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Sputnik celebrations at G0SFJ
by andy thomas 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

Many thanks to all who have contributed to the Sputnik-1 celebrations today. My PC (active while I was at work) will submit a SWL report across the pond for a certificate of the AO-51 "expression" this morning - although my .wav fie was running fast for some strange reason. This is a timeshifted swl report. Thanks. Thanks also to Rob G8ATE for the contact on GB5OSO just now. Despite the best efforts of Midland Mainline, who cancelled my train and delayed the one half an hour later by 10 mins (how do you explain the prpblem to customer service?) I made a breathless contact with GB5OSO on SO50 at my TCA. Breathless because of the hill on the way home as well as the excitement. G0SFJ will support the National Space Centre ARS GB2NSC on Saturday and Sunday with operation on the birds /QRP/P with an Arrow, and with a private exhibition of Sputnik 1 memorabilia, largely radio oriented, as you might expect. I'll also have a unique CD of recordings from various sputniks and vostoks made by Roy Rippin 50 years ago, he is an SWL in our local Radio club, Welland Valley ARS. And of course I'll demo my Sputnik-1 TLE's **LIVE**(less 50 years). Many thanks to all. And Happy 50th Birthday, Sputnik-1. 73 de andy G0SFJ __________________________________________________________ Are you a hoarder? Then you'll love Yahoo! Mail with unlimited storage. http://uk.mail.yahoo.com

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Re: Keep It Simple, MM
by Juan Rivera 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

All, I plan to give two presentations at the AMSAT Symposium and one will focus almost exclusively on zero defect surface mount technology (SMT.) As Frank points out, SMT has been used extensively in space for many years. Unfortunately, many people believe they can transfer their previous thru-hole PCB experience to surface mount. This is a recipe for disaster. The two technologies are totally different. SMT requires a completely new way of thinking. The margin between high reliability and disaster is very thin. A firm understanding of the unique issues associated with SMT coupled with attention to small details is essential if you want to avoid early failure. The other huge issue that is often not fully appreciated is the impact of radiation on modern components. As I'll show at the Symposium, the old familiar 14 and 16-pin plastic DIP devices were quite robust and could tolerate fairly high doses of radiation. This is not necessarily true anymore. This is why commercial and military payloads use rad-hardened, space-rated, and screened components. Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) devices are manufactured for use in a benign environment where failures can be corrected by replacement or repair. They are not designed for space. They are not tested for space, and you must accept a higher degree of risk it you use them. 73, Juan - WA6HTP On 10/3/07, Jim Sanford <wb4gcs(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > Frank: > Have you seen Juan Rivera's work on the UHF RX? He's learned and > published a bunch about surface mount for our purposes. Your validation > and/or commentary would be very valuable and appreciated. > > Thanks & 73, > Jim > wb4gcs(a)amsat.org > > > Frank H. Bauer wrote: > > I feel compelled to comment on one specific item that Dave questions in this > thread---surface mounted components in space. > > I have worked at NASA for 32+years and have led or guided avionics teams > throughout NASA for a large part of that time (15+ years). For many years > we have used surface mount technology in our avionics products. I was quite > proud of our (Goddard) surface mount capabilities. One of our techs was an > expert on the installation, removal and replacement of surface mountcomponents.an expertise that is highly sought after. This technology is a > mainstream capability within the space community. > > So I need to say that this myth is "busted" > > 73, Frank, KA3HDO > > > > Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2007 22:20:55 -0400 > From: "David B. Toth" <ve3gyq(a)amsat.org> <ve3gyq(a)amsat.org> > Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Keep It Simple, MM > To: MM <ka1rrw(a)yahoo.com> <ka1rrw(a)yahoo.com>, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20071001220931.03f3beb0(a)pop3.wcoil.com> <6.2.3.4.2.20071001220931.03f3beb0(a)pop3.wcoil.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed > > At 08:06 AM 10/1/2007, MM wrote: > > > Keep It Simple Silly KISS > By Miles WF1F > > The direction of this tread is caution. I am not suggesting that we do > not use digital technology for satellites, just that we need to be > careful of the technology. The Space environment is not kind to > digital circuits. Digital circuits are easily corrupted by solar > radiation and thermal stresses. A digital circuit designed for use on > Earth many not survive the rigors of outer space. This is partially > because of the Size of a transistor inside a modern CPU. > > In 1978 a computer transistor was made up of wires 3 microns in size. > Today's CPU Itanium, uses wires 0.18 microns in size. The new DSP > chips used on Digital radio will be some where in-between. With the > wire sizes in the 0.20-micron range, it's much easier for solar > radiation to cause temporary shorts, which can cause system crashes. > > > The SDX is a software-defined radio ... it does not necessarily, and > probably does not, use a DSP chip. > > > > > Keep It simple. A small satellite that does one or > two features is better than one big satellite that > does 10 big features. > > > At the cost of launches and satellites, i think this point is easily > disputable. > I am sure that the engineers are looking at an overall systems approach, AND > they've done this before. The difference is the addition of a > software-defined approach, which WILL be space-tested in SuitSat2 anyway > > > > > > Axle lead Resistor and through-hole mounting of > components are much more resilient in space than > surface mount components. > > > Miles, do you have any data to support this statement because right > off-hand, I can't see why this would be true. > > > > > Hardware is not your only problem; you also need to > Extensively Test the software that runs the satellite > project. > > > This is not the first satellite these guys have built - I think they > had this somewhere on their "To-Do List" ... > > > > > > The Analog satellites AO-7 (launched Nov 1974) and > AO-10 (June 1983) are still there when the sun is > shining. > > > Well, that is actually a bug, not a feature. We need to have a way > that we can guarantee that when a satellite dies, it STAYS dead. That > was a real sticking point with Larry Kayser when he was still alive. > These things pop up, un-controlled, and if we had enough of them, > they'd be an interference problem. > > > 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 > >

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Thanks for Sputnik Event
by Pughkeithd＠cs.com 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

I would like to add my thanks for a superb event. I copied most of the last two passes over NA on my IC R-20 and recorded the audio. This will be used along with Visual Sightings of the ISS and construction of 1/4 scale models of Sputnik (6" Styrofoam Ball and Wood Dowels) for a Sputnik 50th Birthday Party with 39 Elementary School Kids at an after school program this Friday, 5 Oct. Hopefully, we will capture the Kid's interpretation of this event in a request for one of the certificates. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the Kid's together to do it live. Thanks again! 73 - Keith, W5IU

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Re: THANKS TO ALL FOR THE SPUTNIK EVENT
by Reicher, James 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

It was great! My 8 year-old and 5 year-old boys listened with awe in their eyes as the bird came into view. I've been trying to spark their interest for years, and this may have done the trick! Thanks to all who put this together. 73 de N8AU, Jim in Raymore, MO Light travels faster than sound... This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. Date: Wed, 3 Oct 2007 22:55:08 -0400 From: "John Marranca, Jr" <jmarranca(a)bnsystems.com> Subject: [amsat-bb] THANKS TO ALL FOR THE SPUTNIK EVENT To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Message-ID: <8edcdb130710031955r7ecda932o1dbd5bbe1d77b8be(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Tonight was truly fantastic and historic. My thanks to all for the hard work they undoubtedly put into this night. Fifty years ago today, that same sound was certainly met with fear and trepidation, as well as amazment and curiosity. The idea of a transmitter orbiting the earth...and at a time when the Cold War and countless "space-themed" B-Movies....it must have been incredible. Great event! Can't wait fot the certificate to come! John KB2HSH

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ao51/sputnic1
by Robert Turlington 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

Hi All looks as if AO51 is in v/u mode at the moment dave G1OCN has been sending Sputnic1 audio over the bird but also had a short contact with him form GB5OSORegards Robert G8ATE _________________________________________________________________ The next generation of MSN Hotmail has arrived - Windows Live Hotmail http://www.newhotmail.co.uk

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GB5OSO activity
by Robert Turlington 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

Was on the ao-7 mode a pass just after 0800utc but no activity worked a couple on vo-52 and 4 on SO50 now waiting for the next few passes to come up Active also on 7.06 ish at the momentRegards Robert G8ATE _________________________________________________________________ 100’s of Music vouchers to be won with MSN Music https://www.musicmashup.co.uk

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OCTOBER 9th Presentation on Curing RFI By Jim Brown, K9YC
by Eric Rosenberg - W3DQ 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

The Potomac Valley Radio Club is proud to announce that renowned audio and RFI expert Jim Brown, K9YC, will be making a presentation to the PVRC at Capitol College in Laurel Maryland on Tuesday, October 9th, 2007. This a rare opportunity to learn about audio and RFI mitigation from one of amateur radio's most well-respected authorities on audio engineering, and RFI and its mitigation. K9YC is an active contester and DXer from his QTH in Santa Cruz, California, and currently serving on the Board of Directors of NCCC. He became interested in music and radio as a teenager, falling in love with jazz and Bach, and qualifying for an amateur radio license before his 14th birthday. Three years later he received Amateur Extra Class and First Class Radiotelephone licenses, and entered the Electrical Engineering program at the University of Cincinnati. He received the BSEE in 1964 and has worked in broadcasting and professional audio since 1960. Since 1985, his consulting practice has specialized in the design of sound systems for worship, performance, and sports facilities. More recently, his focus has expanded to include research and consulting on EMC issues. Jim is a Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), and a member of the Acoustical Society of America, the Society of Broadcast Engineers, and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, and has presented invited papers to all of those societies. He is a member of the AES Technical Committee on Acoustics and Sound Reinforcement, and the AES Standards Committee's Working Groups on Microphones, Intelligibility, Acoustic and Sound Source Modeling, Digital Audio Transmission, and Audio Connectors, and is Vice-Chair of the Standards Working Group on EMC and Chair of the AES Technical Committee on EMC. K9YC's excellent publications on audio and RFI can be found on his website: http://audiosystemsgroup.com/K9YC/K9YC.htm THIS PRESENTATION IS OPEN TO ALL! ---------------------------------------------- MEETING DETAILS: Date & Time: Tuesday, October 9, 2007, 7:30 PM Location: Avrum Gudelsky Memorial Auditorium Capitol College 11301 Springfield Rd Laurel, MD 20708 301-369-2800 / 800-950-1992 Directions From Washington, DC, and south of Laurel, MD: Take the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (Exit 22 North off I-95) to the Beltsville/Powder Mill Road exit. Turn left onto Powder Mill Road, then turn right onto Springfield Road. Follow Springfield Road for one mile. Capitol College is on the right. Directions From Baltimore and north of Laurel, MD: Take the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (Exit 7 South off I-695) to the Beltsville/Powder Mill Road exit. Turn right onto Powder Mill Road, then take the first right onto Springfield Road. Follow Springfield Road for one mile. Capitol College is on the right. Capitol College website: http://www.capitol-college.edu PVRC Contact Information: Eric Rosenberg, W3DQ (w3dq <at> arrl.net)

