- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 2, Issue 670
by Wilhelm Hartinger 31 Oct '07

31 Oct '07

----- Original Message ----- From: <amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2007 3:08 AM Subject: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 2, Issue 670 > Send AMSAT-BB mailing list submissions to > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org > > You can reach the person managing the list at > amsat-bb-owner(a)amsat.org > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of AMSAT-BB digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Phase 4 (Robert McGwier) > 2. Re: Phase 4 (Nate Duehr) > 3. Re: Phase 4 (Stefan Wagener) > 4. L band amp power supply (Andrew Glasbrenner) > 5. AO-16 S band beacon (WILLIAMS MICHAEL) > 6. Re: AO-16 S band beacon (Andrew Glasbrenner) > 7. Re: Phase 4 (k0vty(a)juno.com) > 8. Re: Phase 4 (sco(a)sco-inc.com) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:22:45 -0400 > From: Robert McGwier <rwmcgwier(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Phase 4 > To: Stefan Wagener <stefan_wagener(a)hotmail.com> > Cc: "'John Marranca, Jr'" <KB2HSH(a)amsat.org>, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Message-ID: <4727CAD5.20607(a)gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed > > We have kept Eagle satellite alive. The lab at U. Md. ES is being built > out and we are going ahead with the structure. We helped fund the > completion of P3E with our international partners and stepped up our > efforts to finish the IHU-3 for them (and us. > > The Eagle satellite structure build out is funded and slated for > completion in 2008. > > We are really going to try to get P3E a ride on Intelsat to balance > against the other offers to see what is best for AMSAT-DL and us. > > Stefan's analysis is correct. Any one geostationary bird can cover > roughly a third of the earth. > > Bob > > > > Stefan Wagener wrote: >> Yes, >> >> It is a great project and deserves our full support! >> >> Having said that we also need to realize, that depending on the location >> of >> the satellite above the equator we might only have the Americas in the >> foot >> print. No Europe or Africa and no Asia. Since the first geostationary >> satellite with amateur radio has to provide tangible support for >> government >> agencies (funding source) it will certainly be primarily centered around >> a >> North American footprint. That's why we need to keep Eagle alive and >> support >> Phase 3E. >> >> All together they will give us the full package of worldwide DX via >> satellite and reliable high power communication in the Americas. >> >> 73. Stefan VE4NSA >> > > -- > AMSAT Director and VP Engineering. Member: ARRL, AMSAT-DL, > TAPR, Packrats, NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC. ARRL SDR WG Chair > ?An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why > must the pessimist always run to blow it out?? Descartes > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 18:25:21 -0600 > From: Nate Duehr <nate(a)natetech.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Phase 4 > To: amsat bb <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <5EB2FADB-C015-43DC-B792-737567482308(a)natetech.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes > > > On Oct 30, 2007, at 6:18 PM, Dave Guimont wrote: > >> >>> On Oct 30, 2007, at 2:58 PM, John Marranca, Jr wrote: >>> >>> > Imagine...ULTRA RELIABLE DX...24 hours per day. Those with antenna >>> > restrictions or home-owner's covenants could be QRV. And if the >>> up/ >>> > down >>> > links were UHF and above, a pair of helices could be used INSIDE, >>> > pointing >>> > through a window.... >>> >>> Imagine the hundreds of people QRM'ing each other. :-) >> >> Nate, you are kidding, of course! > > Yes, thus the " :-) ". Definitely meant as a joke. > > Just poking a little fun at this -- a fixed bird is going to be very > popular. Maybe sometimes "too" popular. > > It was meant to come out with a tone something like the phrase: > "Visualize Whirled Peas!". > > Kinda like a new restaurant opening in your neighborhood, you probably > don't want to be there on "opening night" if you're the type that > likes to avoid crowds. (GRIN) > > -- > Nate Duehr, WY0X > nate(a)natetech.com > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:43:07 -0500 > From: "Stefan Wagener" <stefan_wagener(a)hotmail.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Phase 4 > To: "'Robert McGwier'" <rwmcgwier(a)gmail.com> > Cc: "'John Marranca, Jr'" <KB2HSH(a)amsat.org>, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Message-ID: <BAY130-DAV5457DC7F367F7F50F3D28F6930(a)phx.gbl> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Thanks Bob. > > It was great meeeting you in Pittsburgh and you have my full support for > your ideas and initatives. Folks like you keep things moving. > > 73, Stefan VE4NSA > > -----Original Message----- > From: Robert McGwier [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: October-30-07 7:23 PM > To: Stefan Wagener > Cc: 'John Marranca, Jr'; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Re: Phase 4 > > We have kept Eagle satellite alive. The lab at U. Md. ES is being built > out > and we are going ahead with the structure. We helped fund the completion > of > P3E with our international partners and stepped up our efforts to finish > the IHU-3 for them (and us. > > The Eagle satellite structure build out is funded and slated for > completion > in 2008. > > We are really going to try to get P3E a ride on Intelsat to balance > against > the other offers to see what is best for AMSAT-DL and us. > > Stefan's analysis is correct. Any one geostationary bird can cover > roughly > a third of the earth. > > Bob > > > > Stefan Wagener wrote: >> Yes, >> >> It is a great project and deserves our full support! >> >> Having said that we also need to realize, that depending on the >> location of the satellite above the equator we might only have the >> Americas in the foot print. No Europe or Africa and no Asia. Since the >> first geostationary satellite with amateur radio has to provide >> tangible support for government agencies (funding source) it will >> certainly be primarily centered around a North American footprint. >> That's why we need to keep Eagle alive and support Phase 3E. >> >> All together they will give us the full package of worldwide DX via >> satellite and reliable high power communication in the Americas. >> >> 73. Stefan VE4NSA >> > > -- > AMSAT Director and VP Engineering. Member: ARRL, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats, > NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC. ARRL SDR WG Chair "An optimist may see a light > where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it > out?" > Descartes > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 21:08:58 -0400 > From: "Andrew Glasbrenner" <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] L band amp power supply > To: <amsat-bb(a)AMSAT.Org> > Message-ID: <0E3880FB1B8844199FEA5073A7C1DE97@Andrewlaptop> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; > reply-type=original > > I just ordered a newish LS-10a for my forthcoming amp, but I found one on > QTH.com I thought I'd share. I don't know the guy from Adam, but it looks > like a good deal to me. Caveat Emptor. > >>F/S Astron 28VDC Power Supply New. >>New Astron 28VDC Power supply. this is the Good for 12.5 Amps Continuous >>or >>15 AMPS ICS. This is a switching power supply so it light and is about 5 >> >pounds. $50.00 Plus Shipping. ASTRON Model SLS-15 >>Listing #626303 - Submitted on 10/28/07 by Callsign N9BX > > 73, Drew KO4MA > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 5 > Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 18:27:49 -0700 (PDT) > From: WILLIAMS MICHAEL <k9qho6762(a)sbcglobal.net> > Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-16 S band beacon > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Message-ID: <752853.74430.qm(a)web82707.mail.mud.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > > Is AO-16's 2.4 GHz beacon working and how strong is it? > > > Thanks, > > Mike > K9QHO > AMSAT 33589 > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 6 > Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 21:50:28 -0400 > From: "Andrew Glasbrenner" <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-16 S band beacon > To: "WILLIAMS MICHAEL" <k9qho6762(a)sbcglobal.net>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <A709F63C2B78490398244D3F4E373A92@Andrewlaptop> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; > reply-type=original > > AO-16 has been completely down for a while. > > 73, Drew KO4MA > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "WILLIAMS MICHAEL" <k9qho6762(a)sbcglobal.net> > To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Sent: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 9:27 PM > Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-16 S band beacon > > >> Is AO-16's 2.4 GHz beacon working and how strong is it? >> >> >> Thanks, >> >> Mike >> K9QHO >> AMSAT 33589 >> _______________________________________________ >> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. >> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite >> program! >> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 7 > Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:58:08 CST > From: k0vty(a)juno.com > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Phase 4 > To: rwmcgwier(a)gmail.com, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Message-ID: <20071030.205808.-576635.6.k0vty(a)juno.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > > Hi Robert (N4HY) > > I have been reading all the info on the BB about what appears to be a Geo > syncronous amateur system supported by a commercial bird. > Obviously you and others have done much work to understand this scheme > in order to develop support for it. > My problem is I do not have enough to really handle this issue as a Amsat > Coordinator and was not able to attend the symposium. > Being an uninformed Amsat Coordinator is not healthy for Amsat. > > Is a system level proposal for this new Phase 4 going to be provided with > sufficient numbers to allow membership evaluation before any impact on > the Eagle system effort is considered acceptable. > A question that needs an answer as I have already been asked. > > Will an analysis of the effects on the HEO DXCC desires of the membership > as to the effect of a stationary fixed aperture antenna pattern in Geo > versus a moving satellite location fixed aperture antenna system not in > Geo. > To include the need to use high squint angles and power levels required > on both > ends of this sort of link budget. > > Sorry I did not attend the symposium. > > Joe Murray K0VTY > Amsat # 860 > Amsat area Coordinator NE > ================================= > On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:22:45 -0400 Robert McGwier <rwmcgwier(a)gmail.com> > writes: >> We have kept Eagle satellite alive. The lab at U. Md. ES is being >> built >> out and we are going ahead with the structure. We helped fund the >> completion of P3E with our international partners and stepped up >> our >> efforts to finish the IHU-3 for them (and us. >> >> The Eagle satellite structure build out is funded and slated for >> completion in 2008. >> >> We are really going to try to get P3E a ride on Intelsat to balance >> >> against the other offers to see what is best for AMSAT-DL and us. >> >> Stefan's analysis is correct. Any one geostationary bird can cover >> >> roughly a third of the earth. >> >> Bob >> >> >> >> Stefan Wagener wrote: >> > Yes, >> > >> > It is a great project and deserves our full support! >> > >> > Having said that we also need to realize, that depending on the >> location of >> > the satellite above the equator we might only have the Americas in >> the foot >> > print. No Europe or Africa and no Asia. Since the first >> geostationary >> > satellite with amateur radio has to provide tangible support for >> government >> > agencies (funding source) it will certainly be primarily centered >> around a >> > North American footprint. That's why we need to keep Eagle alive >> and support >> > Phase 3E. >> > >> > All together they will give us the full package of worldwide DX >> via >> > satellite and reliable high power communication in the Americas. >> > >> > 73. Stefan VE4NSA >> > >> >> -- >> AMSAT Director and VP Engineering. Member: ARRL, AMSAT-DL, >> TAPR, Packrats, NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC. ARRL SDR WG Chair >> ?An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why >> must the pessimist always run to blow it out?? Descartes >> _______________________________________________ >> 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! >> n settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >> >> > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 8 > Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 22:09:50 -0400 > From: sco(a)sco-inc.com > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Phase 4 > To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <E1In30S-0001rr-TY(a)elasmtp-mealy.atl.sa.earthlink.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed > > At 07:37 PM 10/30/2007, you wrote: >>Yes, >> >>It is a great project and deserves our full support! >> >>Having said that we also need to realize, that depending on the location >>of >>the satellite above the equator we might only have the Americas in the >>foot >>print. No Europe or Africa and no Asia. Since the first geostationary >>satellite with amateur radio has to provide tangible support for >>government >>agencies (funding source) it will certainly be primarily centered around a >>North American footprint. That's why we need to keep Eagle alive and >>support >>Phase 3E. >> >>All together they will give us the full package of worldwide DX via >>satellite and reliable high power communication in the Americas. >> >>73. Stefan VE4NSA > > if its an AMSAT-NA project and money then I hope it is over the > Americas!!! > Think of the possibilities ... WAS, worked all US Counties (by Sat), > worked all grids, worked all Canadian provinces, etc. Probably could > even do it all MOBILE too, if one wanted to. > > Les W4SCO > www.scoincsoftware.com > > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via amsat-bb(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. > Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > > End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 2, Issue 670 > **************************************** > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.14/1100 - Release Date: > 30.10.2007 18:26 >

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geo stationary bird
by Joe Leikhim 31 Oct '07

31 Oct '07

Wouldn't it be fair to say that while the commercial footprint maps are based on "5 nines" reliability, line of sight links and tightly focused microwave beams, Amateur operations in U/V bands will be useable over a wider footprint, albeit to 50% reliability to a surprizing extent? From: w7lrd(a)comcast.net Subject: [amsat-bb] geo stationary bird To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Message-ID: <103120070250.13572.4727ED740001D5230000350422165279660B9D04C999(a)comcast.net> Content-Type: text/plain Hello To play the devils advocate for a moment. With a geo (stuck) sattelite we are pretty much stuck with the same foot print forever. Unless of course there is some sort of cross linking in the future. I very fondly recall AO-40 and bringing it up on my computer and seeing where the foot print was today. Maybe it's the Europeans or perhaps the VK's, ZL's (love their accent), or maybe some JA's, (practice my Japanese). At some time, I knew I could cover the whole planet. I do of course believe this is an excellent opportunity, though there are a some limitations. -- 73 Bob W7LRD -- Joe Leikhim K4SAT "The RFI-EMI-GUY"© "Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it treason." "Follow The Money" ;-P

