSB Africa,Europe,NA 20:15...Turn Off 27 Octp 2010 ================================= 23:45...Turn On--CW/SSB North Asia,East Asia,South Asia Oceania 00:30...Turn Off 03:31...Turn On--CW/SSB North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 03:45...Turn Off 14:25...Turn On--CW/SSB Europe,NA,South America 15:10...Turn Off 17:40...Turn On--CW/SSB India, Africa,Europe,NA South America 18:25...Turn Off 19:25...Turn On--CW/SSB Africa,Middle East,Europe,NA 20:10...Turn Off 20:55...Turn On--CW/SSB Africa,Middle East,Europe,NA 21:40...Turn Off 28 Oct 2010 ================================= 23:30...Turn On--CW/SSB NA,North Asia,East Asia,Oceania 00:15...Turn Off 03:15...Turn On--CW/SSB Asia,Oceania 03:27...Turn Off 14:10...Turn On--CW/SSB Europe,NA,South America 14:55...Turn Off 17:20...Turn On--CW/SSB Africa,India,Middle East Europe,NA 18:05...Turn Off 19:10...Turn On--CW/SSB Africa,Europe,NA 19:55...Turn Off 20:35...Turn On--CW/SSB Africa,Europe,NA 21:20...Turn Off 29 Oct 2010 ================================ 23:15...Turn On--CW/SSB Oceania,Asia,Europe,NA 00:00...Turn Off 02:59...Turn On--CW/SSB North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 03:13...Turn Off 13:50...Turn On--CW/SSB Europe, NA,South America 14:35...Turn Off 17:05...Turn On--CW/SSB India,Africa,Europe,NA 17:50...Turn Off 18:55...Turn On--CW/SSB India,Africa,Europe,NA 19:40...Turn Off 20:20...Turn On--CW/SSB Africa,Europe,NA 21:05...Turn Off 22:55...Turn On--CW/SSB South America,NA,North Asia 23:40...Turn Off 30 Oct 2010 ================================ 02:44...Turn On--FM North Asia,East Asia,South Asia 03:00...Turn Off 13:35...Turn On--CW/SSB Europe, NA,South America 14:20...Turn Off 16:45...Turn On--CW/SSB Africa,Europe,NA 17:30...Turn Off 18:35...Turn On--CW/SSB India,Africa,Europe,NA 19:20...Turn Off 20:00...Turn On--CW/SSB Africa,Europe,NA 20:45...Turn Off 22:40...Turn On--CW/SSB North Asia,East Asia, South Asia,Oceania 23:25...Turn Off 31 Oct 2010 ================================ 02:26...Turn On--CW/SSB North Asia,East Asia,South Asia Oceania 02:42...Turn Off 13:15...Turn On--CW/SSB Europe,NA,South America 14:00...Turn Off 73 Alan Kung, BA1DU HO-68(XW-1) Project Manager www.camsat.cn

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Re: can RF change the orientation of a satellite?
by Daniel Schultz 24 Oct '10

24 Oct '10

It makes sense. Satellites are subject to solar radiation pressure from absorption of sunlight, they are also subject to radiation pressure from emission of RF radiation. The wavelength of the radiation does not enter into this calculation so the pressure from radio frequency radiation is the same as that of visible light radiation. Radiation pressure is the electromagnetic power flux density divided by the speed of light. If a 100 watt transponder emits RF in a narrow beam from a 1 square meter antenna, the radiation pressure on the satellite will be 100 watts / (1 square meter * 3E8 meters/sec) = 0.33 micropascals. The force on a 1 square meter antenna will thus be 0.33 micronewtons. This is not the same as ion propulsion because no physical mass is expelled from the satellite. For amateur satellites with omnidirectional antennas, the RF is emitted in all directions and the force cancels out. Intelsat birds emit RF in tightly focused beams so there will be a net force on the satellite, and if the antenna is off axis from the satellite's center of gravity this force will exert a torque which could cause the momentum wheels to spin up. The uplink RF is minuscule (microwatts per square meter or less) but the lack of uplink signals causes the linear transponders to have zero RF output (other than noise), thus causing reduced off axis pressure on the satellite. Dan Schultz N8FGV >I couldn't help but notice that on this website >http://www.intelsat.com/resources/galaxy-15/faqs.asp about "zombiesat" >Galaxy 15, Intelsat figures that the lack of RF on thr transponder package >since their loss of control earlier this year, will actually make it take >longer to saturate it's momentum-wheel orientation stablizer system. This, >compared to the manufacturer's original estimate of achieving the saturation >condition beuing several months sooner having assumed normal full-load of RF >on the transponders. >My question is: How is this possible? Does the RF put acceleration-forces >on the transmitting antenna of the satellite similar to ion propulsion, or >does the uplink RF push on the receiving antenna? Is there some other >mechanism that can electronically alter the forces acting on the body of the >satellite based on the amount of RF power?