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Sputnik Re-creation Audio
by Clint Bradford 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

Here's a meager .wav file with tonight's special AO-51 audio, as received in Southern California with minimal equipment... WONDERFUL EVENT, AO-51 CONTROL TEAM! http://web.mac.com/clintbradford/Site/Blog/Blog.html Clint Bradford, K6LCS / KAF3359 909-241-7666

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Sputnik Broadcast
by Clint Bradford 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

Wonderfully loud and clear in DM-13 Southern California. MANY THANKS. Clint Bradford, K6LCS / KAF3359 909-241-7666

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"Ask the man who owns one..."
by Margaret Leber 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

Anybody who hasn't had enough Sputnik this week can visit BoingBoing: http://www.boingboing.net/2007/10/03/richard-ultima-garri.html -- Margaret Stephanie Leber CCP, SCJP SCWCD <maggie(a)voicenet.com> http://voicenet.com/~maggie AOPA 925383 -- Amateur Radio Station K3XS -- ARRL 39280 -- AMSAT 32844 "The art of progress is to preserve order amid change and to preserve change amid order."-A.N.Whitehead

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THANKS TO ALL FOR THE SPUTNIK EVENT
by John Marranca, Jr 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

Tonight was truly fantastic and historic. My thanks to all for the hard work they undoubtedly put into this night. Fifty years ago today, that same sound was certainly met with fear and trepidation, as well as amazment and curiosity. The idea of a transmitter orbiting the earth...and at a time when the Cold War and countless "space-themed" B-Movies....it must have been incredible. Great event! Can't wait fot the certificate to come! 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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AO-51/Sputnik event extended for European participation
by Andrew Glasbrenner 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

We are in the process of enlisting some EU stations, and have extended the event until approximately 1330 UTC October 4th. This should allow our EU friends to participate during their morning passes of Oct 4th. We could still use a few more stations with good L band uplinks to uplink the audio, particularly in Northern Europe. Contact me at ko4ma(a)amsat.org as soon as possible if interested. 73, Drew

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Re: Terrestrial QRM to AO-27 and SO-50
by Bob Stewart 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

--- Bob Stewart <bob(a)evoria.net> wrote: > I may have found the culprit, though I'm not entirely sure, yet. > I've sent an email to the group that I found, and I'll report > back on the results. It seems to be in the right area. Right area, wrong repeater. :( What I found was only a typo. Back to square one. Bob - AE6RV

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Sputnik One broadcast
by Maurice André Vigneault 04 Oct '07

04 Oct '07

Clear copy of AO-51 message and Sputnik transmission at 0001 UTC from my balcony with a three element hand held UHF antenna. "Congratulations on the 50th anniversary of the launching of Sputnik One" followed by bursts of data. We alerted the community here in Ottawa on a local repeater giving all coordinates and several stations copied and greatly enjoyed the exercise. Thanks for the efforts. Maurice-Andre Vigneault, VE3VIG AMSAT-NA member #36358 AMSAT-NA Club member #A-0499 AMSAT-NA Area Coordinator

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Re: AO-51/Sputnik event extended for European participation
by G0MRF＠aol.com 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

In a message dated 02/10/2007 20:05:40 GMT Standard Time, glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com writes: We are in the process of enlisting some EU stations, and have extended the event until approximately 1330 UTC October 4th. This should allow our EU friends to participate during their morning passes of Oct 4th. We could still use a few more stations with good L band uplinks to uplink the audio, particularly in Northern Europe. Contact me at ko4ma(a)amsat.org as soon as possible if interested. 73, Drew That's a shame. I have spent time trying to arrange a contact with the special event station that will be active on the day on AO-51. Will scrap plans to take the station into my school. Now no possibility to have a QSO. Wish I had known this earlier. Still, will listen and hopefully send a report. David

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Terrestrial QRM to AO-27 and SO-50
by Bob Stewart 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

I may have found the culprit, though I'm not entirely sure, yet. I've sent an email to the group that I found, and I'll report back on the results. It seems to be in the right area. Bob - AE6RV

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AMSAT Space Symposium
by Martha 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

For those people who would rather not register for the Meeting through the AMSAT store, you can register via phone by calling 301-589-6062. Don't forget to go to the website and check out the Symposium apparel! -- 73- Martha

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October 4th 1957.
by John Hackett 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

Enjoy!. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6937964.stm> 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

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October 4th 1957.
by John Hackett 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

Ladies and Gentlemen, (Yes, there ARE ! several Ladies among the satellite enthusiasts). Never mind the bickering re: schedules etc regarding the sounds emitted from the steel ball on the 4th of October 1957. For those not managing to catch it via AO-51 you can always listen to the original recording ... (and many, many more) ... on the following web page ... <http://www.dd1us.de/historical%20sounds%20from%20space.html> 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

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Re: Terrestrial QRM on AO27 2100z pass
by John Marranca, Jr 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

Dave: Yes, it was pretty bad. I worked you on that pass...and it was a bear. One thing that I DID realize, however, is that not only was AO-27 in range at 2100, but SO-50 was also. I wonder how much interference was caused by that happening. Anyway...thanks for the QSO. 73 de 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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mutual windows between GB5OSO and NA 4th Oct
by Robert Turlington 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

NOVA indicates that there are a number of mutual windows between GB5OSO and NA ao7:- 1200,1353,2112 (east coast USA) so50:-1019,1201,1343,1524,1705,1847 (east coast Canada)VO52:-1321,2248 (east coast Canada) I will call CQ in the middle of the linear passbandRegards Robert G8ATE (GB5OSO) _________________________________________________________________ Feel like a local wherever you go. http://www.backofmyhand.com

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Winlink Positions on APRS
by Robert Bruninga 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

During yesterday's Satellite demo of APRS via GO32: As I was zooming in on Annapolis, Maryland, to see our own station, the map seemed lit-up with more stations than usual. As I zoomed in to the mile scale, the area was full of APRS reporting boats. http://mm.aprs.net/map.cgi?map=APRSworld&lat=39&lon=-76.5&call=* &range=.5 Then I realized it is the annual boat-show weekend. On closer inspection, it seems these position reports are not on APRS VHF, or APRS Satellite, but are on WinLink HF. Steve's APRS FINDU.COM engine collects them from WinLink and adds them to the APRS system! Now, with the APRS format for including operating frequency in all position reports (and built-into the D710 radio), once that is integrated with the WHOIS system, then we will have one picture for all of ham radio for finding other hams and their operating frequency. See: http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/localinfo.html Bob, WB4APR

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Earth imaged by Japanese Lunar probe
by Kevin Forbes 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

>From the Radio Jove list ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi All, Good news! The Earth taken by the onboard HDTV of the KAGUYA http://www.jaxa.jp/press/2007/10/20071001_kaguya_e.html The KAGUYA is equipped with Jupiter radio receiver. The frequency range is from 10kHz to 30MHz. The sweep rate is every 2 seconds. Our Jupiter radio scientist is considering the simulataneous observations from ground observing stations. RadioJOVE on the moon may be possible. (^^); Professor and Dr. Kazumasa Imai Kochi National College of Technology, Japan http://www.ee.kochi-ct.ac.jp/~imai/drimai.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ Advertisement: It's simple! Sell your car for just $30 at CarPoint.com.au http://a.ninemsn.com.au/b.aspx?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fsecure%2Dau%2Eimrworldwide%…

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Re: SUD (Small Ugly Dish)
by Eric H Christensen 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

Sil, I look to Robert W0LMD (and others) for information on patch feeds. You may want to check out http://www.ultimatecharger.com/dish.html to see some projects that were done on the larger dishes. 73s, Eric W4OTN >Eric, > >I've googled and looked in more traditional places for generalised >design data for patch antennas but come up empty handed. If you can >suggest anywhere I might find some engineering design guides I'd be very >happy. I want to build some for various frequencies, not just 2,4 GHz. > >Thanks > >Sil > > >Eric H. Christensen wrote: >> Thanks Bob. I figured as much but I thought I'd ask. I'm going to try >> to set it up for S-band operation. I'm going to try to build a patch >> from ordinary items from around the house. Maybe I can document it and >> show others how to build their own setup to help demystify 2.4GHz. >> >> >> 73s, >> Eric Christensen, W4OTN >> AMSAT Area Coordinator - Southeastern Virginia USA >> AMSAT Member 35360 >> http://www.ericsatcom.net >> >> Donate to the Eagle Fund - >http://www.amsat-na.com/donation.php?donate=eagle >> >> >> >> Bob Bruninga wrote: >> >>>>Back to my "new" [18"] dish... Being that it >>>>is an offset dish, is 1.2GHz possible with >>>>this dish? >>> >>>No. >>> >>> >>>>Anyone tried this? >>> >>>Yes. I tried it for our satellite labs for students and althogh I get about >14 dB or so measured gain with it at 2.4 GHz, at 1.2 GHz, it was nothing more >than a big piece of metal giving no more gain than a flat reflector... maybe >between 3 to 6 dB. >>> >>>See the photo of its use at 2.4 GHz on the top of this page: >>> >>>http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/ea467.html >>> >>>With the antenna for one of those $75 wireless camera receivers at the focal >point, and the companion little wireless camera as a signal source a mile away >with only its 1.5" whip antenna, we receive the picture perfectly with a >margin of at least 16 dB. This means the picture would still be good out to >maybe 6 miles... >>> >>>It sure is an easy way to get into Amateur TV. Even though it does not even >require a license.. >>> >>>But if there are wireless LANS around, then the picture gets lots of QRM.. >>> >>>Bob, Wb4APR >>> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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: Keep It Simple, MM
by Frank H. Bauer 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