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Re: Phase 4
by Robert McGwier 31 Oct '07

31 Oct '07

Joe: Thanks for your question and your support as an AMSAT AC! There will be essentially no squint angle problem. Consider it to be a constant AO-40 apogee forever with the antennas always nadir pointing. The following is the CURRENT plan (straw man) before we have had our first serious engineering meeting. The "go ahead and tell the world" came from Intelsat five days before the symposium. So factor that into both your thinking and your responses to questions. Until then, we had little to say. You can already see the impact of the world wide amateur distribution on this topic. Having said that, it should be clear we have a lot of work to do. The current plan is to take the Eagle payloads and adapt and modify them for this opportunity. There will be a serious linear transponder and a serious digital transponder to support the AMSAT vision statement. We are looking to give amateur radio in the U.S area its best ever tool to support those activities that keep our bands in our possession: EMCOMM. This will also be the reason and source for much of our funding. So I would say U/L up and V/S down for linear and C up and S2 down for digital. The S2 down will have extremely low power flux density to meet the "noninterference" requirement that should allow wide operation. We do not know which bird(s) we will be on, so we do not yet know the footprint. Look here for the Intelsat map. They circumnavigate the equatorial belt to the point you could almost walk across! http://www.intelsat.com/network/satellite/ Click on the flash map if you have flash installed. It is pretty neat. There is nothing definitive we can say, we are just too new to this and are just getting ourselves fully engaged in the process. Bob N4HY k0vty(a)juno.com wrote: > Hi Robert (N4HY) > > I have been reading all the info on the BB about what appears to be a Geo > syncronous amateur system supported by a commercial bird. > Obviously you and others have done much work to understand this scheme > in order to develop support for it. > My problem is I do not have enough to really handle this issue as a Amsat > Coordinator and was not able to attend the symposium. > Being an uninformed Amsat Coordinator is not healthy for Amsat. > > Is a system level proposal for this new Phase 4 going to be provided with > sufficient numbers to allow membership evaluation before any impact on > the Eagle system effort is considered acceptable. > A question that needs an answer as I have already been asked. > > Will an analysis of the effects on the HEO DXCC desires of the membership > as to the effect of a stationary fixed aperture antenna pattern in Geo > versus a moving satellite location fixed aperture antenna system not in > Geo. > To include the need to use high squint angles and power levels required > on both > ends of this sort of link budget. > > Sorry I did not attend the symposium. > > Joe Murray K0VTY > Amsat # 860 > Amsat area Coordinator NE > -- AMSAT Director and VP Engineering. Member: ARRL, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats, NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC. ARRL SDR WG Chair “An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?” Descartes

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Re: Phase 4
by Bruce 31 Oct '07

31 Oct '07

I would also like to see what kind of financial impact this will have on amsat (hopefully we have an income for developing something for Intelsat). also it sounds like it will be a digital transponder. what would the estimated cost be for the average ham and is the interface going to be able to work with ht's that we are presently using. I can remember phil karn suggesting a digital transponder with a ground station interface to the board about 5 years ago when I was on the board. 73...bruce Sent from my iPhone On Oct 30, 2007, at 8:58 PM, k0vty(a)juno.com wrote: > Hi Robert (N4HY) > > I have been reading all the info on the BB about what appears to be > a Geo > syncronous amateur system supported by a commercial bird. > Obviously you and others have done much work to understand this scheme > in order to develop support for it. > My problem is I do not have enough to really handle this issue as a > Amsat > Coordinator and was not able to attend the symposium. > Being an uninformed Amsat Coordinator is not healthy for Amsat. > > Is a system level proposal for this new Phase 4 going to be provided > with > sufficient numbers to allow membership evaluation before any impact on > the Eagle system effort is considered acceptable. > A question that needs an answer as I have already been asked. > > Will an analysis of the effects on the HEO DXCC desires of the > membership > as to the effect of a stationary fixed aperture antenna pattern in Geo > versus a moving satellite location fixed aperture antenna system not > in > Geo. > To include the need to use high squint angles and power levels > required > on both > ends of this sort of link budget. > > Sorry I did not attend the symposium. > > Joe Murray K0VTY > Amsat # 860 > Amsat area Coordinator NE > ================================= > On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:22:45 -0400 Robert McGwier > <rwmcgwier(a)gmail.com> > writes: >> We have kept Eagle satellite alive. The lab at U. Md. ES is being >> built >> out and we are going ahead with the structure. We helped fund the >> completion of P3E with our international partners and stepped up >> our >> efforts to finish the IHU-3 for them (and us. >> >> The Eagle satellite structure build out is funded and slated for >> completion in 2008. >> >> We are really going to try to get P3E a ride on Intelsat to balance >> >> against the other offers to see what is best for AMSAT-DL and us. >> >> Stefan's analysis is correct. Any one geostationary bird can cover >> >> roughly a third of the earth. >> >> Bob >> >> >> >> Stefan Wagener wrote: >>> Yes, >>> >>> It is a great project and deserves our full support! >>> >>> Having said that we also need to realize, that depending on the >> location of >>> the satellite above the equator we might only have the Americas in >> the foot >>> print. No Europe or Africa and no Asia. Since the first >> geostationary >>> satellite with amateur radio has to provide tangible support for >> government >>> agencies (funding source) it will certainly be primarily centered >> around a >>> North American footprint. That's why we need to keep Eagle alive >> and support >>> Phase 3E. >>> >>> All together they will give us the full package of worldwide DX >> via >>> satellite and reliable high power communication in the Americas. >>> >>> 73. Stefan VE4NSA >>> >> >> -- >> AMSAT Director and VP Engineering. Member: ARRL, AMSAT-DL, >> TAPR, Packrats, NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC. ARRL SDR WG Chair >> “An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why >> must the pessimist always run to blow it out?” Descartes >> _______________________________________________ >> 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! >> n settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >> >> > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the > author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite > program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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AO-16 S band beacon
by WILLIAMS MICHAEL 31 Oct '07

31 Oct '07

Is AO-16's 2.4 GHz beacon working and how strong is it? Thanks, Mike K9QHO AMSAT 33589

2 1

L band amp power supply
by Andrew Glasbrenner 31 Oct '07

31 Oct '07

I just ordered a newish LS-10a for my forthcoming amp, but I found one on QTH.com I thought I'd share. I don't know the guy from Adam, but it looks like a good deal to me. Caveat Emptor. >F/S Astron 28VDC Power Supply New. >New Astron 28VDC Power supply. this is the Good for 12.5 Amps Continuous or >15 AMPS ICS. This is a switching power supply so it light and is about 5 > >pounds. $50.00 Plus Shipping. ASTRON Model SLS-15 >Listing #626303 - Submitted on 10/28/07 by Callsign N9BX 73, Drew KO4MA

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Checking on a few digital birds...
by Mark L. Hammond 30 Oct '07

30 Oct '07

Has anybody heard AO-16 or POSAT lately? I heard CW (telemetry?) coming from LO-19 the other day....but I didn't hear either of the other birds. Just checking... 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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Question about [-], [+] and [P]
by w1fc＠aol.com 30 Oct '07

30 Oct '07

I just downloaded updated keps, Where can I find what the? [-], [+] and [P] stand for? Thanks Fred ________________________________________________________________________ Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com

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Ride to space
by tjjapha＠earthlink.net 30 Oct '07

30 Oct '07

Congrats to the team, and good luck in wrapping up the negotiations. Can you give us an idea of the altitude of these prospective sats, and also the rough time frame you're talking about? 73, Tony, N2U

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Re: Sats you're tracking
by John Marranca, Jr 30 Oct '07

30 Oct '07

Chris: In no particular order: ISS ANDE/NO-61 PCSAT/NO-44 RS-22 AO-27 SO-50 AO-51 HSH -- _______________________________ John Marranca, Jr PBX Technician/Shop Steward CWA Local 1122 BN Systems, Inc Orchard Park, NY (716)972-2006

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Re: Ride to space
by Wayne Estes 30 Oct '07

30 Oct '07

Bob N4HY wrote: Thanks to the efforts of Lee McLamb, EVP AMSAT, we discovered a new opportunity to get our communications packages and antennas on board Intelsat launches. Wayne W9AE replies: Is this for a "piggyback" communication package attached to a larger satellite, or a secondary payload that deploys separately? Wayne Estes W9AE Oakland, Oregon, USA, CN83ik

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Ride to space
by Robert McGwier 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

Thanks to the efforts of Lee McLamb, EVP AMSAT, we discovered a new opportunity to get our communications packages and antennas on board Intelsat launches. Rick Hambly and the AMSAT executive team have been negotiating nearly nonstop with Intelsat. They have released us to go put the entire project together, design/funding/etc. and to publicize the opportunity. The engineering team has been restructured to take maximum advantage of this opportunity and to see that it serves radio amateurs world wide. More will follow from Rick and others and we return to our transparent mode now that we have been allowed, for the first time, to speak openly about the opportunity and have them confirm to those making inquiries that we are working with them to build a mission. Bob N4HY -- AMSAT Director and VP Engineering. Member: ARRL, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats, NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC. ARRL SDR WG Chair “An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?” Descartes

3 2

free items, you pick up, near phila., PA.
by Charles Pennington 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

FREE FREE FREE I have a roll of RG62A/U cable (1000 ft), 2 pieces of Andrews heliax hard 1/2, about 100 ft long, also some shorter pieces, also about a dozen fittings, FREE Bud K3nmf chrlsp(a)verizon.net

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Ham radio, Advertise!
by Robert Bruninga 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

During the 5 hour drive back from the AMSAT symposium in Western PA I was bored and scanning to find something to do on my mobile rig. After a long time, finally found a very weak QSO on 145.62 just east of New Stanton. As signals got stronger, it sounded more like pirates... Like a work crew working on some maintenance prject. This was fun. A bunch of pirates on ham radio in an unused portion of the band. I was running APRS and GPS and was getting excited about turning this into a short DF mission (using signal strength alone).. I was getting a clearly increasing signal.. Then I thought. Hummh... I've heard that sound before... Sounds like scuba divers. You can hear them breathing.. Duh. Was space station crew out on an EVA! I was hearing a re-broadcast of the ISS audio, complements of a local club in western PA. Which gets me to the topic of this post. It pays to advertise! If something is going on in HAM radio, put out a LIVE APRS beacon on-air. Let people see it. (APRS is supposed to be the single clearing house of where to look for this kind of local information live in real time)... A simple once-every-10-minute local-direct APRS beacon will inform everyone live in the vicinity of that transmission that it is on the air now... Live... This is needed whether they are strangers passing through, or locals on their way to get bread who forgot that today was ISS audio day. Live advertising of real-time happenings on APRS is a service for all of ham radio. APRS was never intended as an end in itself. It was supposed to be the catch-all information resource for the local area. A mobile seeing one of these beacons can now be alterted and participate in the event... In the new Kenwood D710, he can even QSY with the press of one button if the beacon also contains the frequency. APRS is TWO-WAY. Everything in ham radio should be advertised LIVE local direct on APRS for the benefit of local mobiles. Here is how I would advertise Space Station Audio on APRS. 1) Give it the object NAME of "ISSrtx-xx" 2) Give it an approximate position 3) Include the local RE-TX frequency in the comment This APRS object will flash on the front panel of the mobile D7, D700 or HAMHUD as ISSrtx... and not just some other callsign. The position information causes the radio to display the direction, and distance to the transmitter for the benefit of the mobile. The frequency info shows him where to tune. And if the freq is in the right format, then the new Kenwood can auto-tune to it. You can put this object in ANY local TNC as a BEACON TEXT. Here is how: BT ;ISSrtx-xx*111111zDDMM.hhN/DDDMM.hhWE 145.620MHz Space Station audio. UNPROTO APRS (direct) BEACON 5 minutes Notice I added "xx" (I'd use "wP" in this case for Western PA) to fill out the 9 byte object name field so that when this is picked up by the global APRS system, then this object will be unique from any other similar site. To see if your particular choice is already in use, just check FINDU.COM: http://map.findu.com/ISS* And you will see everyone else's ISS object choices, so you can choose two unique "xx" characters for your system too. Hook this TNC and a spare 144.39 Transmitter to the Iss Re-transmitter via the TNC extermal carrier detect line. This way, it is all automatic. If this system is re-transmitting space station audio, then the "ISSrtx-xx" advertising beacon will be on the air too! Since this stuff is quite rare, I might even suggest that this automatied beacon go out once every 5 minutes, so that locals out for a short trip won't miss it. Remember, it is a local simplex direct packet from a high location that can hear all local users, so therefore it will avoid any collisions and not impact local channel load. Many of us can only find time to play HAM radio while mobile. So, please advertise. Let us know what is happening live in your area. There certainly are enough old TNC's out there doing nothing else that could be put into such use..... Oh, and if you need a BEACON in a pinch, you can use your D7 or D700 to generate the object. An example is arriving at the parking lot of yoru local ham club meeting and only then remembering that you should have put a live object on the air. Here's how to do an object from your D7 or D700: http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/d700-objects.txt Please do NOT beacon any such object farther than it can be used. This is important, because out of area packets are: 1) QRM to everyone beyond its useful range 2) Double the channel load if digipeated 3) Colision sources since the source TX cannot hear the clear channel Also, when you hold a local on-air AMSAT net. Please send out an object alerting all mobiles that a net is in progress and the frequency. You might round up some new members... That object could be "AMSAT-net". Hard to miss when it shows up on your mobile's front panel.. Thanks Bob, WB4APR