2 1

Why We Do What We Do - Part 19
by Clint Bradford 24 Oct '10

24 Oct '10

I just returned to the house after working a non-ham-radio-related event since 6:30 this morning (a nonprofit equine rehab center that my wife and I are board members). But I just HAVE to check email before crashing ... There are some who say that promoting working the FM birds is a futile effort. "Nothing comes of it," I have seen a few write. Well, this email is from a person who worked JOTA last weekend. I was supposed to - but instead was presenting my show at PACIFICON in San Ramon, CA. But I traded notes with this person ... we compared pass times and freq data ... I have been to their club three times the past three years to give me presentation and demo. And we even worked each other: me from the parking lot in San Ramon, and she with her Scouts in Victorville, CA. >From her email just received ... - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hi Clint! Hope you and Karen's trip up north went well. Well, you have started something. I have gotten some local hams interested or re-interested in working AMSAT. And I have been doing some more demos locally. I am the low-tech version - with a compass, and recorder hung around my neck and a clipboard with the sat passes info. And since I can't hold the antenna up that long, I have it mounted on a tripod. Don't laugh - it works! And I am even tromping out at 10:00 pm (very bright last night). And Bruce and I have subscribed to AMSAT mag and joined. Thanks again, Clint. 73 - Christy KB6LTY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NO, Christy, I am not "laughing." But there is a broad smile on my face tonight. THANK YOU for joining AMSAT. And thank you for your infectious enthusiasm. Clint, K6LCS http://www.work-sat.com ---------------------------------- Clint Bradford, K6LCS http://www.clintbradford.com

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WTB G-5500 control box
by Andrew Glasbrenner 24 Oct '10

24 Oct '10

Would anyone happen to have a G-5500 control box by itself that they would like to sell? 73, Drew KO4MA

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Re: AO-51 short experiment
by Andrew Glasbrenner 24 Oct '10