I feel compelled to comment on one specific item that Dave questions in this thread---surface mounted components in space. I have worked at NASA for 32+years and have led or guided avionics teams throughout NASA for a large part of that time (15+ years). For many years we have used surface mount technology in our avionics products. I was quite proud of our (Goddard) surface mount capabilities. One of our techs was an expert on the installation, removal and replacement of surface mount components.an expertise that is highly sought after. This technology is a mainstream capability within the space community. So I need to say that this myth is "busted" 73, Frank, KA3HDO Date: Mon, 01 Oct 2007 22:20:55 -0400 From: "David B. Toth" <ve3gyq(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Keep It Simple, MM To: MM <ka1rrw(a)yahoo.com>, amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Message-ID: <6.2.3.4.2.20071001220931.03f3beb0(a)pop3.wcoil.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed At 08:06 AM 10/1/2007, MM wrote: >Keep It Simple Silly KISS >By Miles WF1F > >The direction of this tread is caution. I am not suggesting that we do >not use digital technology for satellites, just that we need to be >careful of the technology. The Space environment is not kind to >digital circuits. Digital circuits are easily corrupted by solar >radiation and thermal stresses. A digital circuit designed for use on >Earth many not survive the rigors of outer space. This is partially >because of the Size of a transistor inside a modern CPU. > >In 1978 a computer transistor was made up of wires 3 microns in size. >Today's CPU Itanium, uses wires 0.18 microns in size. The new DSP >chips used on Digital radio will be some where in-between. With the >wire sizes in the 0.20-micron range, it's much easier for solar >radiation to cause temporary shorts, which can cause system crashes. The SDX is a software-defined radio ... it does not necessarily, and probably does not, use a DSP chip. >Keep It simple. A small satellite that does one or >two features is better than one big satellite that >does 10 big features. At the cost of launches and satellites, i think this point is easily disputable. I am sure that the engineers are looking at an overall systems approach, AND they've done this before. The difference is the addition of a software-defined approach, which WILL be space-tested in SuitSat2 anyway >Axle lead Resistor and through-hole mounting of >components are much more resilient in space than >surface mount components. Miles, do you have any data to support this statement because right off-hand, I can't see why this would be true. >Hardware is not your only problem; you also need to >Extensively Test the software that runs the satellite >project. This is not the first satellite these guys have built - I think they had this somewhere on their "To-Do List" ... >The Analog satellites AO-7 (launched Nov 1974) and >AO-10 (June 1983) are still there when the sun is >shining. Well, that is actually a bug, not a feature. We need to have a way that we can guarantee that when a satellite dies, it STAYS dead. That was a real sticking point with Larry Kayser when he was still alive. These things pop up, un-controlled, and if we had enough of them, they'd be an interference problem. Dave

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GB5OSO active on 4th October 2007 on Sats & HF
by Robert Turlington 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

Starting at approx 0800utc until 2300utc 4th October 2007 GB5OSO will be active on all suitable analogue Satellite passes and HF 14.280+- Qrm to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the worlds first artificial earth orbiting satelliteRegards Robert G8ATE _________________________________________________________________ Feel like a local wherever you go. http://www.backofmyhand.com

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AO-51 / Sputnik Event
by Clint Bradford 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

>>...and have extended the event until approximately 1330 UTC October 4th... >...Hey, that screws up my schedule... Wow...Europeans complained earlier today that they were left out of this event - and Andrew spends hours of his day coordinating European stations to accomodate them. Maybe we should be a little more vocal with our own, personal events on this list, because, David, I do not remember seeing a post from you about your event. And Andrew asks us EVERY MONTH for suggestions for the following month's AO-51 operating modes. Clint Bradford, K6LCS 909-241-7666

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Keep It Simple, MM---One more comment
by Frank H. Bauer 03 Oct '07

03 Oct '07

Miles, I did not catch this item in your posting. I think you are about a decade off. We used 386 CPUs on our spacecraft in the mid-1990's. Reference---XTE and TRMM. We are WAY past that technology---several generations. When it comes to parts selection, you have to be very careful on what you use as some parts are more resilient to SEUs and radiation. But I have seen some of the best from the AMSAT community in this department. 73, Frank, KA3HDO "In 2004 ago I was visiting NASA Goddard and I was talking to an engineer building a new communications satellite. I asked him "What CPU and OS do you use". He responded, "We use Intel 80386 and our own Operating System". He said, the 1.5-micron technology of the 80386 is more radiation resistant than the new Pentium CPU's." ------------------------------------------- From: "MM" <ka1rrw(a)yahoo.com> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Monday, October 01, 2007 5:06 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Keep It Simple, MM Keep It Simple Silly KISS By Miles WF1F The direction of this tread is caution. I am not suggesting that we do not use digital technology for satellites, just that we need to be careful of the technology. The Space environment is not kind to digital circuits. Digital circuits are easily corrupted by solar radiation and thermal stresses. A digital circuit designed for use on Earth many not survive the rigors of outer space. This is partially because of the Size of a transistor inside a modern CPU. In 1978 a computer transistor was made up of wires 3 microns in size. Today's CPU Itanium, uses wires 0.18 microns in size. The new DSP chips used on Digital radio will be some where in-between. With the wire sizes in the 0.20-micron range, it's much easier for solar radiation to cause temporary shorts, which can cause system crashes. In 2004 ago I was visiting NASA Goddard and I was talking to an engineer building a new communications satellite. I asked him "What CPU and OS do you use". He responded, "We use Intel 80386 and our own Operating System". He said, the 1.5-micron technology of the 80386 is more radiation resistant than the new Pentium CPU's. On the Mir Program, we noticed that simple Off-the-Shelf TNC modems seemed to only have a life space of 2-3 years before we began to notice Frequent Lockups and other strange issues. On ISS, a year after we activated the second PacCom TNC, it began to lock up almost weekly during its last month of operation. The Kenwood TM-D700 on ISS ran ok for three years until it was discovered there were some anomalies in the software settings. The radio was taken off Public access for a year until the crew was given time to do a manual partial reprogram of a few channels. Neither the cause of the anomalies or the extent has been determined. One of the ISS crew was allegedly asked once, "What do you do all day", he allegedly said, "Reboot computers" They have 50 laptops on ISS. In closing Use caution in your designs. Keep It simple. A small satellite that does one or two features is better than one big satellite that does 10 big features. The more transistors, the more points of failure. Axle lead Resistor and through-hole mounting of components are much more resilient in space than surface mount components. Hardware is not your only problem; you also need to Extensively Test the software that runs the satellite project. You can never do too much Testing. The Analog satellites AO-7 (launched Nov 1974) and AO-10 (June 1983) are still there when the sun is shining. 73 Miles WF1F www.marexmg.org

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Terrestrial QRM on AO27 2100z pass
by DOBarrows＠aol.com 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Tonight I heard two sources of QRM that didn't seem to belong. The first was a woman speaking in Espanol. I could only recognize a series of digits in part of the transmissions somewhat reminescent of the "numbers lady" on 75 meters back in the late 1960s. Get out your decoder rings. The second source of QRM was a pretty normal USA sounding guy talking to his friend. At this point, I felt competing urges - just listen and try to get a call sign or try to get in over his signal. I could see the time of the pass ticking away so I answered some else who was looking for a AO27 contact. Dave W8IJ Camp Hill, PA ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com

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FT-736R IF Panadapter?
by Dave hartzell 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Hi all, Just wondering if someone has ever tapped the 13.69 MHz receive If of a Yaesu FT-736R. This looks doable on the schematics, but I haven't opened the chassis yet. I'd like to use an SDR-IQ for this... Thanks, Dave n0tgd

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Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 2, Issue 617
by Clint Bradford 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Don't forget our own AMSAT-NA Web site - it has audio clips of Sputnik, too! http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/sounds Clint Bradford, K6LCS / KAF3359 909-241-7666 > With the 50th anniversary of Sputnik this Thursday, I've added to > W0RPK's list of interesting sites on the Internet along with a > couple of our member's reminiscences for publication in our local > contesting club (Potomac Valley Radio Club) newsletter.

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ao-51 on Thursday
by Robert Turlington 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Looking at the ao-51 sked and various postings on the BB, I assume that the only hams that will hear the D/L are in NA presumably the transponder will be off for the rest of the WorldRegards Robert G8ATE (GB5OSO) _________________________________________________________________ The next generation of MSN Hotmail has arrived - Windows Live Hotmail http://www.newhotmail.co.uk

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Re: ao-51 on Thursday
by Andrew Glasbrenner 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Essentially correct unless a EU station willing to retransmit the Sputnik audio message on L band steps forward. Before and after the period posted the satellite will be available in the normal V/U repeater mode. 73, Drew KO4MA -----Original Message----- >From: Robert Turlington <rob_g8ate(a)hotmail.com> >Sent: Oct 2, 2007 11:39 AM >To: Amsat Buleitin Board <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >Subject: [amsat-bb] ao-51 on Thursday > > >Looking at the ao-51 sked and various postings on the BB, I assume that the only hams that will hear the D/L are in NA presumably the transponder will be off for the rest of the WorldRegards Robert G8ATE (GB5OSO) >_________________________________________________________________ >The next generation of MSN Hotmail has arrived - Windows Live Hotmail >http://www.newhotmail.co.uk >_______________________________________________ >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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New NASA Slogan
by Clint Bradford 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

WINNER: Exploring Other Worlds, Understanding Our Own 2nd NASA: Explorers Wanted 3rd NASA: Bringing the Universe to Your Doorstep And the one that made me laugh the hardest: NASA: We Find Your Lack of Faith Disturbing http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/10/and-the-winner-.html Clint Bradford, K6LCS

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Re: Keep It Simple, MM
by Dave Taylor 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Miles, you know better than this. The D700 problem has nothing to do with being in space. It was caused by a crewmember making unauthorized changes to the D700 programming while playing with SSTV. -- Dave, W8AAS On Oct 1, 2007, at 8:06 AM, Miles WF1F wrote: > The Kenwood TM-D700 on ISS ran ok for three years > until it was discovered there were some anomalies in > the software settings. The radio was taken off Public > access for a year until the crew was given time to do > a manual partial reprogram of a few channels. Neither > the cause of the anomalies or the extent has been > determined.