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FT-726R full duplex
by w7lrd＠comcast.net 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

Hello I'm looking for a friend for a kit unit number D3000235. This is supposed to make the FT726R a full duplex radio. -- 73 Bob W7LRD AMSAT member 28498 Seattle

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Re: Amateur Radio Phase IV Lite Geostationary Payload Announced
by Michael Fletcher 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

Ah, so here would be the window of opportunity for AMSAT-EU to start similar negotiations with Arianespace... How about interlinking capability between the two geo-birds ;-) Michael, OH2AUE -- "Life is too short for Sudoku"

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Amateur Radio Phase IV Lite Geostationary Payload Announced
by Trevor 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

The weekend that changed Amateur Radio http://www.southgatearc.org/news/october2007/weekend_that_changed_amateur_r… 73 Trevor M5AKA ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Answers - Got a question? Someone out there knows the answer. Try it now. http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/

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Sats your tracking
by Chris Bloy 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

Hi All, Just wondered what sats you guys track using your various programs? Here’s mine :- ANDE ISS AO-27 AO-51 SO-50 VO-52 AO-07 UO-11 RS-22 FO-29 GO-32 CO-57 CO-56 HO-59 LO-19 FCAL PEHUENSAT 1 GENESAT-1 CAPE1 Any others that are active that I don’t know about, and I should be tracking? Thanks, Chris No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.15.12/1097 - Release Date: 28/10/2007 13:58

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New version of SATPC32 available!
by Alan P. Biddle 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

Hi, Version 12.7 is out! Alan WA4SCA =================================================== What's new: Vers. 12.7 1. The program now comes with additional sets of 2D and 3D physical world maps. Via mouse click the user can switch between political and physical maps. 2. The political 2D world maps have been updated. Now they show the border lines of the successor states of the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia. 3. The programs (SatPC32, SatPC32ISS and Wisat32) now support rotor steering with the Italian rotor system ProSistel. 4. The "Uplink Calibration" feature has been expanded. With previous versions this function could only be used with "normal" SSB satellites (SSB on Uplink and Downlink). Now it also works with mixed-mode satellites (Uplink: SSB, Downlink:FM). Sometimes AO-51 is using this mode. The "Uplink Calibration" function allows users to automatically calibrate the Uplink frequency for best audio pitch of their downlink signal and to save the change. With future program starts the user will then immediately hear his own downlink when he switches to that satellite, without the necessity to tune around and produce QRM. Important: With SSB/FM satellites the SatPC32 control "V" must be switched to "V+" before the "Uplink Calibration" function can be used. 5. The programs (SatPC32, SatPC32ISS,Wisat32) no longer use the IOPort.SYS driver for port access. This driver doesn't work on 64-bit systems. So, no special version of these programs is necessary for 64-bit systems. The driver was used to steer the German rotor interface IF-100. Since direct steering of this Interface by SatPC32 is no longer possible the update includes a little server program similar to the rotor driver files for the other interfaces and controllers supported by SatPC32. The new IF-100 server program is only functional with 32-bit systems. The other rotor interfaces and controllers - except the FodTrack interface and the KCT-Tracker - are supported with 32-bit and 64-bit systems. 6. Some minor improvements have been made with SatPC32ISS, WinAOS and WinListen.

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conference
by Nick Pugh 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

All The 2007 conference was FANTASTIC FANTASTIC thanks to the organizers nick

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Industry Covets Amateur Radio THz Allocations
by Trevor 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

An EE Times article reports that industry interests are casting covetous eyes on the Amateur Radio Terra Hertz (THz) allocations. The article "Ultrawideband under the gun" in EE Times says on page 2: ---- A presentation from AT&T Labs called on the group to raise its voice against spectrum allocation plans in Europe that could shut Wi-Fi out of the 275 GHz to 1 THz bands. "The best terahertz spectrum is being carved up among science, satellite and amateur radio interests. The give-away of this precious spectrum is unexpected, capricious and irreconcilable with the evolution of future broadband wireless networks," David Britz of AT&T said in his presentation. ---- David Britz Powerpoint slides which make numerous references to Amateur Radio's use of Terahertz frequencies can be downloaded from http://ieee802.org/18/Meeting_documents/2007_Sept/18-07-0074-00-0vht-Propos… Report with further links at http://www.southgatearc.org/news/october2007/ultrawideband_under_the_gun.htm 73 Trevor M5AKA --------------- Daily Amateur Radio RSS News: http://www.southgatearc.org/ Email your news items to: editor at southgatearc.org News On Your Website: http://www.southgatearc.org/rss/index.htm News On Your PC: http://www.southgatearc.org/rss/newsreader.htm Upload Your News: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/your_news.htm --------------- ___________________________________________________________ Want ideas for reducing your carbon footprint? Visit Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/environment.html

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L band amplifier group buy
by Andrew Glasbrenner 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

Hi guys, I'm sending this from the airport waiting for my flight home from Symposium. As I discussed with a few of you here, I have just this weekend arranged a discounted price for AMSAT members on what looks to be a real deal on an L-band amplifier. I'll let the seller's webpage provide the details, but he has indicated that he will sell these amps, tuned for 1269 if so desired, for $195 dollars including shipping (lower 48 US). I'm ordering one this week, and I believe Mark Hammond N8MH has one already. I'd like to thank Mark for turning me on to these, and being the early adopter. Check them out at: http://users.innercite.com/kj6ko/forsale.htm#KJ6KO%20Stuff%20For%20Sale We need 5 people to get this pricing, so please drop me a line if you order one. 73, Drew KO4MA

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Soundcards for 38.4K
by Clive Wallis 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

Hi, I'm thinking of getting a better sound card for this computer. Initially it will be for terrestrial SDR experiments, where the Delta-44 board is recommended. I would also like to have a soundcard for possible satellite use at 38.4 K, and wonder what soundcards have been used for this application. I've seen a list somewhere, but can't find it now :-( TIA 73 Clive G3CWV Hitchin, North Hertfordshire, UK.

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AO-51 is back up
by Andrew Glasbrenner 29 Oct '07

29 Oct '07

AO-51 is back up and running. This crash was an opportunity that we used to work the kinks out of some "new-to-us" software and procedures, although it took longer than any of us anticipated and I apologize for that. I need to run it by the rest of the team, but I'm pretty sure we'll leave the telemetry and repeater on for the rest of the month. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Ops

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Re: L band amplifier group buy
by Andrew Glasbrenner 28 Oct '07

28 Oct '07

Order directly from him via the info on the webpage, and do refer to the AMSAT group buy please. 73, Drew PS, I imagine you must be sitting in an airport somewhere yourself; It was a pleasure meeting you this weekend! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stefan Wagener" <stefan_wagener(a)hotmail.com> To: <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> Cc: <n8mh(a)embarqmail.com>; <kj6ko(a)innercite.com> Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 4:26 PM Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] L band amplifier group buy > Thanks Drew, > > I will order one! Are you collecting orders or should we order > individually and refer to your email? > > Thanks, > > Stefan VE4NSA >

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WG: Re: GO-32 ?
by Mike Rupprecht 28 Oct '07

28 Oct '07

All, GO-32 is up and running again. Frame #1/24 28.10.2007 19:42:43 UTC ............................................................. Key : 8C 02 ASCII Header : TechRam2V9.87 Statusbits [1] : 0110.0000 0000.0000 (60 00h) Statusbits [2] : 0000.0000 0001.0000 (10h) choosen RAM : 1 Attidude State : 5 Start Datasegment : 0 (00h) PIC Vector : 0 (00h) Start Codesegment : 0 (00h) Power State : 0 Power Current : 0 Power VBattery : 13,34 V Power AH Counter : 2 73, Mike DK3WN -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] Im Auftrag von K7WIN - Jeff Gesendet: Samstag, 27. Oktober 2007 19:53 An: 'Dave Aitch'; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Betreff: [amsat-bb] Re: GO-32 ? Same here DM41. Only heard a few packets. There is something there but not what we normally hear. > -----Original Message----- > From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Dave Aitch > Sent: Saturday, October 27, 2007 9:56 AM > To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] GO-32 ? > > Is notice that this wonderful bird is not working again. > > 73, Dave. > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the > author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite > program! > Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb ____________ Virus checked by G DATA AntiVirusKit Version: AVK 17.9556 from 28.10.2007 Virus news: www.antiviruslab.com ____________ Virus checked by G DATA AntiVirusKit Version: AVK 17.9556 from 28.10.2007 Virus news: www.antiviruslab.com

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Amateur Radio Satellite Delfi-C3 launch window
by Trevor 28 Oct '07

28 Oct '07

A launch window for Delfi-C3 which carries a 70cm to 2 metre linear transponder has been announced. Amateur Radio Satellite Delfi-C3 launch window announced http://www.southgatearc.org/news/october2007/delfi_c3_launch_window_announc… 73 Trevor M5AKA --------------- Daily Amateur Radio RSS News: http://www.southgatearc.org/ Email your news items to: editor at southgatearc.org News On Your Website: http://www.southgatearc.org/rss/index.htm News On Your PC: http://www.southgatearc.org/rss/newsreader.htm Upload Your News: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/your_news.htm --------------- ___________________________________________________________ Want ideas for reducing your carbon footprint? Visit Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/environment.html

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AO-51 update
by gouldsmi＠bellsouth.net 28 Oct '07

28 Oct '07

Hello All, We are continuing to work with AO-51 in reloading the files. The command stations are learning and documenting the process. We hope to have it operational before too long. 73, Gould, WA4SXM

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AO-51 telemetry detailed analysis
by Mineo Wakita 28 Oct '07

28 Oct '07

Today, AO-51 is not normal mode yet. http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/ao51tlm3.htm

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Sputnik Certificates
by wa6fwf 28 Oct '07

28 Oct '07

Hi All, I am pleased to report that the pile waiting to be processed is gone!!! If you requested a certificate and you do not receive it in a week or so then look my call up on QRZ.com and send me a email directly and I can check your call on my list to see if it was received and when it was sent... Thanks & 73 Kevin WA6FWF

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GO-32 only strong beacon
by Mineo Wakita 27 Oct '07

27 Oct '07

Be sure to come back soon. 435.225 MHz, KISS > TechSat-V4.2 > TechSat-V4.2 > TechSat-V4.2

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rs-15 beacon informative?
by auke 27 Oct '07

27 Oct '07

Hello, I have been listening to the RS-15 beacon lately since reading about it having been heard back on the air intermittently. It seems that the beacon might have something to tell us! I noticed today that the rate of keying of the transmitter seems to be affected either by environmental factors, or on purpose, as in having been designed to do this... What I observed is this: All observations were made while tuned to 29.3520 MHz and then down to about 29.3512 to compensate for doppler by the end of the pass... The beacon transmitter was keying on/off about 2 seconds/2 seconds with it's characteristic initial "chirp". This is what I saw during my first time observing it, last week. The difference is that today, the beacon key-down length began to get longer, while it's off-time was the same! There were several 15-plus second transmissions in a row at the longest, then the duration rapidly shortened again subsequently, returning to the 2/2 timing after only a few transmissions. I have some visual and audible recordings of this pass available on my personal shaw account, for the criticism of anyone so interested. screenshots of the spectran audio spectrum during different parts of the pass: http://members.shaw.ca/sparkycivic/HAM/rs-15%2027oct07a.JPG http://members.shaw.ca/sparkycivic/HAM/rs-15%2027oct07b.JPG http://members.shaw.ca/sparkycivic/HAM/rs-15%2027oct07c.JPG and the audio recording as MP3: http://members.shaw.ca/sparkycivic/HAM/rs15%2027oct%202007.mp3 Could this be an indication of some onboard parameter like internal temperature, or perhaps solar panel voltage? The spacecraft orbit is currently in a non-eclipse season. This might be a good oportunity to learn about the condition of the onboard systems, and even try-out the transponder. I would try it, but I dont' have much uplink power or antenna persuasion to conduct a conclusive test. Auke de Jong, VE6PWN Edmonton, AB, Canada Station: 10 meters: HTX-100, wilson mag-mnt whip at 2 meterselev 2 meters: Yaesu FT-726R, omni VP, onmi HP 70W classC, 10W ssb 70cm: Yaesu FT-726R, 7el yagi az rot, Omni HP 100W linear

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GO-32 ?
by Dave Aitch 27 Oct '07

27 Oct '07

Is notice that this wonderful bird is not working again. 73, Dave.