24 Oct '10

And now back to normal. Lots of folks are running unattended beacons on 145.825, which can cause QRM to HO-68 FM users. I only decoded about half of those heard: 21:59 HP1AVS-4/WIDE2-2>P8SS1X>UI,R,F0 (1199 baud): 'kPUl .-/]DIGIPEATER en Gorgona 22:00 K4MQF/WIDE2-2>RS0ISS-4>UI,R,F0 (1200 baud): =3811.25N/07746.23W`PHG52306/Greeting to all ! from Spotyslvania Va 22:00 AB5JO/RELAY/WIDE>GPSC30>UI,R,F0 (1200 baud): 73 VIA ARISS DE AB5JO MOBILE IN LAREDO,TX, USA EL07 22:00 AB5JO/RELAY/WIDE>GPSC30>UI,R,F0 (1200 baud): $GPRMC,220035,A,2734.3349,N,09930.1045,W,000.0,195.8,231010,,,A*6C 22:01 AB5JO/RELAY/WIDE>GPSC30>UI,R,F0 (1200 baud): 73 VIA ARISS DE AB5JO MOBILE IN LAREDO,TX, USA EL07 22:01 AB5JO/RELAY/WIDE>GPSC30>UI,R,F0 (1200 baud): $GPRMC,220135,A,2734.3349,N,09930.1045,W,000.0,195.8,231010,,,A*6D 22:04 N1NCB1-14/W3ADO-1/ARISS>4S3T6X>UI,?,F0 (1194 baud): `b2Fp4V[/"3y} 22:04 WA1KAT/RS0ISS-4/SGATE/WIDE>BEACON>UI,?,F0 (1199 baud): =4239.70N/07057.02W-Topsfield,MA 5w vertical 22:04 W9QO/ARISS/SGATE/WIDE2-2>STPX2U>UI,R,F0 (1199 baud): 'oIrl!e-/]"6Y} 22:05 K4MQF/WIDE2-2>RS0ISS-4>UI,R,F0 (1200 baud): =3811.25N/07746.23W`PHG52306/Greeting to all ! from Spotyslvania Va 22:05 VE3FFR/W3ADO-1/SGATE/WIDE>APRS>UI,R,F0 (1199 baud): !4416.01N/07629.01W- 22:05 W9QO/ARISS/SGATE/WIDE2-2>STPX2U>UI,R,F0 (1199 baud): 'oIrl!e-/]"6Y} There was a little gap there in the middle where I swapped over to the 435.300 repeater, and gaps at each end. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Operations -----Original Message----- >From: Andrew Glasbrenner <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> >Sent: Oct 23, 2010 4:35 PM >To: amsat-bb <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >Cc: "marklhammond(a)gmail.com" <marklhammond(a)gmail.com> >Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-51 short experiment > >>From 2025UTC this afternoon, for 1-2 orbits, the 435.150 downlink on AO-51 is configured as a repeater and being used to monitor 145.825. Please DO NOT attempt to transmit through this downlink! We are taking a look at congestion and unattended operation that may be impacting the use of HO-68 in FM mode. Reception reports are of course welcome. > >73, Drew KO4MA >AMSAT-VP Operations > > >_______________________________________________ >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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Fwd: Next "HV Satcom" Net
by Stuart Balanger 24 Oct '10

24 Oct '10

*By the way, for those who checked in via Echolink 2 weeks ago 10/07), sorry abt. the Interferance, & hope we can have a hassle=free net this Thur. (Bob), FYI; the next Nt. Beacon "In Person "meeting is Nov. 9, Po'k gallaria Mall (7PM;Community room!) 73,.Stu (WA2BSS; Director) * ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Stuart Balanger <wa2bss(a)gmail.com> Date: Fri, Oct 22, 2010 at 7:00 PM Subject: Next "HV Satcom" Net To: ans-editor(a)amsat.org *Hi all, The next "HV Satcom" net is Thur. Oct. 28 2 8PM (EDT) (or 2400 UTC) on the 146.970 Mt. Beacon ARC 2 meter Repeater, w/ a Echolink node of N2EYH-L More info: www.hvsatcom.org or E-Mail; wa2aqh(a)amsat.org 73,.Stu (WA2BSS: Director) PS Hope this isn't too late, & happy "Halloween"! *

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FW: [ans] ANS-297 AMSAT Weekly Bulletins
by Dee 24 Oct '10