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Sputnik Related Internet Sites and More...
by Eric Rosenberg 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

With the 50th anniversary of Sputnik this Thursday, I've added to W0RPK's list of interesting sites on the Internet along with a couple of our member's reminiscences for publication in our local contesting club (Potomac Valley Radio Club) newsletter. Enjoy! Eric W3DQ Washington, DC ---------------------- AUDIO ITEMS ON SPUTNIK FROM NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: Weekend Edition Sunday (Sept 30, 2007) Space Race Permeated Pop Culture http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14845436 News Analysis: Remembering Sputnik by Daniel Shorr http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14841107 Sputnik: The Shock of the Century' Interview with Author Paul Dickson http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14841104 All Things Considered (Sept 30, 2007) Sputnik Left Legacy for U.S. Science Education www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14829195 Weekend Edition Saturday (Sept 29, 2007) Khrushchev, Schorr Look Back on Sputnik http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14829415 Talk of the Nation (Sept 28, 2007: 45 min) Sputnik I, the First Satellite to Orbit Earth, Turns 50 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14799200 All Things Considered: (Oct 4, 2002) Walter Cronkite: How Sputnik Changed the World http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1151147 All Things Considered (Oct 4, 1999) Sputnik Anniversary http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1064887 All Things Considered (Oct 1, 1998) Sputnik Satellite Inspired Congress to Create NASA http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1033054 Talk of the Nation (Oct 3, 1997: 1 hr.) SPUTNIK http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1010850 All Things Considered (Oct 4, 1987) Igor Kripinov: I Remember Sputnik http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4462087 SPUTNIK HISTORICAL INFORMATION Sputnik-1 http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1957-001B Sounds of Sputnik http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/sound/sputnik.wav Full-scale replica at the National Air & Space Museum http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/gal100/sputnikclsup.jpg Korolev, Sputnik, and The International Geophysical Year http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/sputnik/siddiqi.html Thrills of the Earliest Days http://www.svengrahn.pp.se/trackind/getstart/oldcyts.htm Geoff Perry's radio work with his students at the Kettering (UK) School was highlighted in a "NOVA" television documentary, "The Schoolboys Who Cracked The Soviet Secret", which first aired in December 1989. The group continued to operate after Mr. Perry's retirement from teaching in 1984. Perry and his associates published numerous reports in the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society and in US government publications as well. DID YOU HEAR SPUTNIK? from Jim W3CP: “My W3CPB logbook has a note for 7 Oct. 1957: "20.03 mc heard Russian satellite at 0305 GMT for about 5 min" and "20.006 mc heard from 2318 to 2330 GMT.” The accuracy of those frequencies is uncertain since for receiving I was using a surplus RAX. I had the orbital data as I was working at NRL. from Chuck, W4XP: “Not only do I remember listening to Sputnik 1, even though I was too young to understand the significance, but Sputnik II about a year later (at least I was told it was Sputnik 2). I also remember sitting in the ham shack of my Friend Terry Perrault, WA6MVV (SK), not very many years later, listening to OSCAR-1's HI. from Bob, W9GE: “We listened to Sputnik on my dads Hallicrafters S20R. Amazing how far we have come technologically and politically since that day. You must be a bit older...I was to young for chem in 1957. But not too old to have Polio that year. Remember that stuff? from Ron W8RJL: “How many of you actually heard Sputnik live? I sure did. I was standing in my grandmother's kitchen when I heard the first news flash about the Russians launching Sputnik. I'll never forget that day. The announcer told the orbital speed (unbelievable) and described a satellite but there was no telemetry audio broadcast at that time. Somewhere I read about the telemetry frequency (near the 15 meter band) so I turned on my Hallicrafter S-76 and using my home brew 15 meter 2 element Yagi heard Sputnik come over the horizon, pass over, and die away. Wow what an experience!!! I got out the tape recorder and made a tape which I gave to WCHI the local radio station plus I took my recorder to high school so everyone in my chemistry class could listen to it. One of my classmate's father was a photographer for the local newspaper. She told her dad about the tape and soon after I made the front page of the Chillicothe Ohio newspaper with a photo of my station. It was a good plug for ham radio. -------------------------------

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AO-51 Sputnik 50th Anniversary Event
by Andrew Glasbrenner 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Good Evening, Everything is set for our Special Event on Wednesday night. Please listen on the following passes of AO-51 over North America to hear original Sputnik 1 telemetry via AO-51: October 3, ~2350 to ~2358 UTC October 4, ~0127 to ~0145 UTC ~0308 to ~0326 UTC ~0452 to ~0503 UTC >From ~2350 to ~0505 UTC AO-51 will not be available outside of the Sputnik downlink over North America. The downlink frequency will be 435.300 plus or minus doppler shift, and the downlink power will be higher than the normal repeater levels. There will be a nice QSL certificate available by sending reception reports and a 9"x12" SASE to 3375 Taper Ave, San Jose, CA 95124, USA. Please allow several weeks for turnaround time. I hope everyone enjoys this event, and thanks to all that have helped put it together. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Ops LM 2332

2 2

AO-51 Commemorates Sputnik I
by Clint Bradford 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

> There will be a nice QSL certificate available by sending reception > reports > and a 9"x12" SASE to 3375 Taper Ave, San Jose, CA 95124, USA. > Please allow > several weeks for turnaround time. Andrew - How "formal" must the reception report be? Is there a form you want used? Clint Bradford, K6LCS

2 1

GO-32 APRS experiments Tuesday
by Bob Bruninga 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Next Tuesday on the 9 and 10 AM EDT passes over the East Coast, we hope to do a class demonstration via GO-32. We will be looking for other APRS stations and trying to message anyone we see. Mark your calendar if you get a chance. More will be posted later. If anyone can run heir sat station as an IGate, that too would help us capture all packets. thakns Bob WB4APR Naval Academy Satellite Lab

2 2

AM6155 432 Conversion question
by Steven Raas 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Hello everyone, I am moving slowly along in my conversion of my AM6155 ( W3RJW Method ) and I am at the point of installing new 200pF silver mica caps in the grid compartment. I would have used the old ones, but I have lost them, and in the conversion paperwork they don't call for any particular voltage rating. I have found these caps available @ 500v and 1000v ( Both 200pF silver mica ) and I am wondering which I should use? Or if it really matters? Thanks 73 Steven J.Raas QRV From FN20vg on 2/432 Terestrial-Sats-Digital-EME Member of - ARRL & AMSAT Supporter of N3FJP Software <http://www.n3fjp.com/> http://www.n3fjp.com Home Page - <http://n2jdq2007.tripod.com/> http://n2jdq2007.tripod.com/

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Re: Keep It Simple, MM
by David B. Toth 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

At 08:06 AM 10/1/2007, MM wrote: >Keep It Simple Silly KISS >By Miles WF1F > >The direction of this tread is caution. I am not >suggesting that we do not use digital technology for >satellites, just that we need to be careful of the >technology. The Space environment is not kind to >digital circuits. Digital circuits are easily >corrupted by solar radiation and thermal stresses. A >digital circuit designed for use on Earth many not >survive the rigors of outer space. This is partially >because of the Size of a transistor inside a modern >CPU. > >In 1978 a computer transistor was made up of wires 3 >microns in size. Today's CPU Itanium, uses wires 0.18 >microns in size. The new DSP chips used on Digital >radio will be some where in-between. With the wire >sizes in the 0.20-micron range, it's much easier for >solar radiation to cause temporary shorts, which can >cause system crashes. The SDX is a software-defined radio ... it does not necessarily, and probably does not, use a DSP chip. >Keep It simple. A small satellite that does one or >two features is better than one big satellite that >does 10 big features. At the cost of launches and satellites, i think this point is easily disputable. I am sure that the engineers are looking at an overall systems approach, AND they've done this before. The difference is the addition of a software-defined approach, which WILL be space-tested in SuitSat2 anyway >Axle lead Resistor and through-hole mounting of >components are much more resilient in space than >surface mount components. Miles, do you have any data to support this statement because right off-hand, I can't see why this would be true. >Hardware is not your only problem; you also need to >Extensively Test the software that runs the satellite >project. This is not the first satellite these guys have built - I think they had this somewhere on their "To-Do List" ... >The Analog satellites AO-7 (launched Nov 1974) and >AO-10 (June 1983) are still there when the sun is >shining. Well, that is actually a bug, not a feature. We need to have a way that we can guarantee that when a satellite dies, it STAYS dead. That was a real sticking point with Larry Kayser when he was still alive. These things pop up, un-controlled, and if we had enough of them, they'd be an interference problem. Dave

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Icom AG-35 preamp question (2/2)
by K & R Yoksh 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Hi, Thanks to K5MAN for the AG-35 manual copy, including schematic. For the benefit of anyone else considering an AG-35, I thought I'd pass along what I've found so far. I was able to read most of the scanner manual pages 100%, and from what I can see, the AG-35 uses a 78L08 voltage regulator. Seems that the TO-92 package was/is the most common, so I doubt that there's really much heatsink area? The datasheet for the 78L08 shows that a maximum of 23 volts should be applied to the input, and the AG-35 manual specifies 9-15 volts input. I'm guessing that Icom under-rated the voltage input due to the small heatsink area? Anyhow, I'm a little worried that my AO-40 bias tee will run the AG-35 hot. Guess I'll put a little bias-tee together and use 13.8v station power.. Now just to find the time! <grin!> 73, Kyle Yoksh KØKN Olathe, Kansas Amsat # 35249

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SatPC32 with SASI tracker
by Wayne Estes 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Vince KB7ADL wrote: Dave, Does PC32 work with the SASI Tracker? (the tracker that plugs into the parallel port.) I use it with Nova, but I might switch to PCsat. What do you use for tracker hardware? Wayne W9AE replies: SatPC32 supports many rotor control interfaces, but it doesn't support the SASI Sat Tracker. I believe the problem was that Erich (author of SatPC32) couldn't find any documentation defining how to talk to the SASI Sat Tracker. If anybody has that information, please share it with Erich DK1TB. Wayne Estes W9AE Oakland, Oregon, USA, CN83ik

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Special Sputnik downlink
by K & R Yoksh 02 Oct '07

02 Oct '07

Hello, Does anyone know if the Special Sputnik downlink carried on AO-51 will also be available on the Amsat Echolink Conference? Thanks and 73, Kyle Yoksh K0KN Olathe, Kansas Amsat # 35249

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Pre-Amp power
by WB2LLP 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

My thanks to all those who offered the requested data. You confirmed what I had guessed. Also I thank those that added opinions and arguments supporting their opinions. I liked the conservativism and the attempt to avoid destroying expensive, possibly hard to replace hardware. TNX es 73 de WB2LLP Gene Marks

2 1

Re: SUD (Small Ugly Dish)
by Sil - ZL2CIA 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

Thanks Stefan VE4NSA for the web address. This appears to be for a 2.4 GHz antenna and I have found many sites with such designs. The author explains how to scale the antenna for other frequencies. It's a good site, but not quite what I was looking for and that's probably my fault for not making myself clear enough. I have been looking for more generalised information explaining the principles and operation - something explaining how to calculate size and spacing and explaining why the calculations are made this way. Thanks John AA1YE for the pointer to the book by Robert A Sainati. I know my local library doesn't have a copy as I have borrowed the few antenna design books they have several times. Technical books are, alas, disappearing from library shelves. However, with the information supplied I can ask them to try and find me a copy using their "interloan" system. If it's what I want, I'd happily buy a copy, but like to know that first (hi hi). Thanks for the help guys. Sil