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Freqs
by Don Blachura 26 Oct '07

26 Oct '07

Hello Folks, Having a problem with Satpc32. My freq on the uplink and the downlink display have disappeared. Reinstalling the program brings them back, but noticed when I remove the extra satellites the display showing the current freqs(up/down links) goes blank. If I reinstall the program again the freqs come back. All the rest of the program works. My rotor and cat. Etc. I had this problem before and changed the administrator control and it seemed to work. But this time no joy..... Don...w2xb

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sdr 1k + kitchen sink for trade
by ke5eup＠ke5eup.com 26 Oct '07

26 Oct '07

I have decided to trade my SDR 1K, 100w PA, ATU, 2 meter transverter, parallel cable, usb cable, external clock kit, delta 44 original and Tony's version of break out box, cables, Heil Boom PL-2T and SM-2, PR40 , one complete UCB kit, one UBC pcb, one ozy, one Janus (new built versions not kits), 2 atlas boards, 2 Pinocchio's. This radio only has a few hours on it, and has 8 months left on the warranty. I have used it on the Army Mars bands with a g5rv. I am really centered on emcomms and satellite work, so this setup is not practical for me anymore. I need an all mode radio/mobile/base ( I prefer Yaesu or kenwood) that I can deploy with. I also have a Hy-gain crank up 52' with a heavy fold over base to trade, pictures can be seen at http ke5eup dot net. I am putting up a 100' tower and I already have a 70' crank up for emcomm, so this one needs a home, all pulleys and winches work, no rust, needs new cables. Why trade? It is just better for me, I am on a fixed income, and would rater trade than handle the money hassle. I am good on QRZ. Thanks, Al KE5EUP/AAR6CU/T BCARNTX, KCARC, ARRL, AMSAT ARRL WTX ARES EC Callahan County Races CLO ALT 42-059-D Callahan County

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sdr 1k + kitchen sink for trade
by al＠allenboehm.com 26 Oct '07

26 Oct '07

I have decided to trade my SDR 1K, 100w PA, ATU, 2 meter transverter, parallel cable, usb cable, external clock kit, delta 44 original and Tony's version of break out box, cables, Heil Boom PL-2T and SM-2, PR40 , one complete UCB kit, one UBC pcb, one ozy, one Janus (new built versions not kits), 2 atlas boards, 2 Pinocchio's. This radio only has a few hours on it, and has 8 months left on the warranty. I have used it on the Army Mars bands with a g5rv. I am really centered on emcomms and satellite work, so this setup is not practical for me anymore. I need an all mode radio/mobile/base ( I prefer Yaesu or kenwood) that I can deploy with. I also have a Hy-gain crank up 52' with a heavy fold over base to trade, pictures can be seen at http ke5eup dot net. I am putting up a 100' tower and I already have a 70' crank up for emcomm, so this one needs a home, all pulleys and winches work, no rust, needs new cables. Why trade? It is just better for me, I am on a fixed income, and would rater trade than handle the money hassle. I am good on QRZ. Thanks, Al KE5EUP/AAR6CU/T BCARNTX, KCARC, ARRL, AMSAT ARRL WTX ARES EC Callahan County Races CLO ALT 42-059-D Callahan County

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Local news re: hams & sats
by wa6ilt＠verizon.net 25 Oct '07

25 Oct '07

See this link: http://www.telegram.com/article/20071020/002-FRONTPAGE/710200539&LID=002 This is our local weekly. Not a bad job. I didn't come up with the first part about commercial vs. hams; improper attribution. And I said the perfect satellite station location is a "bald mountain" (a high place without trees) not "Bald Mountain". There's also a front page picture with Nova running in the background. Sorry I couldn't make it to the Syposium but the vacation time is all used up. Maybe next year. Dave Reinhart wa6ilt(a)amsat.org

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Symposium presentations
by Jim Sanford 25 Oct '07

25 Oct '07

All: I have the display computer which will be used to show presentations during symposium. If you can, please get them to me early. I can accommodate a "stick", CD, or DVD. I'll be in the BOD meeting and "around"today and tomorrow. I can be reached at my cell, 757 869 7892. 73, Jim wb4gcs(a)amsat.org

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ISS & STS-120
by Jeff Yanko 25 Oct '07

25 Oct '07

Hi all! Around 0117z the ISS and STS-120 passed over Las Vegas, NV with a spectacular view. With the sun already behind the Spring mountain range to the west, it was leaving a light orange glow along the the top of the range. According to the keps, STS-120 was to appear first from the NW direction, followed by the ISS approximately 45 seconds later, both reached a zenith of 71 degrees in the clear desert sky. However, upon viewing the objects it appeared that the ISS was first and STS-120 was the one following. I am basing this observation on the magnitude of the objects. In any case, it was a nice sight to behold and will look forward to future sightings. 73, Jeff WB3JFS

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1st ISS Contact
by John Marranca, Jr 24 Oct '07

24 Oct '07

Hi all....well just wanted to "brag" a bit about having just worked Bruce, KE0LX via the ISS today! That was totally cool! I think the best part about it, besides the hi-tech factor, is the efficiency of it all. By that, it is cool how SO MANY can use it at the same time...and so easily. I literally came home from work, opened the package from Buxcomm that had my MDIN cable for my FT-817ND (already had the Rascal Interface), plugged it in, hit the PKT button, loaded UISS/AGWPE and that was it. I feel like a teenaged Novice again! 73s all...and enjoy the Conference. (I'll be listening via Echolink) John KB2HSH -- _______________________________ John Marranca, Jr PBX Technician/Shop Steward CWA Local 1122 BN Systems, Inc Orchard Park, NY (716)972-2006

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Re: 2 meter transverter
by George Henry 24 Oct '07

24 Oct '07

You mean you don't want to try a Drake TC-2? :-) (actually, I made LOTS of contacts on RS-10/11, RS-12/13, and RS-15 with that, an SC-2, and my B-line twins....) George, KA3HSW -----Original Message----- >From: Robert McGwier <rwmcgwier(a)gmail.com> >Sent: Oct 24, 2007 9:29 AM >To: amsat bb <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >Subject: [amsat-bb] 2 meter transverter > >My 2 meter DEMI is Tangu Uniform, I think the front end is zotted. If >there is anyone who can bring a 28 MHz IF, 2 meter transverter to the >AMSAT symposium, and has time to coordate that with Jim Sanford, please >do by emailing Jim. We only need one. ;-). > >I will not try to guess the infinite possibilities on hook up but the >drive will be XVTR IF output on the Flex 5000 (small) and the connector >to the Flex 5000 is via a BNC. The keying line on the 5000 is a RCA >female plug and it can be set for myriad ways of keying. I would prefer >a DEMI low power in 10+ watts out since I am familiar with those. > >73's >Bob > >P.S. The last minute is the most productive. Just keep telling yourself >that.

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Visual Opportunity for ISS - Tuesday
by JoAnne Maenpaa 24 Oct '07

24 Oct '07

Hi everyone, There will be a good opportunity for visual sighting of the ISS today at around 18:20 Central time for the midwest USA. Check out http://www.heavens-above.com for the visual specifics for your area. Clear skies! -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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2 meter transverter
by Robert McGwier 24 Oct '07

24 Oct '07

My 2 meter DEMI is Tangu Uniform, I think the front end is zotted. If there is anyone who can bring a 28 MHz IF, 2 meter transverter to the AMSAT symposium, and has time to coordate that with Jim Sanford, please do by emailing Jim. We only need one. ;-). I will not try to guess the infinite possibilities on hook up but the drive will be XVTR IF output on the Flex 5000 (small) and the connector to the Flex 5000 is via a BNC. The keying line on the 5000 is a RCA female plug and it can be set for myriad ways of keying. I would prefer a DEMI low power in 10+ watts out since I am familiar with those. 73's Bob P.S. The last minute is the most productive. Just keep telling yourself that. -- AMSAT Director and VP Engineering. Member: ARRL, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats, NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC. ARRL SDR WG Chair “An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?” Descartes

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AMSAT annual meeting
by Robert McGwier 24 Oct '07

24 Oct '07

Please come to the AMSAT annual meeting this weekend for a major announcement or two. MAJOR relief is within reach. AMSAT-DL will be present in the form of Hartmut, DL1YDD, with Phase 3 Express news. http://n4hy.smugmug.com/gallery/2408353#126251813 AMSAT-NA will be telling you of major news and a shift in our satellite building efforts towards our new goal. You too can say you were there when the AMSAT's told us how we were going to be given an opportunity to literally change amateur radio forever BUT ONLY IF YOU ARE THERE. Otherwise, wait for a month or two for the journal to come out. You first step in the info hunt. My paper for the symposium contains the words "Phase IV Lite". Be there or be square. Rick will have lots to say and content filled. Bob -- AMSAT Director and VP Engineering. Member: ARRL, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats, NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC. ARRL SDR WG Chair “An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?” Descartes

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AMSAT Meeting in Pittsburgh
by Robert McGwier 23 Oct '07

23 Oct '07

The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, Inc. (AMSAT), a non-profit 501c3 organization in the U.S. which designs, builds, launches satellites for the use of radio amateurs worldwide is holding its annual meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa. this coming weekend. http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2007/index.php As with all amateur radio endeavors of any significance, a lot happens as a result of holding these meetings, and usually in the last hours before the event. This one is no different but I take the time to write to you because of some significant things that will happen at this meeting. The following well known amateurs will attend in addition to the usual list of AMSAT suspects. Frank Brickle, AB2KT Designer and co-author of DttSP, the software core used in PowerSDR (Flex-Radio), uwSDR (http://uwsdr.berlios.de) , jSDR, DttSP-shell, and several others. Designer and author of the VR, a radio kernel to be used in software/cognitive efforts for robust distributed computing radio systems and recently described at the DCC. Contributor to GnuRadio and HPSDR. For a general introduction to the entire area please http://www.nitehawk.com/w3sz/start.htm Phil Covington, N8VB Designer, author, leading developer in the HPSDR offerings (http://hpsdr.org) including Atlas, Ozymandias with contributions to Janus, Mercury, Penelope, and more. Matt Ettus, N2MJI GnuRadio. Design of USRP and USRP2 for GnuRadio. And lead designer on the AMSAT Advanced Communications Package. http://ettus.com http://gnuradio.org/trac Hartmut Päsler DL1YDD (AMSAT-DL V.P.) Hartmut will be telling us of the current status of Phase 3E and their launch opportunities and about Bochum 66' Dish that has been used to receive signals from planetary probes. Bruce Perens K6BP formerly of Pixar and amongst other things, editor of the Bruce Perens Open Source series of books. http://www.informit.com/promotions/promotion.aspx?promo=135563&redir=1 http://perens.com/ Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR Owner of Flex-Radio, designer of the SDR-1000, Flex5000 CONTRIBUTOR OF A MAJOR SYMPOSIUM PRIZE!! At this meeting AMSAT-NA will announce a major new satellite opportunity for us and how we intend to take advantage of it if all the stars line up! President Rick Hambly, W2GPS, has been working nonstop on this and we are excited to tell you about it in the first level of detail we are able to give and how we will be proceeding. We have an international audience attending and the symposium agenda is available from the URL above and many great speakers. Ya'll come. I realize that this is the last minute but more than a little bit of this stuff happened in the LAST TWO WEEKS and until it was ready to release, we just couldn't. I am hoping to reach amateurs who are within driving distance of Pittsburgh or those who can decide at the last minute to come. I believe this is an AMSAT symposium you do not want to miss. Bob McGwier, N4HY -- AMSAT Director and VP Engineering. Member: ARRL, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats, NJQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC. ARRL SDR WG Chair “An optimist may see a light where there is none, but why must the pessimist always run to blow it out?” Descartes

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Re: Visual Opportunity for ISS & Discovery - Tuesday
by gregory.beat＠comcast.net 23 Oct '07