24 Oct '10

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-297 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: * LightSail Backup Being Built * ARISS Status - 18 October 2010 * FO-29 Eclipses * Minutes of BOD meeting * Call for Papers SE VHF Society SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-297.01 LightSail-1 Backup Being Built AMSAT News Service Bulletin 297.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. October 24, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-297.01 Louis Friedman, program director for LightSail-1, has announced that a back-up craft to LightSail-1 will be built, instead of an investment in insurance for an estimated cost of $ 200,000. As previously announced in July 2010 by AMSAT News Service (SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-206.08) LightSail-1 is planned to be launched in early 2011. LightSail-1 is a three Cubesat spacecraft (size of shoebox and proposed AMSAT Fox). It will use UHF frequencies for tracking and command control stations. California Polytechnic University is supplying the Cubesat bus, avionics and launch vehicle P-POD interface;. Georgia Tech University is leading the mission operations, Dave Spencer serving as mission manager; Stellar Exploration, Inc. led by Tomas Svitek is building LightSail-1; Jim Cantrell of Strategic Space Systems is project manager; and Louis D. Friedman is the LightSail-1 program director. The LightSail-1 program will be featured this weekend in Washington D.C. The USA Science & Engineering Festival National Mall in Washington, D.C. October 23 & 24, 1010 10am to 5:50pm http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/space_information/usa_science_fes tival_2010.html For further information on this Planetary Society program: http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/innovative_technologies/solar_sai ling/ [ANS thanks Greg, W9GB, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-297.02 ARISS Status - 18 October 2010 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 297.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. October 24, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-297.02 1. School Contact in Australia An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact for Carine Primary School in Perth, Western Australia, Australia was held on Tuesday, October 19 at 07:06 UTC via telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii. The school has incorporated the contact into its science curriculum. Guest speakers present included representatives from an amateur radio club and the science center, Scitech. Students from Kindergarten through grade 7 have been involved in research and other activities in preparation for this event, using IT and online resources, including the NASA Web site. 2. George Observatory Contact Successful On Saturday, October 16, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held with scouts and astronomy club members attending the Astronomy Day event at George Observatory in Needville, Texas. This was a telebridge contact via station WH6PN in Hawaii. Approximately 150 people attended and listened as Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC answered 12 questions about life in space posed to him by the youth. As part of the event, scout troops set up an amateur radio station near the observatory to conduct their all-day Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) radio contacts and also worked on Radio Merit Badges. The Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club was on hand to assist with JOTA activities and prepared for afternoon satellite contacts with an Arrow hand-held antenna. 3. ARRL Article on ARISS Contacts The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a story on recent ARISS contacts including those with Windsor Central School District, Utah Scouts and IRSEA, as well Doug Wheelock's many general contacts. The article, written by Rick Lindquist, WW3DE may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/news/iss-astronaut-creating-ham-radio-buzz-taking-scienc e-to-students 4. Amateur Radio Newsline Covers ARISS On October 15, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1731 included two ARISS related stories. "Ham Radio in Space: ARISSat-1 Enroute to Russia" announces ARISSat's arrival at JSC and its planned shipment to Russia. "Challenger Learning Center Inaugurates Ham Station" is about the station set up at the CLC in Oregon, Ohio to get students interested in STEM studies. Both stories may be found at: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt 5. ARISSat-1 Safety Review Held The Johnson Space Center Payload Safety Review Panel performed a Phase 2 flight safety review of ARISSat-1 on Wednesday and Thursday, October 13 and 14 in Houston. ARISSat passed the review with modifications to the hazard reports. As soon as the updates requested are incorporated, the hazard reports will be approved and then passed on for the next phase of the review process. [ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-297.03 FO-29 Eclipses AMSAT News Service Bulletin 297.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. October 24, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-297.03 FO-29 Operating Schedule Affected by Eclipses Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL reported that JARL has been making necessary adjustments to the FO-29 satellite operating schedule as the sat- ellite enters a period of eclipses. The eclipses have reduced the power budget requiring frequent analysis of available power aboard the satellite. FO-29 will be enable when the power budget allows. JARL requests that satellite operators access FO-29 with as little power as nec- essary to maintain communication. Mineo has posted calculations of the FO-29 eclipses at: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/fo29ilum.htm [ANS thanks Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-297.04 BOD Minutes of 5 January 2010 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 297.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. October 24, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-297.04 AMSAT BoD Telecon Meeting, 5 January 2010 Called to order by President Barry Baines, WD4ASW at 2005 EST. Attending: Directors Barry Baines, WD4ASW Tom Clark, K3IO Gould Smith, WA4SXM Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Lou McFadin, W5DID Bill Ress, N6GHZ Alan Biddle, WA4SCA Tony Monteiro, AA2TX (Alternate) Others: Martha Saragovitz, Officer Manager Keith Baker, KB1SF, Treasurer Elect Due to the resignation of AMSAT Treasurer Gunther Meisse, W8GSM, President Baines appointed Keith Baker, KB1SF/ VA3KSF to fill this position on an interim basis, pending formal approval by the BoD. Keith spoke briefly, stating that the transition had gone smoothly, and that he would be continuing with past practices. He did bring up the status of the AMSAT logo registration status. Martha reported that it had recently been renewed. Barry moved, and Tom seconded, that Keith be approved. This was passed unanimously. The final version of the AMSAT Bulletin Board Acceptable Use Policy (AUP, attached) was brought up for discussion. Bill expressed concern that the dissemination was not adequately addressed, particularly with respect to the Bulletin Board itself. Both Tom and Gould mentioned that the implementation was separate from the AUP, and Lou emphasized that it should be in any case readily accessible. Gould assured the BoD that it would be widely disseminated, including the Bulletin Board itself. With this clarification, it was moved by Barry and seconded by Alan and Tom that the AUP be accepted. This was passed unanimously. The current working revision of the AMSAT budget was not approved at the annual BoD meeting due to some information not being available. This information is now reflected in version #8, though Lou emphasized that the ARISSat-1 budgeting was still incomplete. It was moved by Barry and seconded by Drew that this version be approved. This was passed unanimously. It was moved by Barry and seconded by Drew that the 3 November 2009 BoD telecon meeting be approved as circulated and published in the Journal. This was passed unanimously. There being no additional formal business, it was moved by Barry and seconded by Alan that the meeting be adjourned. This was passed unanimously. The Official Board meeting closed at 2027 EST. [ANS thanks Alan Biddle, WA4SCA for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-297.05 Call for Papers SE VHF Society AMSAT News Service Bulletin 297.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. October 24, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-297.05 Call for Papers: 15th Annual Southeastern VHF Society Conference If you are looking for something to do during the long, cold winter nights you may consider writing a paper in response to the Southeast- ern VHF Society's call for papers and presentations for their 15th annual conference to be held in Huntsville, Alabama on April 29th and 30th, 2011. Papers and presentations are solicited on both the technical and oper- ational aspects of VHF, UHF and Microwave weak signal amateur radio. Full details of the Conference, requested paper and presentation topics and submission details can be found on-line at: http://www.svhfs.org [ANS thanks Robin Midgett, K4IDC 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, Dee Interdonato, NB2F nb2f at amsat dot org