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Preamps on IC-910
by WB2LLP 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

I am trying to improve my satellite receiving capability but find it interesting that I can not find anything in the IC-910 literature that specifies how much current the radio can supply for a pre-amp. It is also interesting to note that they do not specify the current drawn by their pre-amps, or their noise figure. I want to use ARR preamps but can not determine if the radio can safely supply the 200 ma they want. I would certainly not want to damage the radio trying to improve the hearing. I assume that there is someone on this reflector who is using those pre-amps on a 910 and confirm that it works or does not work. The other question might be is it safer to power the pre-amps from a separate supply. This might make it safer when reversing the up and down bands. Gene WB2LLP

6 5

Linux Satellite Tracking
by Bob Stewart 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

As long as satellite tracking is the subject; gpredict just released version 0.9.0. It looks nice, and seems to have cured the freezes I was getting in the Polar View window. Well done Alex and crew! Bob - AE6RV

4 3

AG-35 preamp questions
by Kyle Yoksh 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

Hello, Thanks for the bandwidth here re: the AG-35 preamp. I found one for sale and expect to receive it soon.. I've been searching Google for a schematic, but so far no luck. I'd like to know if anyone has one, or can answer a simple question? Q) Does AG-35 has a built-in voltage regulator? If so, does anyone know the part number, or the minimum / maximum input voltage? I did find an AG-35 owner's manual online, and it indicates that the current draw is 200 mA. I'd like to know if I need to build a new bias tee, or if I can get away with using my AO-40 era bias-tee to feed power to the AG-35? I'll have to dig it out, but if memory serves, it delivered 18 VDC at 300-500 mA? Thanks for any help or suggestions. 73, Kyle Yoksh K0KN Olathe, Kansas

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Re: SUD (Small Ugly Dish)
by Bill Acito W1PA 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

I was reading this thread and started getting AO-40 flash-backs and twitches... :-) I thought a patch feed would "over illuminate" an offset dish, and you should really use a helix? Googling "AO40" and "patch feed" or "helix feed" should bring up a wealth of info on this subject (if folks left their web pages up) Bill W1PA

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Angkasawan Program
by Thailand Amateur Radio Satellites Corporate 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

http://www.angkasawan.com.my/mainatsb/atsb/about_angkasawan.html Hi 9W2QC and All Please advice me for detail date-time, and frequency for QSO 9M2MUS in Amateur Radio of Angkasawan Program. Best Regards, QRU 73 DE Tanan Rangseeprom HS1JAN TAMSAT GROUP _________________________________________________________________ Discover the new Windows Vista http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=windows+vista&mkt=en-US&form=QBRE

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Truth Behind Sputnik
by Clint Bradford 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

From Wired Magazine, an interesting cold war story... http://news.wired.com/dynamic/stories/S/SPUTNIKS_SECRETS? SITE=WIRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Clint Bradford, K6LCS / KAF3359 909-241-7666

2 1

Re: Keep It Simple, MM
by Dave Larsen PhD 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

Most of these are do to SEI [Single event interrupt's] caused by Iron particles Dave N6CO > ----- Original Message ----- From: "MM" <ka1rrw(a)yahoo.com> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Sent: Monday, October 01, 2007 5:06 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Keep It Simple, MM Keep It Simple Silly KISS By Miles WF1F The direction of this tread is caution. I am not suggesting that we do not use digital technology for satellites, just that we need to be careful of the technology. The Space environment is not kind to digital circuits. Digital circuits are easily corrupted by solar radiation and thermal stresses. A digital circuit designed for use on Earth many not survive the rigors of outer space. This is partially because of the Size of a transistor inside a modern CPU. In 1978 a computer transistor was made up of wires 3 microns in size. Today's CPU Itanium, uses wires 0.18 microns in size. The new DSP chips used on Digital radio will be some where in-between. With the wire sizes in the 0.20-micron range, it's much easier for solar radiation to cause temporary shorts, which can cause system crashes. In 2004 ago I was visiting NASA Goddard and I was talking to an engineer building a new communications satellite. I asked him "What CPU and OS do you use". He responded, "We use Intel 80386 and our own Operating System". He said, the 1.5-micron technology of the 80386 is more radiation resistant than the new Pentium CPU's. On the Mir Program, we noticed that simple Off-the-Shelf TNC modems seemed to only have a life space of 2-3 years before we began to notice Frequent Lockups and other strange issues. On ISS, a year after we activated the second PacCom TNC, it began to lock up almost weekly during its last month of operation. The Kenwood TM-D700 on ISS ran ok for three years until it was discovered there were some anomalies in the software settings. The radio was taken off Public access for a year until the crew was given time to do a manual partial reprogram of a few channels. Neither the cause of the anomalies or the extent has been determined. One of the ISS crew was allegedly asked once, "What do you do all day", he allegedly said, "Reboot computers" They have 50 laptops on ISS. In closing Use caution in your designs. Keep It simple. A small satellite that does one or two features is better than one big satellite that does 10 big features. The more transistors, the more points of failure. Axle lead Resistor and through-hole mounting of components are much more resilient in space than surface mount components. Hardware is not your only problem; you also need to Extensively Test the software that runs the satellite project. You can never do too much Testing. The Analog satellites AO-7 (launched Nov 1974) and AO-10 (June 1983) are still there when the sun is shining. 73 Miles WF1F www.marexmg.org ____________________________________________________________________________________ Check out the hottest 2008 models today at Yahoo! Autos. http://autos.yahoo.com/new_cars.html _______________________________________________ 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

1 0

ISS PBBS Active over Bangkok Thailand
by Thailand Amateur Radio Satellites Corporate 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

cmd:c rs0iss-11 *** CONNECTED to RS0ISS-11 Welcome to RS0ISS's message board System Ver 1.50 108780 Bytes free You have following mails waiting. CMD(F/K/M/R/W/B/H/?)> m Msg# Size TS Date Time From To @ BBS Subject 34 32 $ 22-Nov/1037 VK6MJ>HS1JAN TNX 21 29 15-Nov/0241 HS1JAN>ALL hello 108780 Bytes free Next message Number 36 CMD(F/K/M/R/W/B/H/?)> r 34 Posted : 22-Nov-25 10:37:24 >From : VK6MJ To : HS1JAN @ BBS : Subject:TNX TNX FOR THE MESSAGE...MARTIN CMD(F/K/M/R/W/B/H/?)> w je9pel Subject: hello Message: I and ham in Thailand need contact you via ISS PBBS and other satellites. Please see detail me at website QRZ.COM or contact me by e-mail :[email protected] rds QRU 73 DE HS1JAN /ex Thank you for your message. CMD(F/K/M/R/W/B/H/?)> j CX4DAR 22-Nov-25 06:29:20 LU4FM-2 22-Nov-25 07:59:33 HB3YNV 22-Nov-25 08:27:41 PA3GUO-10 22-Nov-25 08:29:32 UT1HZM-2 22-Nov-25 08:32:46 SP7FFY-6 22-Nov-25 08:33:47 KB1GVR 22-Nov-25 11:29:21 KD8ATF-2 22-Nov-25 12:56:31 W1MWB 22-Nov-25 14:33:36 N8FQ 22-Nov-25 17:45:46 VK6IQ 22-Nov-25 18:40:11 VK6MJ 22-Nov-25 20:12:12 N8FQ-15 22-Nov-25 20:55:13 9M2RPN 22-Nov-25 21:55:30 JJ1TJV 22-Nov-25 22:07:10 PY5AK 22-Nov-25 22:51:27 LW8DOW-1 22-Nov-25 22:53:58 HS1JAN 22-Nov-25 23:28:05 CMD(F/K/M/R/W/B/H/?)> r Msg# Size TS Date Time From To @ BBS Subject 36 186 22-Nov/2327 HS1JAN>JE9PEL hello 35 79 22-Nov/2152 9M2RPN>ALL Hello All 34 32 Y 22-Nov/1037 VK6MJ>HS1JAN TNX 33 390 22-Nov/0447 LW6DC>ALL Hello 73 31 49 22-Nov/0134 LW6DC>ALL Hello 73 28 277 17-Nov/1720 KC2PCR>ALL ALL 24 46 $ /1325 PY1AT>ALL MSG 23 19 /0433 JE9PEL>ALL Japan 22 16 15-Nov/0746 JE9PEL>ALL from JAPAN 21 29 15-Nov/0241 HS1JAN>ALL hello 19 46 $ 15-Nov/0026 PY1AT>ALL MSG 16 43 13-Nov/2139 VK4TEC>ALL Please QSL 14 43 13-Nov/0607 LW6DC>ALL saludos 73 1 63 B$ 11-Nov/1007 LU8YY>ALL saludos desde Neuquen 108554 Bytes free Next message Number 37 CMD(F/K/M/R/W/B/H/?)> _________________________________________________________________ Invite your mail contacts to join your friends list with Windows Live Spaces. It's easy! http://spaces.live.com/spacesapi.aspx?wx_action=create&wx_url=/friends.aspx…

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Re: SUD (Small Ugly Dish)
by Bob Bruninga 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

> Back to my "new" [18"] dish... Being that it > is an offset dish, is 1.2GHz possible with > this dish? No. > Anyone tried this? Yes. I tried it for our satellite labs for students and althogh I get about 14 dB or so measured gain with it at 2.4 GHz, at 1.2 GHz, it was nothing more than a big piece of metal giving no more gain than a flat reflector... maybe between 3 to 6 dB. See the photo of its use at 2.4 GHz on the top of this page: http://www.ew.usna.edu/~bruninga/ea467.html With the antenna for one of those $75 wireless camera receivers at the focal point, and the companion little wireless camera as a signal source a mile away with only its 1.5" whip antenna, we receive the picture perfectly with a margin of at least 16 dB. This means the picture would still be good out to maybe 6 miles... It sure is an easy way to get into Amateur TV. Even though it does not even require a license.. But if there are wireless LANS around, then the picture gets lots of QRM.. Bob, Wb4APR

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Sputnic1 passes on the 4 Oct 1957 in IO92JP
by Robert Turlington 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