23 Oct '07

There was a beautiful pass on Sunday evening (7:10 PM CDT), with clear skies -- ISS passed just south of Chicago (only 344 km from my QTH), reaching - 2.4 magnitude (quite bright) and passing through the heart of the Cygnus consellation. -2.419:09:4010NW 19:12:3187WSW19:13:5527SE Tonight's pass is will be same magnitude, but about 50 minutes earlier 23 Oct-2.418:20:2410NW 18:23:1588WNW18:26:0810SE HAVE FUN -- LOOK for STS-120 Space Shuttle Discovery -- about thirteen minutes later in the "Race to Catch ISS" 23 Oct-1.118:33:1310WNW18:35:5464SW 18:38:3710SE Greg w9gb Date: Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:44:54 -0500 From: "JoAnne Maenpaa" <k9jkm(a)comcast.net> Subject: [amsat-bb] Visual Opportunity for ISS - Tuesday To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Message-ID: <001001c8159c$6be85990$6601a8c0@familyroom> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi everyone, There will be a good opportunity for visual sighting of the ISS today at around 18:20 Central time for the midwest USA. Check out http://www.heavens-above.com for the visual specifics for your area. Clear skies! 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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Office Closed
by Martha 23 Oct '07

23 Oct '07

The AMSAT office will be closed on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I should be back in the office on Monday, October 29th. -- 73- Martha

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AMSAT Meeting in PITTSBURGH (not Philly)
by Robert McGwier 23 Oct '07

23 Oct '07

Sorry! I typed Philadelphia (where I was last weekend) and I meant Pittsburgh, Pa which is indicated on the links. Ooops. Bob

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AMSAT Meeting in Philadelphia
by Robert McGwier 23 Oct '07

23 Oct '07

The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, Inc. (AMSAT), a non-profit 501c3 organization in the U.S. which designs, builds, launches satellites for the use of radio amateurs worldwide is holding its annual meeting in Pittsburgh, Pa. this coming weekend. http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2007/index.php As with all amateur radio endeavors of any significance, a lot happens as a result of holding these meetings, and usually in the last hours before the event. This one is no different but I take the time to write to you because of some significant things that will happen at this meeting. The following well known amateurs will attend in addition to the usual list of AMSAT suspects. Frank Brickle, AB2KT Designer and co-author of DttSP, the software core used in PowerSDR (Flex-Radio), uwSDR (http://uwsdr.berlios.de) , jSDR, DttSP-shell, and several others. Designer and author of the VR, a radio kernel to be used in software/cognitive efforts for robust distributed computing radio systems and recently described at the DCC. Contributor to GnuRadio and HPSDR. For a general introduction to the entire area please http://www.nitehawk.com/w3sz/start.htm Phil Covington, N8VB Designer, author, leading developer in the HPSDR offerings (http://hpsdr.org) including Atlas, Ozymandias with contributions to Janus, Mercury, Penelope, and more. Matt Ettus, N2MJI GnuRadio. Design of USRP and USRP2 for GnuRadio. And lead designer on the AMSAT Advanced Communications Package. http://ettus.com http://gnuradio.org/trac Hartmut Päsler DL1YDD (AMSAT-DL V.P.) Hartmut will be telling us of the current status of Phase 3E and their launch opportunities and about Bochum 66' Dish that has been used to receive signals from planetary probes. Bruce Perens K6BP formerly of Pixar and amongst other things, editor of the Bruce Perens Open Source series of books. http://www.informit.com/promotions/promotion.aspx?promo=135563&redir=1 http://perens.com/ Gerald Youngblood, K5SDR Owner of Flex-Radio, designer of the SDR-1000, Flex5000 CONTRIBUTOR OF A MAJOR SYMPOSIUM PRIZE!! At this meeting AMSAT-NA will announce a major new satellite opportunity for us and how we intend to take advantage of it if all the stars line up! President Rick Hambly, W2GPS, has been working nonstop on this and we are excited to tell you about it in the first level of detail we are able to give and how we will be proceeding. We have an international audience attending and the symposium agenda is available from the URL above and many great speakers. Ya'll come. I realize that this is the last minute but more than a little bit of this stuff happened in the LAST TWO WEEKS and until it was ready to release, we just couldn't. I am hoping to reach amateurs who are within driving distance of Pittsburgh or those who can decide at the last minute to come. I believe this is an AMSAT symposium you do not want to miss. Bob McGwier

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OSCAR-11 Report
by Clive Wallis 23 Oct '07

23 Oct '07

OSCAR-11 REPORT 22 October 2007 During the period 27 September to 22 October 2007 the satellite has been heard from 06 October to 08 October. The beacon switched on as expected, on 06 October, but prematurely switched OFF sometime between 08 and 09 October. Signals were weaker than usual. The on-board clock has continued to loose time. During the ten day OFF period it lost 72 minutes, and there was a further loss of 48 minutes during the last ON period. When last heard the clock error was 69.97793 days slow. The day of the week counter is unchanged with 0 representing Monday UTC. The premature shutdown has probably caused the watchdog timer to reset, and start a new 20 day cycle. If that has occurred then the beacon should resume transmissions around 29 October 2007. I am indebted to John N7ZL, John N3NKC, Thomas HB9SKA, and Peter ZL3TC, for their reports. Many thanks. The satellite is now in continuous sunlight and this will continue until the start of November, when there will be a short eclipse season, lasting until around 07 January. However the maximum duration of the eclipses will only be about 12 ninutes. At this level the satelite might just survive. John KD2BD has noticed a descrepancy between my eclipse predictions and those from his Predict program. This could explain why the beacon didn't switch on until mid September. The main cause of the problem was due to the use of old Keplerian elements. In previous years the it had been possible to use elements which were many months out of date, with only minor effects on the eclipse predictions. This year the orbit appears to be more critical. Different software also produces slightly different results. Many thanks John for your comments. 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, although over short periods timekeeping is accurate to 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. More data is required to determine exactly when the date changes. 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. When telemetry was last received it showed that one of the solar arrays had failed, and there was a large unexplained current drain on the main 14 volt bus. After 23 years in orbit the battery has undergone around 100,000 partial charge/discharge cycles, and observations suggest that it cannot power the satellite during eclipses, or sometimes during periods of poor solar attitude. The watchdog timer now operates on a 20 day cycle. The ON/OFF times have tended to be very consistent. The average of many observations show this to be 20.7 days, ie. 10.3 days ON followed by 10.4 days OFF. However, poor solar attitude may result may result in a low 14 volt line supply, which may cause the beacon to switch OFF prematurely, and reset the watchdog timer cycle. When this occurs, the beacon is OFF for 20.7 days. The Beacon frequencies are - VHF 145.826 MHz. AFSK FM ASCII Telemetry UHF 435.025 MHz. OFF S-band 2401.5 MHz. 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. There is an example of the latest telemetry received from the satellite. The website contains an archive of news & telemetry data. 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.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/ If you place this bulletin on a terrestrial packet network, please use the bulletin identifier $BID:U2RPT138.CWV, to prevent duplication. 73 Clive G3CWV xxxxx(a)amsat.org (please replace xxxxx by g3cwv)

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Re-Post from ANS - AMSAT-NA Space Symposium Begins This Week
by JoAnne Maenpaa 23 Oct '07

23 Oct '07

This information may be useful for those who do not read the ANS Bulletins. SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-294.01 AMSAT-NA Space Symposium Begins This Week AMSAT News Service Bulletin 294.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. October 21, 2007 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-294.01 The AMSAT-NA 2007 Space Symposium will begin this week! The AMSAT Board of Director's meeting on Thursday, October 25 kicks off the event. Symposium activities begin on Friday, October, 26. Amateur Radio Satellite Operators will find the AMSAT Space Symposium to be an exciting and rewarding event-filled weekend. Here are some of the features and events to look forward to: + AMSAT-NA Annual General Meeting - Saturday, October 27, 11:00AM Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4). This meeting will be on the AMSAT conference on EchoLink. + AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Meeting + AMSAT Directors and Officers will be available to answer your questions + AMSAT Annual Banquet with Keynote Speaker + Technical forums focusing on the latest planning and technology of Amateur Radio in Space + All Papers and Presentations will be published in the Symposium Proceedings for all registered attendees + Technical demonstrations of prototype flight hardware and software for AMSAT Eagle - the next generation in space + Discussions and demonstrations of SuitSat-2, ARISS, solid state RF power amp, antennas, AO-51 + Update on AMSAT's new Maryland Lab + AMSAT Area Coordinators' Breakfast and Meeting on Sunday Morning + IARU Satellite Forum + President's Club Reception + Satellite Beginner's Session: Introduction to Satellites + An operating satellite station capable of working AO-7, FO-29, AO-27, SO-50, AO-51 and VO-52 + N2SPI satellite antenna demonstrations and antenna construction with students + Meet and greet old friends and make new friends + Enjoy eyeball QSOs with satellite designers, builders, and operators from around the world + Sunday afternoon tour to the WPXI-DT Digital Studio The AMSAT Software Defined Transponder Team is working toward having an operational VHF - UHF transponder available for the entire weekend. Eagle Project Team members will be available to answer your questions and provide demonstrations. AMSAT-DL Vice-President and Board member Hartmut Päsler, DL1YDD will give a presentation about the current status of the P3-E project and P5-A. The full Symposium schedule has been posted on the web pages. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2007/index.php Talk-in for Symposium will be on 146.955/146.355 or 443.65/448.65 repeaters. Both repeaters use 131.8 Hz CTCSS. New to the Symposium this year is a selection of apparel that may be ordered. We have Symposium themed golf shirts, tee shirts, key rings ball caps. A percentage of these sales will go to Eagle. If you haven't registered yet you may do so at the Symposium site. [ANS thanks 2007 AMSAT Space Symposium Co-chairs Kevin N3HKQ, and Pat KC4WTT for the above information] /EX

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Easy Predicting GO-32 for the mobile!
by Robert Bruninga 22 Oct '07

22 Oct '07

I've been trying to come up with an easy GO-32 pass-time predictor for the mobile. This morning I got it! The Ground track of GO-32 repeats every 10 days! So All you need on your dash board is this strip of paper. Day1 Day2 Day3 Day4 Day5 Day6 Day7 Day8 Day9 Day1 ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- 0930 0910 1025 1005 0940 0920 1040 1015 0950 0930 1050 1055 2050 2030 2005 2125 2100 2040 2015 2135 2110 2050 2210 2145 2155 For example, today is Day3 in Wash DC. If you print these in fixed font, it will show you the pass times for any day and time zone and location, as long as you know what day sequence to be on in your area. And we can have GO-32 send down a table-of-days in its bulletins! So if you ever hear GO32 once, then you will have all you need for tracking for the next few months or so for your area! Initially, I assumed this table would be only for Washington DC (77 deg Longitude) and 40 deg latitude where I calculated it. But it should also apply anywhere at this longitude north or south and be off by less than 5 minutes or so. Then I thought we would need a different one for every 5 degrees of longitude... But then realized that just as the pattern repeats every 10 days in time, it also repeats incrementally in longitude! Since the longitude increment of GO-32 is about 26 degrees, that means these multiples of 26 degrees from Washington DC will have the same pattern on the same day as we do. And that every 2.6 degrees in between will have an additional day offset from ours. Wow, it can't get any simpler than that for mobiles to know when to use their rigs on GO-32 when traveling in wilderness areas. A similar table could be predicted for ECHO (AO-51) maybe. ELEVATION ANGLE: To keep the chart simple, I did not include max elevations, but that can be added in the final version. It is also easy to infer. The days with double passes are near 30 degrees each (barely detectible by the mobile) The days midway between these lowest peak passes are the highest elevations (75 or more degrees). And you can interpolate inbetween these. UPLINKS! The above table gives you only the BEST pass of the day for your location (passes above 30 degrees). This is the pass where you can expecet to receive the GO32 downlink on your mobile whip antenna. HOWEVER, every day, there is a pass exactly 100 minutes before and after each of those passes too. So now you have 6 chances a day to report your position in the wilderness and 2 chances a day to receive any APRS message traffic. Happy wilderness traveling! (Oh, and of course, make sure there is someone in your footprint that is SATgating your data into the APRS system so that your position and status and any emails get delivered.)... Bob, WB4APR

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FS: 432 Transverter
by Ronald Long 22 Oct '07

22 Oct '07

I am posting this for Bart, see below: ron w8gus ========== FS: Fukuyama MUV-430A, 144 MHz to 432-MHz 10-watt transverter. Has cross band mode for Satellite operation. 3 watts VHF drive for 10 watts UHF out. Replaced by a multi-band transceiver, so now spare to my needs. $95 + shipping 73, Bart W9JJ bjahnke(a)gmail.com ==========

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BBC News Report - How to build your own Sputnik
by Trevor 22 Oct '07

22 Oct '07

Thought this news report from the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) might be of interest: How to build your own Sputnik http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7049002.stm 73 Trevor M5AKA --------------- Daily Amateur Radio RSS News: http://www.southgatearc.org/ Email your news items to: editor at southgatearc.org News On Your Website: http://www.southgatearc.org/rss/index.htm News On Your PC: http://www.southgatearc.org/rss/newsreader.htm Upload Your News: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/your_news.htm --------------- ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Answers - Got a question? Someone out there knows the answer. Try it now. http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/