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FO-29 Status now
by Yutaka Murata 24 Oct '10

24 Oct '10

Hi FO-29 users JARL FO-29 command team announced that FO-29 has turned off the transponder because it doesn't obtain enough durations of sunshine now. The FO-29 analog transmitter was not able to be turned on by the analog transmitter ON commands which were sent from command team on 10/17 08:53(UTC) 10/23 18:42(UTC) 10/23 20:23(UTC) 10/24 07:40(UTC). This announcement is written by Japanese and I did translate into English. Hope she will return back to us. JA1COU

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FO-29 status now
by Mineo Wakita 24 Oct '10

24 Oct '10

The strenuous repair work continues every day by a control station to return in FO-29 transponder. JARL grand station says that the command was not able to transmit even a pass of 18:46 UTC, 23 Oct, so we will try again the transmission of the command with the pass at 20:32 UTC, 23 Oct, and 07:45 UTC, 24 Oct. JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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Helix Antenna's Twist
by Spectrum International, Inc 24 Oct '10

24 Oct '10

23rd October 2010 N8MH de S.I., Mark, Your recent message to Tom, K0TW, in respect to the polarization of a helical antennae is not 100% correct. You state, quote: "How do you determine the resulting polarity of the [helical] antenna? My response: when standing at the rear, does the cork-screw go clockwise or counter-clockwise as it spirals away from you? That is the visible difference, if building a helix. " unquote: Implicit in your answer (but not defined) is that a Right-hand helix, when viewed from behind, spirals away from you in a clockwise direction, the same as a standard screw thread. That statement is true for the classical helical antenna, /á la Kraus/. However it is not true for the Quadrifilar Helix design, which twists in the opposite direction to the classical helix. Maybe people who do not know the difference, and unwittingly build one with the twist in the wrong direction, get such very bad performance when attempting to use it and complain bitterly that "the Quad Helix does not work". 73s, de John G3BVU/W1, Spectrum International, Inc.