Hi Andy putting your keps into IT this is what it predicts for the 4/5 Oct 1957 as you can see the first pass on the 5th is very close to your predictions 39. sputnic1UTC Date Time Azim/Elev Range Lat Long Doppler Phs/04Oct1957 0511 326/ 0 1938 65N 24W 1904Oct1957 0515 31/ 10 1318 62N 11E 30--------------------------------end of pass--------------04Oct1957 0650 321/ 0 2050 64N 28W 2504Oct1957 0654 13/ 37 609 57N 0E 3604Oct1957 0658 116/ 9 1653 45N 16E 46--------------------------------end of pass--------------04Oct1957 0829 306/ 0 2166 60N 33W 3204Oct1957 0833 252/ 21 1005 49N 13W 4204Oct1957 0837 180/ 8 1862 37N 1W 53--------------------------------end of pass--------------04Oct1957 2242 156/ 0 1787 38N 7E 24604Oct1957 2246 87/ 3 1502 51N 20E 1--------------------------------end of pass--------------05Oct1957 0019 225/ 0 1780 40N 16W 24805Oct1957 0023 358/ 69 258 53N 1W 3--------------------------------end of pass--------------05Oct1957 0159 280/ 0 1772 52N 27W 205Oct1957 0203 356/ 8 1144 62N 3W 13--------------------------------end of pass--------------05Oct1957 0340 318/ 0 1859 63N 25W 1305Oct1957 0344 23/ 5 1570 65N 11E 24 Regards Robert G8ATE Regards Robert G8ATE _________________________________________________________________ The next generation of MSN Hotmail has arrived - Windows Live Hotmail http://www.newhotmail.co.uk

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ISS BBS contents as of 2007-10-01 0620z
by Joe Veldhuis 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

Looks like the ISS digi gets very little use during early morning passes over North America, so I decided to play around with the BBS a bit. During the ~0620z pass this morning I was able to log in with just my HT hooked up to an old, wind-damaged scanner antenna and get a message listing. Over the 2 following passes, I QSY'd my 45-watt packet BBS to 145.825 and used it to download all of the messages currently stored on the ISS BBS. Note that, despite previous reports to the contrary, it appears that the commands are NOT case-sensitive. At least they weren't for me... If the attachment gets killed, you can get it from: http://www.electroblog.com/iss_20071001.txt -Joe, N8FQ

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UK Born Son of ex-NASA astronaut Owen Garriott W5LFL may fly in space
by Trevor 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

The Week in Amateur Radio (TWIAR) have spotted an item in The Hindu which reports that the UK born son of former NASA Astronaut and Radio Amateur Owen Garriott W5LFL may fly in space in 2008. See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/october2007/son_of_us_astronaut_to_travel_… 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: Keep It Simple Silly
by G0MRF＠aol.com 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

To say the hardware does not not get any simpler is perhaps true for the number of components, but the complexity within those components is much greater than anything flown before in AMSAT transponders. It's probably true to say that Eagle will use 20,000 transistors to do the same job as 20 transistors in Oscar 7. But it's also fair to say those 20,000 transistors will do a much better job. The SDX technology will get its first on orbit test with suitsat2. That will tell us all something about reliability in LEO before launching Eagle and P3E. In 2009 The SSETI ESEO mission to a higher radiation geostationary transfer orbit will include a mode U/S transponder. It converts 435 down to 10.7MHz and that signal can be routed to a software defined transponder or to a conventional linear transponder before being upconverted to 2401MHz. Hopefully, the SDX will perform flawlessly, but should there be a problem, then the satellite can be commanded to bypass the SDX and use a traditional circuit. Somewhere along the line an SDX will be designed that is reliable and give much better performance than whats been flown in the past. It's a learning curve, there may be problems along the way, but we have moved on since October 4th 1957 and we need to investigate new technologies and sort out what works and what does not. Happy 50th birthday Sputnik (I wonder how many valves were inside that?) David G0MRF In a message dated 30/09/2007 16:06:16 GMT Standard Time, hartzell(a)gmail.com writes: Even as a proponent for SDR (and an SDR "user"), the lingering thought in my mind regarding SDX in space is survivability. There is no flight heritage (yet) for an SDX in space, and there is quite a bit of complexity with regards to software and integrated components (ADCs, DACs, FPGAs, CPUs, etc.). But these problems plague analong XPNDRs as well....with the right selection of components, de-rating of components, and rad-hardened when feasible, chances for success increase. 73, Dave n0tgd On 9/30/07, David B. Toth <ve3gyq(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > Patrick: it is too bad that you were unable to join us here in > Hartford, CT this weekend for the TAPR-ARRL DCC ... > There were many presentations on SDR, some by AMSAT personnel ... > > The hardware does not GET any simpler than in SDX ... the HUGE > advantage is that a component with a shifting value (such as might > occur in a spacecraft with wide temperature swings) does not degrade > the performance/optimization of a device, because if the hardware > does age/shift, then that can be compensated for in software ... >

7 8

AO-27 scheduler
by John Hackett 01 Oct '07

01 Oct '07

AO-27. Easysat ? ... right !!!l. I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to figure out how to tell when the AO-27 transmitter is switched on over my QTH ... (Frei Island JP33WB) ... or not. Of course, any tracking program tells me *WHEN* the satellite is over my QTH but tracking programs don't tell me whether the transmitter is switched on or not. The AO-27 scheduler supposedly does this ... the only problem is ... I find it thoroughly confusing. The passes (according to any tracking program with the latest keps) and the AO-27 scheduler don't seem to agree ... (me'thinks John is doing something wrong !!!) ... or ... from the scheduler I can see if the transmitters are on (or not) when the satellite is well out of my footprint ... but I'd like to know whether it's on when the satellite is workable from my QTH. Is there anyone out there who can explain in words of one syllable (or less) how one figures this out ... and then explain it to a thick and illiterate old sod like me. This mail is in NO WAY meant as any form of criticism of the AO-27 scheduler, it is ENTIRELY me being TOTALLY stupid! and not being able to see the wood for the trees ... and asking for HELP. How about an example that a 5 year old could understand? (Even I might have a chance then). 73 John. <la2qaa(a)amsat.org>

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Re: Large quantity of RG-62/U on eBay
by Greg Beat 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

Drew - I had miles of RG-62/U in 1990s from data center conversions. After about 8 years of donations to various builders --- K5OE got my last 20 feet for the January / February 1999 AMSAT article on building the antenna! Greg w9gb Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007 15:49:29 -0400 From: "Andrew Glasbrenner" <> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Large quantity of RG-62/U on eBay To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> AMSAT - I have a 500 ft roll of "Wonderful" brand RG-62A/U in the garage that I picked up somewhere. For anyone that needs a piece, just send to my QRZ address an appropriate SASE and I will return a 10 ft piece of this coax for free. If so moved, you can include a donation to AMSAT or send one directly to Martha. I don't expect 50 requests, but when I get to 30 or so I'll warn everyone I'm running out. 73, Drew KO4MA

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SUD (Small Ugly Dish)
by Eric H. Christensen 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

I just got back from a walk around the neighborhood with the wife (KI4IWS). For some reason she led us off our usual path and took us down a street we usually don't walk on. I noticed a hunk of metal on the side of the road and when we got close I noted it was a DirectTV dish being thrown out. Upon further inspection it was one of those newer ones with the three LMBs on board. Now to my 60cm dish... It is too small to support 1.2GHz because the 1.2GHz patch would block most of the dish and would prevent most of the signal from even entering the dish. Back to my "new" dish... Being that it is an offset dish, is 1.2GHz possible with this dish? Anyone tried this? 73s, Eric Christensen, W4OTN AMSAT Area Coordinator - Southeastern Virginia USA AMSAT Member 35360 http://www.ericsatcom.net Donate to the Eagle Fund - http://www.amsat-na.com/donation.php?donate=eagle

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Keep It Simple Silly
by Patrick McGrane 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

Regarding Miles desire for simplified electronics, I wholeheartedly agree! I was very disappointed that amsat-na pushed for the SDX on the german P3E. I'm sure its a better receiver but its never flown. P3E was built around a proven AO-13 design. If someone were to fly a payload a quarter of a million miles to the moon, It should be dramatically simple and long lasting, That means no short life components like batteries. N2OEQ

4 3

Downconverter
by Dan 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

I found a downconverter at a local hamfest. It has on the side, part number 2030/020 Camarillo, CA. Is this something I could use for mode S? Does not give a brand name on it. Thank You Dan N8DZM #33913

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WTB used Icom AG-35
by K & R Yoksh 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

Hi, Does anyone have an Icom AG-35 preamp for sale by any chance? Please contact me off list if you do. Thanks & 73, Kyle Yoksh KØKN Olathe, Kansas Amsat # 35249

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Need help with sat tracking software
by Ed Tump 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

Folks, I am trying out Orbitron and Nova for Windows. I have updated kleps in both. When doing pass predictions for the ISS both show different times hours apart. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks, Ed KC9GWK New AmSat member

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Large quantity of RG-62/U on eBay
by Greg Beat 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

AMSAT members, and LEO satellite antenna builders: K5OE's article in the January / February 1999 issue of The AMSAT Journal shows RG-62/U used in the construction of the 'Texas Potato Masher' antenna for LEO satellites. Article can be found here: http://members.aol.com/k5oe/tpm.htm RG-62/U was used for many years as the physical media between IBM cluster controllers (3174/3274) and 3270 terminals. So this cable was very common is IBM data centers until past decade as mainframe access has moved from IBM's SNA to open standard LAN technologies. RG-62/U 93 ohm coaxial cable (95% braid coverage) being sold in 100 and 250 foot spools. TOM NURMI 15145 SE 180th STREET WEIRSDALE, FL 32195 eBay item number: 290164663358. As with all eBay auctions -- make your own determination of seller (I do not know or endorse this eBay auction or seller) w9gb

2 1

RG-62 for sale
by John Marranca, Jr 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

Hello all. I have a great deal of RG-62 at my disposalfor sale as well. E-mail me directly for info/prices, etc. 73, 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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Sputnik orbital prediction calculator (:-))
by Greg D. 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

Hi folks, Keeping with the theme of Sputnik's 50th anniversary, imagine running your orbital predictions using one of these... http://www.engcom.net/index.php?option=com_sliderule&Itemid=73 Greg KO6TH _________________________________________________________________ Connect to the next generation of MSN Messenger http://imagine-msn.com/messenger/launch80/default.aspx?locale=en-us&source=…

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Yaesu G-5500 meter scale
by Sven Arne Astrup 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

HI! Just got a brand new G-5500 and was wondering if it is possible to flip the meter scale to make it north centered as the old G-5600B? 73 de Sven LA6KJ No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.488 / Virus Database: 269.13.35/1039 - Release Date: 29.09.2007 21:46