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Re: [ao51-modes] AO51 web page request
by Andrew Glasbrenner 22 Oct '07

22 Oct '07

Not yet, although the telemetry transmitter is running on 435.150. We are working on it every pass though, and hope to have it back running soon. 73, Drew KO4MA -----Original Message----- >From: >Sent: Oct 22, 2007 12:27 PM >To: ao51-modes(a)amsat.org >Subject: [ao51-modes] AO51 web page request > >Is AO51 back on line yet? > >Thanks........ >_______________________________________________ >Via the AO51-modes mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA >AO51-modes(a)amsat.org >http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ao51-modes

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Re: AO-7
by w4mvb＠juno.com 22 Oct '07

22 Oct '07

Hi Frank, Nice to hear from you. I also have been missing from the birds for some time but I did listen for AO-07 yesterday morning and this morning and heard nothing. Something has happened here to give me an S9 noise level on 10M so I can't tell if there is anything on mode A or not but I did not hear anything on mode B. VO-52 was good yesterday and today so I think I am receiving OK. I don't know whee all the other reports went but they seem to be missing this week end. 73 de Jess - W4MVB

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Icom Preamps for sale
by Andrew Glasbrenner 22 Oct '07

22 Oct '07

I have a pair of Icom preamps for sale, one AG-35 70cm preamp and one AG-25 2m preamp. Both work, although are they are well weathered. You'll need to supply your own new U-bolt. New price on these is currently about $160 each I think. I will sell either for $80 shipped, or the pair for $150 shipped (shipping via USPS Priority Mail in the US only, outside US will pay the difference please). Paypal is the preferred payment method. I can also deliver to Symposium in Pittsburgh this week. 73, Drew KO4MA

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ARISS-Europe needs your help!
by Stefan Wagener 22 Oct '07

22 Oct '07

Hi folks, A short time ago, two ARISS antennas for L/S band were installed on the European Space Laboratory Columbus. The Columbus module will be delivered to the International Space Station by a Shuttle mission in 2008. These antennas and associated equipment will allow us to work with and through the ISS on L and S band. This will be just fantastic and opens up great opportunities for Amateur Radio on the ISS. ARISS-Europe and its chairman Gaston Bertels ON4WF have done a tremendous job getting this done with the help of many others. Significant funds were raised by folks all around the globe and ESA (European Space Agency) has taken on a major portion of the cost. However, the project still needs to raise funds. Please go to: http://www.ariss-eu.org/columbus.htm and make a donation via PayPal or CC ( use the DONATE button). Please help our teams and give Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) a new set of equipment. Remember, this is for you and YES, every donation and amount will make a difference and secures our ability to continue to use amateur radio on the ISS! Thanks everyone, 73, Stefan VE4NSA

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AO-51 signals 21 Oct.2007
by Mineo Wakita 21 Oct '07

21 Oct '07

I received a piece of signal from AO-51. fm PACB-1 to TIME-1 ctl UI pid F0 PHT: uptime is 005/06:40:38 fm PACB-1 to BCR-1 ctl UI pid F0 BCR: batv=1210 bati=205 batsense=1365 battop=1210 batlow=0 batt1=517 batt2=1042 sav=106 sai=0. de JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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FW: OH to JH
by John Hackett 21 Oct '07

21 Oct '07

Mika, Congrats on the JH but remember, they're not allowed to use AO-7's mode-B uplink so I hope you didn't work Johnny Depp ... (a pirate). 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org> ....................................................... > Date: Sun, 21 Oct 2007 16:56:33 +0000 > From: sv1bsx(a)yahoo.gr > To: la2qaa(a)amsat.org > Subject: Re: OH to JH > > John, > > I think Mika is not a member. I remember that (and I surprised) > he answered only via Amsat-BB in a message which posted in both > reflectors, a few days before. > > I was searching the "Members" of Eu-Amsat", I didn't find him > with his known Email (oh8bmn(a)suomi24.fi) or with his callsign. > > Strange... how is possible to slide from our.... traps?! > > 73, Mak > > --- In eu-amsat(a)yahoogroups.com, John Hackett <archie.hackett@...> > wrote: > > > > > > Mika, > > I see you worked a JH station on AO-7 today at 11:58 > > (orbit 50703). > > > > I know what it takes to work Japan from Scandinavia on a LEO Mika, > well done!!!. > > > > 73 John. <la2qaa@...> > > > >

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HITSAT sounds today
by Mineo Wakita 21 Oct '07

21 Oct '07

Today I also heard HITSAT CW. http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/71021hit.wav de JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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AO-51 on 435.150 9600
by CE3SOC Raul Romero 21 Oct '07

21 Oct '07

iam hear AO-51 to 9600 baud Signal 5 mi Rig kenwood TM-733a Ant Disconne --------------------------------------------------------------------- "Are you still wasting your time with spam?... There is a solution!" Protected by GIANT Company's Spam Inspector The most powerful anti-spam software available. http://mail.spaminspector.com

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Re: Equipment and ITUNE
by john heath 20 Oct '07

20 Oct '07

Hi Tony and the list I also use the excellent InstanTrack software. Runs fine on an ancient laptop discarded by my employer. Didn't know about the option to use the parallel"printer" port on old PC's. Is that the way to do rotator control and Doppler at the same time. Serial port to the CAT port on the radio - doing this already Parallel port to the rotator control box - would like to do this What would the command line look like in the .cfg file 73 John G7HIA

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AO-7
by Frank A Cahoy 20 Oct '07

20 Oct '07

Greetings to all, I have not been QRV on any satellites for a couple of years. Trouble with my AZ rotor. It's now fixed and I've been trying to hear AO-7 and VO-52 on several recent passes. Success with 52 but nothing heard from AO-7. I've been reading on the BB about how well AO-7 is currently playing and I'm therefore discouraged that I seem unable to hear it. I have a pass in less than an hour from now but the bird seems to be mostly east of the gray line. Can I expect to hear it on such a pass? Always such good and quick responses via our BB. I'll be waiting for someone to tell me what I'm doing wrong. BTW, I have been listening both 10 m. and 2 m. downlinks. Sad day when I have to ask for some Elmering after working nearly 1K Qs on AO-40!! Thanks and 73 to all. Frank, K0BLT

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Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 2, Issue 652
by John Kopala 20 Oct '07

20 Oct '07

Pieter, I believe ICOM still offers the AG-25 and the AG-35 preamps. I bought a set of these around the end of March. They are still listed as available options for the IC-910H on the ICOM website. What is no longer available is the AG-1200 preamp, but you shouldn't have much need for that. John Kopala N7JK Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2007 09:16:33 +0200 From: "Pieter Kotze" <PKotze(a)csir.co.za> Subject: [amsat-bb] UHF/70cm preamps To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Message-ID: <471875F1.A154.0020.0(a)csir.co.za> Hello all In the past I have used the ICOM line of pre-amps e.g. AG-25 AG-35. It seems that these are no longer being made, have they been replaced by something new or is there simply not enough being sold for ICOM to make them anymore? I am looking for a mastmount UHF/70cm one, similar to the AG-35 which was a convenient size and could switch itself from RF transmissions. To make things that little bit more interesting I would like to use this at 400MHz as well. Regards Pieter ZS1PK/M0PAK

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Re: HITSAT heard
by Mineo Wakita 20 Oct '07

20 Oct '07

Hello Mike and ALL, Yes, HITSAT is still active only in full sunlight. de JE9PEL, Mineo Wakita

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Re: FO-29 new schedule
by Mineo Wakita 20 Oct '07

20 Oct '07

Hello Chris, This is UTC.

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Equipment.
by John Hackett 20 Oct '07

20 Oct '07

Dave, You wondered if I¨d share with the other satellite enthusiasts a few words about my equipment. > John, > > Having read your prior e-mail "AO-7 report" and the warnings about > running too much uplink power .... and using better receive, > I wonder if you would share with the readers what antennas, power at > antenna, resulting EIRP, and receive antenna and preamp you are using on AO-7. > > Maybe your example will help folks figure out what they need to > do. You probably remember that I have hammered on about using a > preamp (at the antenna) for years on this reflector. Certainly Dave, happy to oblige. First it must be noted, as I've been waffling on about for donkey's! years (Manchester slang = a long! time) that you *DO NOT* have to affluent to have a fully automated satellite station ... (nor does one need to be fully automated) ... that's just a "convenience". Let me also say, that if I could afford one of the "all singing, all dancing fully automated rigs with a CAT interface, I'd buy one, it's just that I've never been able to afford !!! one. My QRP power levels are not *ONLY* due to my being "sensible" ... (note the parentheses) ... the main reason has always been lack of availabler funds for satellite gear. One of my first "OBSERVATIONS" was entitled "Oscar 13 on a Shoestring" ... I digress. The radios are the FT-290/790 pair, now well over 20 years old but still providing adequate service. For AO-7's uplink the FT-790 feeds a modified Norwegian Telenor mobile base station amplifier that originally operated on 460Mhz. I hack-sawed off the first two stages, added a 6dB pad, "tweaked" the filter and fed it with 200mW from the 790 to produce 8 watts. I have 6dB of loss at 70cm with the RG-214 coax ... (scrounged from the oil industry installation here) ... so I have an EIRP of about 20 watts from the elliptically polarised home brew 2 x 6el beam. I have never found an elevation rotor to be a necessity. The 290 for AO-7's downlink is preceeded by a home brew BF981 preamp mounted at the aerial. At 2m an ultra-low noise gaAsFET preamp in my opinion is not necessary ... due to the inherant sky noise of approximately 2dB at 145Mhz *IN CERTAIN PORTIONS OF THE SKY* ... though at microwave and above, where the sky is quieter, they are a must. For LEO's, more important than a preamp IMHO is a polarity switcher. The debate of circular polarisation vis-a-vis ellipticasl can be found on the website ... <http://www.observations.biz/> The aerials at ... <http://www.observations.biz/Observations_from_Norway/Observations_15_04_200…> ... at the bottom of the page. For AO-7 at 1400-1600Km above the earth you don't need to bother too much about doppler correction but for LEO's like VO-52 that literally streak across the sky some sort of auto-doppler tuning is recommended. Even newcomers will be aware of the "One True Rule" ... (doppler tuning). This is all very well if you do! have the latest all singing/all dancing rice-box but what do you do if you operate with 20 year old rice boxes that don't have !!! CAT tuning?. You use a program called InstantTUNE together with InstantTRACK which allows automated doppler tuning using mic pushbutton rigs. Instantune only allows tuning EITHER the uplink or the downlink so if you want to be FULLY automated, you'll need a pair of old 386 IBM's (or equivalent) and a pair of monitorsd from the nearest computer company/school skip. Everything else I can think of is home brewed and is to be found on the OBSERVATIONS page mentioned earlier. A couple of useful links are ... <http://www.observations.biz/Observations_from_Norway/how_much_power_is_enou…> ... which illustrates what can be done with QRP and a shoestring buget. <http://www.observations.biz/Observations_from_Norway/howmuchpowerisenough.h…> Self explanitory. <http://www.planetemily.com/ao7/ao7log.php> ... everything you ever wanted to know about AO-7 is on this site ... I know, cos' I maintain it. If it's not there, ask me, it'll be in my archives. You'll find a lot of useful information here ... <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eu-amsat/?yguid=188558692> ... and it's all free. I hope this mail illustrates thast it is possible to operate amateur radio satellites on a shoestring buget. Remember, a *BIG* signal is not necessary a good signal. Have a nice day, all. 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

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RS22 telemetry
by Mike Rupprecht 20 Oct '07

20 Oct '07

Radio Sputnik 22 (Mozhayets 4) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- Date: 20.10.2007 Time: 11:51 UTC UBS 139 IBS 20 USUN 147 ISUN 68 ITXA 0 ITXB 0 TTXA 109 TTXB 107 TNAP 107 TCTR 108 TSBA 106 TSBB 124 MODB 129 MODC 6 MTX 163 MRX 32 OnBoard Voltage: 13,9 V OnBoard Current: 0,2 mA Charge Voltage from Solar Batterie: 14,7 V Charge current from solar battery 0,68 mA D.C. current of the 435 MHz TX: 0 mA D.C. current of the 145 MHz TX: 0 mA Temperature of the 435 MHz TX: 9 °C Temperature of the 145 MHz TX: 7 °C Temperature of the Navigation Unit: 7 °C Temperature of the Controller: 8 °C Temperature of the inner case: 6 °C Temperature of the outer case: 24 °C Housekeeping info: 129 Housekeeping info: 6 Housekeeping info: 163 Housekeeping info: 32 73, Mike DK3WN www.dk3wn.info

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AO-7 Full Power
by John Meeks 20 Oct '07

20 Oct '07

Orbit 50685 over North America AO-7 seemed to be in full MODE B. By the time I tuned in she had crosse3d 45 North with easy S7-9 signals coming in to my 7x7 RH Yagi. It's not so easy to type with my fingers crossed. John KC8ZFN