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AO-51 short experiment
by Andrew Glasbrenner 23 Oct '10

23 Oct '10

>From 2025UTC this afternoon, for 1-2 orbits, the 435.150 downlink on AO-51 is configured as a repeater and being used to monitor 145.825. Please DO NOT attempt to transmit through this downlink! We are taking a look at congestion and unattended operation that may be impacting the use of HO-68 in FM mode. Reception reports are of course welcome. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-VP Operations

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Send Your Name to Mars!
by Clint Bradford 23 Oct '10

23 Oct '10

NASA microchip project - http://tinyurl.com/yhaphmg Clint, K6LCS

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Sumbandila (SO-67) schedule until 2010-11-01
by Johann Lochner 23 Oct '10

23 Oct '10

Hi folks, Please find below a list of planned Sumbandila (SO-67) ham payload activations for week 4 of the cycle (times in UTC; active for 15 minutes). Visit http://www.amsatsa.org.za for operating hints. 73 de ZR1CBC, Johann. ----- Africa (Mostly unfavourable passes for South Africa, in part to allow for University of Stellenbosch comms payload experiments next week, and due to a recently discovered commanding issue during ham payload activations. We are working to resolve this as soon as possible.) 2010-10-25 07:48 2010-10-25 20:45 2010-10-27 20:06 2010-10-28 08:32 2010-10-29 04:54 2010-10-30 20:59 2010-10-31 20:40 Australasia 2010-10-25 09:55 2010-10-25 22:04 2010-10-26 09:35 2010-10-26 21:45 2010-10-26 23:20 2010-10-27 10:50 2010-10-27 21:25 2010-10-28 10:32 2010-10-28 21:08 2010-10-28 22:42 2010-10-29 10:12 2010-10-29 22:23 2010-10-30 09:55 2010-10-30 22:05 2010-10-31 09:35 2010-10-31 11:10 Eastern Asia 2010-10-24 23:40 2010-10-25 11:48 2010-10-25 23:21 2010-10-26 00:55 2010-10-26 11:29 2010-10-27 00:36 2010-10-27 22:44 2010-10-28 00:17 2010-10-28 23:58 2010-10-29 12:07 2010-10-29 23:39 2010-10-30 11:47 2010-10-30 23:20 2010-10-31 00:54 2010-10-31 23:02 2010-11-01 00:36

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2M1EUB/P OPPS eu09 now qrt
by paul robinson 23 Oct '10

23 Oct '10

HI group im now home after 2weeks break in east and west scotland ,any one working me last few days then i was qrv from eu09 ,io67vj west scotland,great fun but difficult ,with so many mountains,snow,wind and more rain than ive ever seen in a week !qsl is via 2e1eub dirrect or beuro ...73 de paul

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FO-29 Status
by Peter Gayle 23 Oct '10

23 Oct '10

Hello all. I am going through the steps of getting my satellite station back together after a 2 year hiatus due to a lightning strike. Things are progressing well and I see that we few new birds. I have been listening for the old reliable (FO-29) and am not hearing anything on what should be good passes. The AMSAT web page says that she is operational but I cannot find a schedule. Anyone have any insights into what it is that the old bird is up to? Thanks, Peter, VE3PK

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WD9EWK @ DM32/DM42 from 1436 UTC this morning
by Patrick STODDARD 23 Oct '10

23 Oct '10

Hi! I woke up early, and am now at the DM32/DM42 boundary. Along with the VO52 and HO68 passes I previously mentioned, I will work the SO50 pass at 1436 UTC and AO7 at 1514 UTC from here. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/

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