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Re: how about an amsat moon mission?
by Bob Bruninga 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

> we need to find the schematics for AO-13 ... > and build the same transponers [for the moon] > We need to keep it simple, none of this > digital radio stuff,... > A digital system would take 10 years and 10 million ... As another one of the old legacy system believers, I have to admit, that I am finally seeing the light, and beginning to come around to believe in the new wave that the software defined radio -is- the way to go. After seeing the AMSAT crowd rave about it, and then seeing the one they are building for SUITSAT here at DCC, and seeing that they are producing them in quantity and copies can fly in something as small as a 4" cubesat, I am now convinced that -it-is-done. It is available now. AND it is much more reliable. WIthout analog components that can drift and need critical alignment, the SDR transponder is the only way to go. Sure there is internal complexity, but to every ham, it looks like just an AO13 transponder too. People use their PC's and USB drives and IPODS everyday as appliances, yet they contain unbelievable technology not even dreamed of a few years ago. Same thing here. It is the way to implement the basic AMSAT transponder, while to the users, it works the same as the old one. Like I say, I am now a believer too. Bob, WB4APR

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how about an amsat moon mission?
by Eric Fort 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

There is currently 30 million USD on the table for the first privately funded venture to return to the moon, rover 500 meters, and send back a mooncast (about a GB of data) Would AMSAT like to be involved in this? A transponder on OSCAR 0 with enough bandwith for video has possibilities and the 30 million could provide a nice subsidy, or we could partner with one of the competetors for a low cost/free ride in exchange for ??. What do those on the BB think? see http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/for details. amsat-dl is headed to mars, and the moon seems easier, not to mention the prize funding on the table. OSCAR 0 could use an upgrade, Let's do it! AF6EP

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Re: how about an amsat moon mission?
by Margaret Leber 30 Sep '07

30 Sep '07

On 9/29/07, MM <ka1rrw(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Next, we need to find the schematics for AO-13 > dust them off and build the same transponers. > We need to keep it simple, none of this > digital radio stuff Doesn't sound like that would meet the stated mission requirements. -- 73 de Maggie K3XS Editor, Phil-Mont Mobile Radio Club Blurb - http://www.phil-mont.org Elecraft K2 #1641 -- AOPA 925383 -- ARRL 39280

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Overseas With AO-51
by JoAnne Maenpaa 29 Sep '07

29 Sep '07

Hi Everyone, Just saw this scroll by on the dx-spots on #cqdx ... CT2ISG 435295.0 VE9QRP Tkx Bruce for AO-51 qso. Looks like Canada to Europe via AO-51. Congratulations, Bruce! -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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AO-51 mode L/U
by Dave Aitch 29 Sep '07

29 Sep '07

Yet another silent pass on mode L U right up the middle of the Atlantic. Cheers, Dave. AMSAT 5766

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Shipping Antennas
by Kevin 29 Sep '07

29 Sep '07

I ran an internet calc. on UPS and USPO for a 50pound package 76 inch long by 6in by 6 in. Nothing showed as excessive but you may need to check. UPS $88 USPO $27 Suggest you talk to you Post Office. I have had 6 foot fiber poles delivered by UPS no problem. Hope this helps. Kevin N6CWF Phx Az

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How to ship a KLM-2m-14C?
by Peter Sils 29 Sep '07

29 Sep '07

I hope the group can offer some advice as to how to ship a used KLM 2m-14C and a Cushcraft 738Xb. I have bought these antennas at a good price but the owner can not break them down to a manageable size that will allow for reasonable shipping. He stated the smallest size (without cutting the boom) is 72" and the shipping companies want an arm and a leg for that length. I am sure that many in this group have gone through this and I truly would appreciate the advice to forward to my seller so he can ship them to me. I really want these antennas and have already paid for them but need to help the seller. Any and all advice would be GREATLY appreciated! Peter KD0AA --------------------------------- Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.

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Working TLE set for Sputnik 1
by andy thomas 29 Sep '07

29 Sep '07

The TLE set for Sputnik-1 below works in STS+ when the simulated date is set to 5 October 1957. Please note the spacing is critical (takes me back to the days of FORTRAN!!). Thanks to John G7HIA for help and to Sil and Farrell for encouragement. For the record,, I varied the keps from those given in Sil's reference on the amsat-bb (they are the best I have seen): http://www.satobs.org/seesat/Aug-2007/0239.html I then: a) Accept the coefficient of drag taken from Gerhard HOLTKAMP's observations b) accept his model of Epoch time, Mean motion and RAAN (they all fit together - so I have to accept his epoch time as well) c) Change to the RAE observed values of eccentricity, argument of perigee and inclination, and calculate mean motion by dividing the sidereal day in minutes (1436 divided by by the RAE observation of the period) d) calculate the checksum accordingly (John sent me in the right direction here!) My prediction programme STS+, which runs under good old DOS, allows me to enter a Simulated Time. I MUST set it to 5 October 1957 before running the prediction or map features. Please note I have written <CR> where there must be a line break, you should not include the characters "<CR>" when you prepare the text file for your program. I can't speak for other prediction progarms, just good ol' STS+ SPUTNIK 1<CR> 1 00002U 57001B 57277.80972234 .00352343 00000-0 15670-2 0 0<CR> 2 00002 65.1000 339.9400 0520000 058.0000 334.6900 14.92723492 6<CR> This is for the satellite not the rocket. Many thanks to all for help and encouragement. Let's see how she works! 73 de andy G0SFJ __________________________________________________________ Are you a hoarder? Then you'll love Yahoo! Mail with unlimited storage. http://uk.mail.yahoo.com

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APRS GO-32
by Bruce 29 Sep '07

29 Sep '07

BB Using my D7 in dumb mode I was able to get 2 msgs thru GO-32 this morning. Takes several seconds before you see the D/L after TX. Caught my attention as the UISS program voice announced my D/L msg. 73 Bruce KG4YEV

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Re: Terrestrial QRM....
by John Marranca, Jr 29 Sep '07

29 Sep '07

I have monitored 145.850 all week here in the Chicago suburbs, and not heard a thing. I took Bruce's recording of the QRM and boosted the audio in Audacity, then slowed it down, and I'm pretty sure I can hear a snippet of a VE call in there, and a hint of a north-of-the-border accent on one of the stations. APPARENTLY...there is/are a repeater(s) in the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario that provides a link-up to AO-51 when it is overhead. http://www.dogparksoftware.com/mdpxgateway.html http://www.va3sf.com/amateurrptr.htm As far as hearing VE calls, I have heard this is well. 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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YouTube - P5-A Mars Orbiter Video
by Trevor 29 Sep '07

29 Sep '07

A video featuring the Amateur Radio Mars Orbiter P5-A has been put on the YouTube website. Details at http://www.uk.amsat.org/ 73 Trevor M5AKA ___________________________________________________________ Want ideas for reducing your carbon footprint? Visit Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/environment.html

1 0

Re: Terrestrial QRM to FM satellites
by Bob Bruninga 28 Sep '07

28 Sep '07

>> Today on passes of both SO-50 and AO-27, >> there were terrestrial QSOs going on. >> It was especially bad on AO-27... Three comments: 1) When you are not doing satellite passes, shift your two meter rig to 145.85 and LISTEN all day. 90% of the US population lives in cities (or something like that) and so the chances are that some one will hear them direct. 2) Its in the cities that the repeater density is so high that some new hams might feel there is no other place to put up a local non-coordinated repeater. So we probably have a good chance of somneone on this BB hearing them. 3) Listen for 9600 baud Packet noise bursts. At least they are identifiable. One of the packet uplinks on GO-32 shares the same 2m uplink as AO-27. This is why we have to prohibit unattended packet operation via GO-32 on its 145.85 uplink. I will modify my GO-32 APRS user operations web page to make sure this point is clear. Bob, Wb4APR

9 13

SO-50 Frequency Change
by John Marranca, Jr 28 Sep '07

28 Sep '07

I, too, have noticed the difference between Orbitron and the ACTUAL frequency. I saw that the SO-50 page had mentioned this a while ago...so I've always just hunted around for it. I use an Eggbeater...so I'm not too concerned with this matter. However, I can see that it would be a SERIOUS issue for someone that is using a more elborate antenna setup. Any theories as to WHY this may have happened? Mine is simplistic...I had a Ten-Tec Argonaut 505, and it drifted somewhat due to the temps coming from start-up...then the amplifier finals, etc. So, it was pretty drifty. Well...it's a theory anyway. John KB2HSH -- _______________________________

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Fw: Satellite Database Update 9-27-2007 Union of ConcernedScientists
by Roger Kolakowski 28 Sep '07

28 Sep '07

For this quarter's perusing pleasure Roger WA1KAT ----- Original Message ----- From: "SatelliteData Mailbox" <SatelliteData(a)ucsusa.org> To: "SatelliteData Mailbox" <SatelliteData(a)ucsusa.org> Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 4:00 PM Subject: Satellite Database Update 9-27-2007 Union of ConcernedScientists > A new version of the UCS Satellite Database, which includes launches > through September 25, 2007, has been posted at > http://ucsusa.org/satellite_database . > > The new Excel format file is called > *UCS_Satellite_Database_9-27-07.xls* and the tab-delimited text > version is called *UCS_Satellite_Database_9-27-07.txt*. > The tab-delimited text version in which the *Name* column contains > only the official name of the satellite in the case of government and > military satellites, and the most commonly used name in the case of > commercial and civil satellites is called > *UCS_Satellite_Database_officialname_9-27-07.txt*. > > The other changes to this version of the database include: > * The addition of 12 satellites > * The deletion of 14 inactive satellites > * The addition of and corrections to some satellite data > > We have incorporated your corrections and suggestions as we were able, > and continue to welcome your comments. > > The UCS Satellite Database Manager > SatelliteData(a)ucsusa.org > > > >

1 0

SO50 frequency change today
by Robert Turlington 28 Sep '07

28 Sep '07

Hi all on the 1407utc pass over Greenland/Northern Europe the frequency on the downlink was up by approx 5 khz, however on the next pass at 1549utc it was back to normal, that is to say the centre frequency that I use in my doppler tracking software Regards Robert G8ATE _________________________________________________________________ 100’s of Music vouchers to be won with MSN Music https://www.musicmashup.co.uk