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Last Chance!
by Martha 19 Oct '07

19 Oct '07

This is your last chance to register through the AMSAT website for the 2007 AMSAT Space Symposium. Registration on the web will cut off at the close of business on MONDAY. After that you must register at the hotel. -- 73- Martha

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symposium
by Nick Pugh 19 Oct '07

19 Oct '07

The guy that I was traveling with to the symposium had to change this plans I am willing to share a room at the symposium. If you want to save $52 a night contact me off list nick k5qxj

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HITSAT heard
by Mike Rupprecht 19 Oct '07

19 Oct '07

All, today (both european morning passes) I heard HITSAT. It seems she is still active but only in full sunlight. 0938UTC hit 1 jr8yjt hit2 00000000002e hit3 2d5956s -> Reset hit1 jr8yjt hit 2 very very weak hit 3 3f53535655555555 hit4 4fe1d1e4 hit1 jr8yjt Temp +X face : 61,203 °C Temp -X face : 27,573 °C Temp +Y face : 22,769 °C Temp -Y face : 37,181 °C Temp +Z face : 22,769 °C Temp -Z face : 29,975 °C Temp Transceiver: 32,377 °C Temp Battery : 37,181 °C Prim. Battery : 7,539 V Sec. Battery : 7,969 V 5 Volts : 4,974 V 5.5 Volts : 5,448 V RSSI : 0,898 V 1114 UTC hit1 jr8yjt hit2 000000000028 hit3 2956535654555255 Temp +X face : 116,452 °C Temp -X face : 8,356 °C Temp +Y face : 15,562 °C Temp -Y face : 8,356 °C Temp +Z face : 13,160 °C Temp -Z face : 10,758 °C Temp Transceiver: 17,964 °C Temp Battery : 10,758 °C RSSI : 0,781 V 73, Mike DK3WN

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SSB Electronics SP-2 2 meter preamp
by Joseph Trombino Jr 19 Oct '07

19 Oct '07

I recently picked up an SSB Electronics SP-2 2 meter preamp. Can any SP-2 users out there in Amsat land comment on its performance?? Anyone have a copy of the manual they could send to me as a PDF??? Is the performance of the SP2000 light years ahead of the SP-2??? I'm planning on using this preamp for the HEO downlinks when the birds are finally in orbit. Thanks in advance for any info. 73, Joe W2KJ

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Wow !!!.
by John Hackett 19 Oct '07

19 Oct '07

Hi All, Friday 15:39Z. I've not heard the AO-7 mode-B transponder this loud for 2 years !!!. Somebody had better keep an ear out for the beacon ... stranger things happen at sea !!!. 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

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For Sale
by Bill Miller 19 Oct '07

19 Oct '07

For Sale: Yaesu 736R SYMEK IF Modifications 9600 and 38400 (144 & 440mhz only) SYMEK TNC3S High Speed Packet Controller If interested, contact me - kk2l@comcast .net

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FO-29 new schedule
by Mineo Wakita 19 Oct '07

19 Oct '07

Oct. 22 none 23 03:32 - 24 04:22 - 25 03:28 -, 05:11 - 26 04:18 - 27 03:23 -, 05:10 - 28 02:30 -, 04:13 - 29 none 30 04:08 - 31 03:15 -, 05:00 - Nov. 1 04:05 - 2 03:10 -, 04:55 - 3 04:00 - 4 03:05 -, 04:50 - 5 none 6 03:01 -, 04:46 - 7 03:50 - 8 02:55 -, 04:41 - 9 03:45 - 10 02:53 -, 04:35 - 11 03:41 - 12 none

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UHF/70cm preamps
by Pieter Kotze 19 Oct '07

19 Oct '07

Hello all In the past I have used the ICOM line of pre-amps e.g. AG-25 AG-35. It seems that these are no longer being made, have they been replaced by something new or is there simply not enough being sold for ICOM to make them anymore? I am looking for a mastmount UHF/70cm one, similar to the AG-35 which was a convenient size and could switch itself from RF transmissions. To make things that little bit more interesting I would like to use this at 400MHz as well. Regards Pieter ZS1PK/M0PAK -- This message is subject to the CSIR's copyright terms and conditions, e-mail legal notice, and implemented Open Document Format (ODF) standard. The full disclaimer details can be found at http://www.csir.co.za/disclaimer.html. This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. MailScanner thanks Transtec Computers for their support.

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RIT for FT-726R?
by Bob Stewart 18 Oct '07

18 Oct '07

I realise this radio is getting quite dated, but it's what I have. :) One of the biggest obstacles to me for working the SSB birds is that the FT-726R doesn't have a proper RIT function. Instead the thing has a "Clarifier" which is active during both transmit and receive, and disables the tuning knob. So, I was wondering if anyone has ever modified the Clarifier to function as an RIT? It looks like it wouldn't be too hard; perhaps with an opto-coupler and a dropping resistor. I didn't find anything on the mods.dk site. Bob - AE6RV

3 5

SatScape Help
by Ed Tump 18 Oct '07

18 Oct '07

Folks, Anyone using SatScape? I am trying to DL it but the zip file is always corrupted. Anyone have a good zip file they could email me? Thank you, Ed

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Re: Mechanical diagrams Yaesu g-5500
by Stephen E. Belter 18 Oct '07

18 Oct '07

Marc and Paul, Follow the link from this URL: http://home.comcast.net/~aa4df02/radiootr.htm AA4DF has a clean PDF of the 5400/5600 for no charge. > Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:49:38 +0100 > From: "Paul Luggar" <luggsey(a)hotmail.com> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Mechanical diagrams Yaesu g-5500 > To: "Marc Stonestreet" <stonestreet(a)osis.co.za>, <amsat- > bb(a)amsat.org> > Message-ID: <BAY123-DAV17FA241B38EB3F0BD98EA5B99E0(a)phx.gbl> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; > reply-type=original > > I just checked my manual for the 5500 and there is no exploded > view diagram, > I did ask Yaesu UK for such when I repaired my 5500 but they > said there was > nothing they could give me..... > The 5400/5600 is very similar in construction and I do have a > exploded view > diagram for that but I would need to get someone to scan it for > me. If > anybody else can point you in the direction of a source online > for this > diagram that would help you otherwise contact me off list and I > will try to > help. -- Steve Belter, N9IP

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Re: From where???
by John Hackett 18 Oct '07

18 Oct '07

Hello Dave, I was born within spitting distance of the JODRELL BANK ... (University of Manchester) ... Radio telescope, in the county of Cheshire, England 1n 1946. Served in Her Majesty's Service ... (British Army Signals) ... UN service ... (around the world) ... NATO Norway from 1970 until retirement, been here ever since. Now old, bald and senile ... like AO-7, trying to keep my last surviving brain cell "illuminated". I appreciate the feedback Dave. "Observations From Norway" ... (paper format) ... used to be quite popular in Oscar News and The Amsat Journal ... until three heart attacks kinda' knocked the wind out of my sails ... 3 in quick succession tend to give you a message ... crank it down a notch. Of course, the "hard" living around the globe had nowt to do with it. Just came out of hospital again, this time with some plastic tubing in my groin/leg ... I doubt if they did a microwave oven test on it so I expect it's not microwave or space-rated. The clowns refused !!! to allow me to set up the satellite array in the intensive care unit so I did a runner at the first opportunity ... at a rapid rate of knots ... spoilsports !!!. You said ... <Keep all your AO-7 stuff coming .... maybe some of these >kids will get the message. That is the humble intention Dave. Preferably dressed in a dose of light-hearted humour. We need to recruit the youth and not have Amsat end up like the two "gentlemen" in the balcony on The Muppet show. Anybody !!!!! can critcise. "Constructive" criticism is what's needed. 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org> ............................................................................... > Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2007 09:47:35 -0700 > To: la2qaa(a)amsat.org > From: dguimon1(a)san.rr.com > Subject: From where??? > > I am curious about your home country??? Your English is >too good to be a "LA"!! > > Keep all your AO7 stuff coming....maybe some of these kids will get the message!! > > > > 73, Dave wb6llo(a)amsat.org > Disagree: I learn.... > > Pulling for P3E... >

2 1

Mechanical diagrams Yaesu g-5500
by Marc Stonestreet 18 Oct '07

18 Oct '07

Hi all I have been searching the net to find mechanical drawings / exploded diagrams of the rotator system for the Yaesu G 5500. They are not easy to find... I am quite surprised at this as the product seems to be in (fairly) common use. Does anyone have these diagrams? We have a (possibly) damaged rotator that we want to strip and fix it but I cannot find any tech diagrams. I would appreciate any help or links. Thanks in advance Marc Stonestreet -- Marc Stonestreet Oceanography and Meteorology Ocean Satellite Imaging Systems stonestreet(a)osis.co.za website: www.osis.co.za Tel 021 780 1021 Fax 021 780 9041 This email is 100% Microsoft Free

2 1

P3E?
by Mel Roberts 18 Oct '07

18 Oct '07

Is there any recent update to the status of P3E and a potential launch date and launch vehicle? The AMSAT-DL web site is out of date as is AMSAT-NA. 73 Mel W3MR

5 4

Re: AO-51
by Andrew Glasbrenner 17 Oct '07

17 Oct '07

Hi Chad, I've been getting a lot of the same inquiries, so I hope you don't mind if I share this reply with the -bb. We are making good progress in reloading the software necessary to run AO-51, although it was a bit of a rocky start. Gould and I hope to have it reloaded by this weekend, but I can't promise it will happen. Interested stations can use TlmEcho to watch our progress on the 435.150 downlink. This downlink may only be on over the Southeastern US depending on how far along we are. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Ops ----- Original Message ----- From: Chad Wasinger To: glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 3:29 PM Subject: AO-51 Hey Drew, Just curious to what the status is on the software reload on Echo? I hadn't seen anything come across the BB, but could of missed an update if there was one. Thanks, Chad N0YK

2 1

P3D Video
by Jeff Davis, KE9V 17 Oct '07

17 Oct '07

Just noticed a new Arianespace promotional video posted with some great views of the auxilary payloads from flight V135 -- that included P3D. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9WDBg0Xdbo> Very interesting and worth a look. 73, Jeff, KE9V

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Worked N5AFV/VE9
by John Marranca, Jr 17 Oct '07

17 Oct '07

Good Afternoon fellow Satellite Jockeys! Just wanted to pass along an observation from this past week. Al N5AFV has been operating from the Canadian Maritimes, handing out RARE grid squares. I worked him today on SO-50 whilst he was in New Brunswick. How very excellent...since I have as of yet to work NB on HF, and I've been a ham for almost 20 years! Thanks again, Al! -- _______________________________ John Marranca, Jr PBX Technician/Shop Steward CWA Local 1122 BN Systems, Inc Orchard Park, NY (716)972-2006

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Re: From where???
by Dave Guimont 17 Oct '07

17 Oct '07

>Hello Dave, > I was born within spitting distance of the JODRELL > BANK ... (University of Manchester) ... Radio telescope, in the > county of Cheshire, England 1n 1946. > >Served in Her Majesty's Service ... (British Army Signals) ... UN >service ... (around the world) ... NATO Norway from 1970 until >retirement, been here ever since. Very good, John, that explains the "English".. I'm 85, and still trying to act like a kid, but really not accomplishing it now!! I'm a retired US Navy fighter pilot, retired in 1967 after WWII, Korea and Vietnam...25years total service... Sounds as tho you have control of the heart thing... I had a small stroke about six weeks ago, still feel some of the downers from it, but gradually adapting.. Am sure we both thank the Good Lord for what we have remaining... I've worked them all since 07, hope we get P3E pretty soon...Good we have ESA.....NASA does nothing for AMSAT, except use us to advertise themselves!! Oh well, got to have something to complain about!! Nice to hear from you... 73, Dave wb6llo(a)amsat.org Disagree: I learn.... Pulling for P3E...