1 0

SO50 frequency change today
by Robert Turlington 28 Sep '07

28 Sep '07

Hi all on the 1407utc pass over Greenland/Northern Europe the frequency on the downlink was up by approx 5 khz, however on the next pass at 1549utc it was back to normal, that is to say the centre frequency that I use in my doppler tracking softwareRegards Robert G8ATE _________________________________________________________________ Get free emoticon packs and customisation from Windows Live. http://www.pimpmylive.co.uk

1 0

Time is Running Out!!
by Martha 28 Sep '07

28 Sep '07

Time is running out to book a hotel room for the AMSAT Space Symposium in Pittsburgh. A week from this Monday (Oct 8th), we have to return any remaining hotel rooms in our block. To read more about it, go to the AMSAT website. There you will find information on the hotel and the Symposium. You can also register on-line for the Symposium, banquet and tour. -- 73- Martha

1 0

LOOKING FOR SOFTWARE
by Nick Pugh 28 Sep '07

28 Sep '07

Hi Amsaters I have ask the group before but did not find what I was looking for. I am looking for audio recording software that is started and stopped from the pc clock. thanks nick

1 0

OSCAR-11 Report
by Clive Wallis 28 Sep '07

28 Sep '07

OSCAR-11 REPORT 27 September 2007 OSCAR-11 is back! During the period 31 August to 27 September 2007, the satellite's 145.826 MHz. beacon has been heard from 16 to 26 September. The switch-on date was later than expected. The solar eclipses finished on 20 August, and previous observations had suggested that the duration of sunlight after 10 August would be sufficient to support continuous operation. However, at the end of last year's eclipse season, some erratic behaviour was also observed. Unfortunately I was away on holiday when the satellite first switched ON, and only received the data on last two days of transmission. Signals were weaker than those received earlier in the year, ie. before the eclipse season. This has been confirmed by the many reports I have received. The on-board clock has continued to be of interest. At the end of this ON period the clock was 69.43451 days slow, showing a loss of about 31 days since the previous ON period. The day of the week counter appears to be consistant with the date on the satellite, but has changed in relation to the actual date. Previously, 0 represented Thursday, now it represents Monday. If the satellite's watchdog timer continues to operate normally, the beacon should switch ON around 06 October 2007. I am indebted to Peter ZL3TC, Ken W7KKE, Dave G1OCN, Jef KB2M, Graham G3VZV, Martin M0ADY, Gustavo LW2DTZ, John N7ZL, John N3NKC and Thomas HB9SKA for their reports. They were especially useful while I have been away. Many thanks. The satellite is now in continuous sunlight and this will continue until around 14 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 seven ninutes. At this level the satelite might just survive. 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 22 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. 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:U2RPT137.CWV, to prevent duplication. 73 Clive G3CWV xxxxx(a)amsat.org (please replace xxxxx by g3cwv)

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Marex Proposal for ISS, TurboFan
by Fred A Parker 28 Sep '07

28 Sep '07

You may contact me offline my Email address in QRZ is good. I am the Pearson that made up the heat sinks for the little switching power supply for the D700 and may be able to help you. Fred (KF0AK)

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RF2126
by WILLIAMS MICHAEL 27 Sep '07

27 Sep '07

I'm trying to increase a 1.269 GHz signal level from about 10mW to 200mW. I am considering the RF2126. Has anyone built a circuit using this device or have any experience with this device? Far Circuits does have a PCB available to build a linear using the RF2126. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks Mike K9QHO AMSAT 33589

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Downconvertors for 47 GHz
by Trevor 27 Sep '07

27 Sep '07

42 GHz MVDS downconvertors are being sold on E-Bay which have the potential for conversion to 47 GHz. Could be just what's needed to receive the planned P3E 47 GHz beacon and transponder ? See - Millimetric radio equipment available on E-Bay http://www.southgatearc.org/news/september2007/ebay_equipment.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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slightly off topic
by pcalvi＠bluewin.ch 27 Sep '07

27 Sep '07

Hello everybody, I apologize for taking up bandwidth for this, but I am assembling a "semi classic" satellite station built around my FT902DM / FT901 duo and I am looking for an FTV901 transverter complete with the 2 m and 70 cm modules. I already have one, but it only has the 2 m module. I have been looking on Ebay for a while, with no joy. If you happen to know of one on sale, kindly let me know (hb9dsu(a)amsat.org). Thanks a lot in advance and 73. Piero HB9DSU

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NOAA Space Environment Center -> Space Weather Prediction Center on 01 Oct 2007
by Eric H. Christensen 27 Sep '07

27 Sep '07

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 The NOAA Space Environment Center has been approved to officially change its name to the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). The center is one of the nine National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) within NOAA's National Weather Service. The new name aligns the space weather center with the other NCEP centers and more clearly conveys its operational nature. The date for the name change is Monday, October 1, 2007. Our new name will begin appearing in web pages and product headers on October 1. Some web pages will have an updated 'look and feel' and use NOAA web page standards, but the data displays and content will not change. Text and graphical products will have Space Weather Prediction Center (or SWPC) in headers, but there will be no changes to the file formats or content. Thank you for using the Product Subscription Service. If you would like to remove a product subscription or update the personal information in your account, go to: https://pss.sec.noaa.gov. For problems, contact: mailto:[email protected]. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iQIVAwUBRvsTf1PETzpAxiDcAQKc3w//TdaBUDFi8MEIfVrf2B4rZC3C3u6fqEe9 XOJF/kVc8qtUtmaT31WAb/GlnzOT+GNVN/FjgW61lub/RqdzRXvELZvtnw4abztV in+m8/MsOMx01VnDfFKAiMNJdS2z/IPKwyYvYi57Kx3+0D8zrB/VnZvZ3faItENw DxX3a+FpRbH8iB3ehEAs6xVlODsYrCw2xa+9v4hRLOom9ai4dl4WVIPyc+6AIT8J T7m/2Rc5qvGuT5P/8oZKARxFrzLzf08e6fuehyTMuBvaW/OrS8193ToAFWW/Njrr W2YcIPQuJxjRTK0gkj8OmU7HrItJPrFytVWDLtmAb7iQ1Q26e9swZGYQxfsw/Tqm +ZV5RC502J7PLn8pjS/ZDKAcYNPa1ckHm9+Kje9anYX82csVX1kHQgHPdK78PwP7 /iqpQHgqZr0JMxRVRzfuSRx/oyCZQAqxhD/0WhRduTnPdUB0tGqswh2uCNQSC5Bu QaN+zQ2hJDjggrfWcCyT+3PpCEIt6QUpS9+he0JIWn7OeYUVEfZbYdQp5oOPzzox Fc+G+d0NTof23JlcEIJRzw+FOGYEGjK41DAtyhLh/aqBA1OvuCvsM85XWpRcQWyL akQlQq2xye4lezNwx8+Q5yp4ULO+2VEpN1iQQo13vft6dW7ba8aRaHq2+B8/jIA2 NPKsC0gFvbw= =T26V -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

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For Sale or Trade
by Steven Raas 27 Sep '07

27 Sep '07

Hello everyone, I have a Uniden HR-2600 10 Meter all mode radio in good condx that has the Mounting Bracket/DC Cable/Mic . This unit is UN MODIFIED amateur band only that would make a nice IF for a transverter. I would also be interested In trading it for a 2.4G RX down converter in the Satellite band, wanted would be the Kuhne - MKU LNC 24 OSCAR2, SSB - UEK-3000, or DEM - 2400-144RX types only. If interested in trading please contact me, depending on the down converter, a trade + cash is not out of the question. If interested in buying outright, price is $170.00 SHIPPING INCLUDED (Domestic USA ONLY --- International shipping will cost $15.00 additional) I can also provide as many photos as you wish. 73 Steven J.Raas QRV From FN20vg on 2/432 Terestrial-Sats-Digital-EME Member of - ARRL & AMSAT Supporter of N3FJP Software <http://www.n3fjp.com/> http://www.n3fjp.com Home Page - <http://n2jdq2007.tripod.com/> http://n2jdq2007.tripod.com/

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GB5OSO active on 4th Oct 07
by Robert Turlington 26 Sep '07

26 Sep '07

Hi All these are provisional operating times for special event station GB5OSO(50 Ani of Sputnik 1) on 4th October 07 I will try and get on as many of these orbits as posible, where orbits overlap I may switch Sats depending on activity levels! Satellite A.O.S(utc) Max El SO50 08:00:42 8° AO 7 09:05:43 55° AO51 09:34:51 90° SO50 09:38:24 49° AO 7 10:58:48 50° VO52 11:05:22 35° AO51 11:14:05 19° SO50 11:19:11 42° VO52 12:41:40 35° AO 7 12:51:28 20° AO51 12:53:48 4° SO50 13:01:25 22° AO27 14:23:34 30° SO50 14:43:27 25° AO27 16:02:29 55° SO50 16:24:37 58° AO 7 16:31:05 16° AO51 17:39:59 10° SO50 18:05:31 35° AO 7 18:19:58 39° AO51 19:15:35 39° AO 7 20:11:38 73° VO52 20:32:27 11° AO51 20:54:18 42° VO52 22:06:24 58° AO51 22:37:09 7° VO52 23:43:32 21° Regards Robert G8ATE _________________________________________________________________ Get free emoticon packs and customisation from Windows Live. http://www.pimpmylive.co.uk

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SO50 frequency change
by Robert Turlington 26 Sep '07

26 Sep '07

Hi All whilst in QSO with IZ1GCT the downlink frequency changed abruptly approx 5khz up at 1904utc on 24/9/07 looking at my tracking program it was just about entering eclipse or there abouts. Regards Robert G8ATE _________________________________________________________________ 100’s of Music vouchers to be won with MSN Music https://www.musicmashup.co.uk

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Looking for LVB Tracker PCB board
by n3tad＠comcast.net 26 Sep '07

26 Sep '07

Hi all! Looking for a source in the US for a LVB Tracker PCB board. It looks like I can get one from the UK Amsat site but would prefer to find on domestically if possible. Thanks! Thomas, N3TAD

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APRS GO-32
by Bruce 26 Sep '07

26 Sep '07

BB When using my D700 in TNC APRS, the TX'd unproto looks like KG4YEV to 36TYPO via 4XTECH. Can anyone explain the 36TYPO. When in TNC PKT it TX's correct as KG4YEV to APRS via 4XTECH. I was using my FT847, UISS combo to RX the D7 TNC APRS output. 73 Bruce KG4YEV

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GO-32 APRS
by Dave Aitch 26 Sep '07

26 Sep '07

Further success through GO-32 this evening. Also saw ON7NW-7 through too. Cheers, Dave. IO80SM AMSAT UK 5766

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