1 0

AMSAT Awards
by Bruce 17 Oct '07

17 Oct '07

Awards this week are: We would like to welcome the following to the satellite community. They have made their first satellite contact and are now members of the AMSAT Satellite Communicators Club. John Marranca, Jr., KB2HSH South Africa AMSAT Communication Achievement Award Fernando Martins, CT2ISG, #US114 To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards ARRL Awards Manager (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on W0KIE Intelsat Americas, T1, 6.2/6.8Mhz Also streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org

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Where's the lightning?.
by John Hackett 17 Oct '07

17 Oct '07

Hello All, AO-7's mode-B transponder absolutely *THUNDERING* !!! in this morning at 08:20 UTC. (Okay !!! ... S5 ... alright?). 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

2 1

AO-7 report.
by John Hackett 17 Oct '07

17 Oct '07

Regular users will have noted that the AO-7 mode-B transponder has begun to "behave" again. We're still not sure 'exactly' what happened, several "theories" have been bandied about ... what is certain !!! is that it was a power related problem so let us concentrate on *NOT* belting her with excessive power. When you can't hear yourself adequately ... IMPROVE YOUR RECEIVE CAPABILITIES. Cranking up your transmit power to compensate for an inadequate receiving system is *NOT* the way to go. Remember ... AO-7 is running at less than optimum in all 4 modes. Let's not accelerate her second demise by screwing up the power budget anymore than it already is. Excessive power *WILL* shorten the satellite's life. If, through lack of experience you don't understand why ... please take the trouble to find out. I read on the Internet yesterday one prominent satellite operator, a PA station, list part of his equipment as 100w and 2 x 10 element beams. He specify whether this was 100w EIRP or 100w fed to the aerials ... I most certainly hope it was *NOT* the latter since assuming a line loss of 3dB that would give an EIRP of well over 500 watts with today's compact 10 element beams ... enough to melt the plastic holding AO-7's solar panels on the spaceframe. (Yes, I'm kidding ... but 500w EIRP is 450 too many for AO-7). Please remember, 31 years ago not all the "bits n' pieces" were space-rated. Three things you should improve for better AO-7 operating. 1) Receive capability. 2) Receive capability. 3) Receive capability. At 06:27 UTC this morning I noticed something I havn't heard for two years ... that which I presume was echos of the BMEWS radar, I was rather "bemused" (pun intentional). It sounded like a rapid machine-gun like auroral woodpecker ... or if you've never experienced aurora propagation, like blowing through your nose into the neck of a glass bottle ... "keying" it at about 65 wpm. GM1SXX and myself suspected the Fyllingsdale BMEWS radar situated on the north Yorkshire moors in the UK ... BMEWS = ballistic missile early warning system. For a detailed description see ... <http://www.observations.biz/Joint_Observations/BMEWS_ed.htm> 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

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AO-7 & Weggies.
by John Hackett 16 Oct '07

16 Oct '07

Mak, When the power from the solar panels is less than optimum, the satellite's control system starts to send random code from the memory, which will turn the transponders on or off in a predetermined sequence assuming there is enough voltage to control the circuits properly ... BUT !!! ... several factors can and do change the system parameters. This is what I've been babbling on about all along for several weeks now. At first, everybody assumed I'd gone round the bend ... (mad) ... with my 'Greyline' theory but now, a few people are actually considering the possibility. Unfortunately, I'm not very coherent so I leave the "explaining" to GM1SXX ... where he can do all the work and I can take all the credit ... a 50/50 division of labour. We have to distinguish between actual fact, that which is wishful thinking and probability. We can safely assume that the Old Girl's behaviour and mode selection/power output is (indirectly) determined by the solar array ... (read: amount of sunlight) ... and directly by the onboard electronics. (That was mistake Nr: 1 ... calling a female !!! an "Old Girl"). Your solar panel and my blue weggie theory (*)... (thanks to GM1SXX for providing the "space" name for the Greyline) ... do seem to fit the facts ... even if we can't prove it. <http://www.observations.biz/Joint_Observations/Observations_14_10_2007.htm> The onboard electroncs *MAY* be explained after GM1SXX and I have got our thieving little fingers on the original schematics ... (which are still in Washington "as we speak") (*) Any self-respecting American knows what a "weggie" is but in this case it's Manchester vernacular for "wedge" and has nowt to do with "cheeks" of any kind. 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org> ..................................................................................... >From SV1BSX. Well John, definitely the "Old-girl" is back again very Loud the last 2 days. Last evening I was QRV on Mode/A, the signals was SUPER also on this Mode. Never I heard it too much strong. So, I wondering why this "drop down" the last days. Have you any idea about the spin of this Satellite? I was thinking that, the AO-7 is octagonal. So, the Solar panels are numbered No1, No2, No3.... No 8 (each one on each side of octagonal). If we have ie the No2, No3 & No4 Panels with limited Power output and the Spin is Low, may be here we have the following scenario: a) when these "limited power Panels"(No2,3,4) are forward to Sun, the Satellite is very weak due to poor Power budget. b) when the rest-good Panels are forward to Sun, the Satellite is stronger. .................................................................................. That explain partially the mystery, why the Satellite is a bit stronger when the Satellite is approaching to the Daylight. Simply, the rest "good" Panels help a bit the (low) Power bugdet even if not straight-forward to the Sunlight.

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Agenda for AMSAT Space Symposium
by Martha 16 Oct '07

16 Oct '07

The agenda for the 2007 AMSAT Space Symposium has been posted on the AMSAT website. -- 73- Martha

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PrimeSat Controller for sale - Price amendment.
by Dave Aitch 16 Oct '07

16 Oct '07

"The PrimeSat Controller is a complete and automatic controller for Satellite Communication Stations. When there is the need to communicate by voice or data through a circular or elliptical, low or high orbit satellite, it is absolutely essential to have a continuous adjustment of the antennas and station operating frequencies, in order to guarantee the best alignment and RF signal, as also the correct frequency compensation due to Doppler effect." http://www.primetec.pt/products.php?sec=2&cat=3&prod=12&lang=en Mail direct for any questions. Prefer to sell in the U.K. For sale @ £120:00p Cheers, Dave.

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TNC-to-HT Cables
by Clint Bradford 16 Oct '07

16 Oct '07

Ed - Associated Radio makes your needed cable. http://www.associatedradio.com Clint Bradford, K6LCS 909-241-7666

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Re: RS-22 Loud and Clear
by Henk, PA3GUO 16 Oct '07

16 Oct '07

Yes, indeed a nice sat to listen to. Same holds for CO55/CO57/CO58/HO59. And RS15 ! On my website I have mp3's available. Observing these satellites: - keeps you trained on CW - tests your automated doppler (eg with HRD) - notice that sat's need ~1 character before their freq is stable - look in an mp3 editor at the waves: you see signal strenght variations - those variations are repeatable & each sat is unique - overhead doesnt mean max link: antenna of sat may point somewhere else ... lot of fun ! Henk http://www.qsl.net/pa3guo

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Need help with TNC cable
by Ed Tump 16 Oct '07

16 Oct '07

Folks, I am trying to buy or make a cable for my Kantronics KPC3 to go from the TNC to my Yaesu FT60 which uses the 4 conductor single plug. Any ideas? Thank you, Ed

1 0

Primetec PrimeSat Contoller
by Dave Aitch 16 Oct '07

16 Oct '07

The PrimeSat Controller is a complete and automatic controller for Satellite Communication Stations. When there is the need to communicate by voice or data through a circular or elliptical, low or high orbit satellite, it is absolutely essential to have a continuous adjustment of the antennas and station operating frequencies, in order to guarantee the best alignment and RF signal, as also the correct frequency compensation due to Doppler effect. http://www.primetec.pt/products.php?sec=2&cat=3&prod=12&lang=en Mail direct for any questions. Prefer to sell in the U.K. For sale @ £150:00 Cheers, Dave.

1 0

Re: Moon Missions are possible
by Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] 16 Oct '07

16 Oct '07

If we are forgetting about the rocket contest would it not be simpler to toss the camera idea all together too? The cost for the Russian lunar fly by trip is $100 million per person (Source http://www.spaceadventures.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Lunar.Details). I would be really surprised if they would crack the hatch to toss a satellite and remember that human space flight certification is not simple. Might want to forget that idea too. If NASA is going to the moon in 2010, AMSAT better have someone submitting proposals to the design team building the landers NOW! It takes about 3-4 years to get through the process and you'll want to be fully integrated instead of a last minute add on that can also be a last minute removal. It will be a much easier road to be part of an unmanned craft. Bob can tell you how much fun it is to certify hardware for a manned space flight. Human spaceflight certification is not simple. How do you aim the gain antennas once the lander is down? I presume it matters greatly where the lander is on the moon as to how complex the aiming mechanism will be. As you state, power is the biggest challenge. Need to find that out soon before plans can really move forward. Too bad we didn't get in on the SELENE project from Japan (http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/selene/index_e.html), we'd be in orbit around the moon now. Kenneth - N5VHO -----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of MM Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 6:47 AM To: Ric Letson, NB2E; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Moon Missions are possible Here is my 2-cents. Forgot about the rocket contest. Building a rocket to fly and land on the moon is beyond most of our capabilities. The amateur radio community has very limited funds and only ~2 million users world wide. My suggestion for getting to the moon is to Piggyback on someone else's rocket. Just like we have been doing for years with Arian and Leo-sat applications. Lets plan on going to the moon without the contest. NASA is going to the Moon starting in 2010-2015 with Unmanned landers. So, why build a rocket and lander when we can hitch a ride on the NASA lander. Look at all of the money we can save. No rocket, No navigation, No controlled lander. All we have to worry about is getting a cube sat size box to pass the tough nasa flight saftey requirments. And we could have it running in 5 years or less from the moon. Keep It Simple Details. Camera: Re-use NASA existing lander cameras and use those to send back to earth a few SSTV or digital images via Amateur Radio. When ever possible, reuse existing hardware, do not redesign the wheel. Transmitter: A simple Mode B / J Transponder (2 meter and 440), for SSB/CW. Sorry the moon is too far away for FM. We can copy the Analog Transponder circuits for AO-10. The A0-10 satellite is still running when it has good sun, so that proves the concept of the stable Analog circuit. Avoid DSP and complex digital circuits, Radiation will kill them. I chose Mode B and J becaue this is the most popular format, its what the hams want! We do not want GHZ! Antennas: If possible try to reuse the existing antennas from the Lander. If not, then stuff on a pair of 9 dBd Helix loops. Power: Here is the hard part. I still do not know what the plans are for providing power to the landers. If it's Nuclear, Great, we will have power for 24/7. Solar panels would work for 14 days per month. If its battery only, we are kaput. As for the contest, If some billion dollar university wants to take on the project, Great. The ham community can design the transmitter and focus on what we do well and leave the rest to the billion-dollar university. Other deep space Flights: There are some Russian companies looking into the possibility of Moon-Flyby-Tourist rockets. Tourist can pay $50 million and then fly to the space station. After a few days on the space station, they will then fly to the Moon. They will not land; they will just do a few orbits and then return to earth. Now we will have the opportunity to put ham gear on the Tourist rockets and maybe even toss a ham satellite out the door from Moon Orbit. 73 Miles WF1F www.marexmg.org ________________________________________________________________________ ____________ Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today! http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7 _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: LEO in Europe
by John Mock KD6PAG 16 Oct '07

16 Oct '07

I have had considerable experience in the 'States in mode J-FM, including operation under challenging circumstances while traveling by car on my Southwest trip earlier this year. I got back recently from two weeks in France. I also made another trip to France two years ago. My experience on both trips was that i found mode J-FM was definitely more difficult for me overseas. There were a number of things that made it seem alot harder for me. First, many stations in/near Europe seemed to want to do a full four-way exchange rather than the often abbreviated form that i often hear in the 'States. Here, my experiences is that when two stations already know each other, or they know the satellite is particulary busy, they will just quickly give their calls (often in quick phonetics) and maybe the grid square in four characters if they haven't said it recently. On the other hand, overseas, the exchange is six characters and appeared to take alot longer. So alot fewer stations seem to complete QSOs during the passes i tried to work than i experience at home. This seemed further complicated by language barriers. While most stations seemed to speak some English, on the average, it did not sound like their primary language. So folks necessarily had to speak slower and repeat things more often. Third, the passes that i tried to work seemed alot busier. I gave up on weekend passes on my last trip, as even on SO-50, i couldn't seem to get a word in edgewise. With a 10 minute walk to where i could find a decent horizon, it just wasn't worth the effort. The weekday passes i worked were better, but they still seemed to me to be as busy as the transcontinental passes over the 'States on weekends. Fourth, there did seem to be more stations who either seemed to be calling without being able to hear the downlink, or perhaps heard it poorly enough that maybe they could only work the strongest stations??? It's certainly something i've experienced alot in the 'States, but usually it's only one or maybe two stations on a given pass that seemed to have that problem. Finally, i didn't seemed to know how to get people to answer me. In the 'States, one just transmits their callsign and grid square, and people answer if either seems unfamiliar. That didn't seem to work for me (but then again, i wasn't hearing my own downlink very often). Was it just a matter of too much competition??? After all, i was only running 1W or maybe 2W, which usually works fine in the 'States. Did i need to call CQ?? I was reluctant to do that, as at home, unless the bird is very quiet, calling CQ usually a clear indication that one is a neophyte and can't hear the satellite. I'm really not sure how to increase my success rate while in Europe. Next time i'm overseas, i'll certainly try again. But only if i don't have to walk very far to do a satellite pass. *SIGH* -- KD6PAG (Networking Old-Timer, Satellite QRPer) [Note: If i'm in your address book, please replace 'qsl.net' with 'amsat.org'.]

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