- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

K3 with SatPC32
by Richard Lawn 01 Aug '20

01 Aug '20

Has anyone used this radio with a transverter in combination with SatPC32? I know it works with the KX3 but I can't get SatPC32 to see my K3. The problem is that my Ft-847 2 meter output is very low suggesting the finale may be shot. Rather than sending it out for repair I thought I'd try 2 radios - with the K3/transverter combination always handling 2 meter uplink. I guess not unless somebody has a suggestion. 73 Rick, W2JAZ

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A wide band lindenblad
by Lapo Pieri 01 Aug '20

01 Aug '20

Hi, I’ve just developed a wide band lindenblad antenna based on a previous project of mine, yoctenna and yefa, the new one is here: http://www.radioteknos.it/yolinda-2020-07-30_en.html Any comments, suggestions, criticism are very appreciated. Thank you! 73, Lapo IK5NAX

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VUCC Awards-Endorsements for August 2020
by Ronald Parsons 01 Aug '20

01 Aug '20

Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period July 1, 2020 through August 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! WOW! Long list this month! CALL July August W7QL 478 510 WI4T 301 461 N7EGY 405 456 PS8ET 350 434 AF5CC New 425 N9FN 303 403 HP2VX 351 377 WB7VUF 319 370 KC9UQR 301 332 W4ZXT 252 327 WA9JBQ 326 326 W4DTA 263 275 AK7DD New 255 N1PEB * 138 255 K4RGK 175 214 VE6WK New 207 S57NML 179 205 AC9O 108 204 YV1DIG 146 200 AA4FL 181 187 N3CAL 160 171 WD9EWK (DM23) 137 152 N7AME 128 148 WB7QXU New 140 K3HPA 102 128 VE2NGO 100 128 HB9WDF New 114 N5EKO 102 108 KP4RV 100 105 XE1R New 105 KB9STR New 104 N2ZN New 103 IK1IYU New 101 KF6JOQ New 101 N5MIG New 101 LU3FCA New 100 M0KDS New 100 N6RVI New 100 " For some reason, this call dropped off the list from February to now. If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at <mycall>@<mycall>.com and I'll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! Ron W5RKN

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Rocket Lab Launch failure issue identified
by Wendy and Terry Osborne 01 Aug '20

01 Aug '20

They have found the problem and should resuming flights soon. See: https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/122318727/one-faulty-connection-caused-roc… 73, Terry Osborne ZL2BAC

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT Critical Election
by Martin VE3OAT 31 Jul '20

31 Jul '20

Ray Soifer wrote : "I am not endorsing any candidate, nor do I think my endorsement would matter anyway." To the contrary, Ray, I suspect that I am not the only one on the fringes who would appreciate knowing who you would endorse in this election. ... Martin Potter VE3OAT

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BBS Going Back To SPAM
by Bob Liddy (K8BL) 31 Jul '20

31 Jul '20

Just when I hoped things had settled down on the AMSAT-BB and it was safe to begin reading about Amateur Satellites and Operations again, things started to go back to "other stuff". So, it's going BACK to SPAM again and I'll check back in a couple weeks. GEEESH!! 73, Bob K8BL (AMSAT #6593, since 1979)

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT Critical Election
by Steve Nordahl 31 Jul '20

31 Jul '20

I wonder why some members have a major problem getting unsolicited emails possibly obtained from QRZ or other from a prospective candidate(s), but don't blow up when another group representing incumbents use QRZ or other to get addresses to send out unsolicited preprinted mail? Steve NS3L

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Hawkeye 360 2nd cluster in the chamber.
by Robert McGwier 31 Jul '20

31 Jul '20

Hawkeye 360's next cluster is in the chamber getting tested. This is so cool. I will never forget my experience testing the Microsats for AMSAT the last century. Thank you AMSAT for all you have been to me. Check this photo out. 73s Bob N4HY https://drive.google.com/file/d/1StsK2w7x05tHcHP6wHfFZF8iFX-Quuqs/view?usp=…

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Re: [amsat-bb] Hawkeye 360 2nd cluster in the chamber.
by Roy Dean 31 Jul '20

31 Jul '20

That's exactly what my ham shack looks like. --Roy K3RLD > Check this photo out. > > 73s Bob N4HY > > > https://drive.google.com/file/d/1StsK2w7x05tHcHP6wHfFZF8iFX-Quuqs/view?usp=… > >

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The future of AMSAT
by Ray Soifer 31 Jul '20

31 Jul '20

Joe, With a little ingenuity, including choice of licensing country, we can have legal digital gateway stations. Operating rules can be changed if necessary, although we have to stay within license regulations. I didn't say that such stations would be cheap, although such a network would cost a lot less than trying to build our own HEO. As a point of reference, AO-40 cost about $5 million in today's dollars, roughly half of which was raised by AMSAT-NA and ARRL. It was my bad luck to be acting president of AMSAT-NA during the failure and partial recovery of AO-40. I'll never forget the great work done to get it back in operation, and those who did it. I hope we'll never have to go through something like that again, but after all it IS rocket science. 73 Ray W2RS

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Jan King
by Edson W. R. Pereira 31 Jul '20

31 Jul '20

Hi Ray, Do you have an email address to Jan King? I read a paper he wrote about experiments with cubesats in the Ka band, but the email he used seems no longer valid. 73, Edson PY2SDR

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-07-31 02:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 31 Jul '20

31 Jul '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-07-31 02:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: American School of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact was successful: Thu 2020-07-30 16:41:42 UTC 78 deg (***) Watch for live simulcast starting about 10 minutes before AOS at: https://youtu.be/MSyfzEHYwrE (***) ######################################################################################################################################## A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. ************************************************* ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, I will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates. The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No new schools Cancelled: No new schools The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements here also. Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2020-07-31 02:30 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2020-07-31 02:30 UTC. (***) https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Proposal Window of February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 has now closed. For future proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. ******************************************************************************** ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, go to: https://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) https://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ ****************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. ******************************************************************************* All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 138 Sergey RV3DR with 134 Gaston ON4WF with 123 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed, and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1393. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1326. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 62 now on orbit Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner SpaceX-Demo2 now on orbit Bob Behnken KE5GGX Doug Hurley **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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AO-73 Frequency Shifts
by Albert Ozias 30 Jul '20

30 Jul '20

Why is AO-73 frequency more effected by time in sunlight than other birds? Is this a design flaw or a component failure?

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Once again, because I am being asked . . .
by Brennan Price 30 Jul '20

30 Jul '20

I have previously addressed the bylaws requirement of Article III, Section 3: <<Duly nominated and eligible candidates . . . shall have use of the corporation’s mailing lists for election-related purposes at no cost to the corporation.>> I construed this section to mean the postal mailing list, and the list provided to candidates who chose to accept it contained only names, call signs, and postal addresses. Beyond the previously described conditions on the duration of access and agency necessary to comply with data protection regulations, I have not and will not micromanage how candidates choose to use or cross-reference this list to public databases for election-related purposes, as it wouldn't be appropriate for me to do so. 73, Brennan Price, N4QX Secretary, Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation

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Save the Alabama Space Camp!
by Clint Bradford 30 Jul '20

30 Jul '20

The Alabama Space & Rocket Center is in financial trouble. Article and below that is this GoFundMe site: almost $500K of the needed $1.5MIL. https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/29/us/us-space-rocket-center-alabama-close-dona… <https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2020%2F07%2F29%2…> https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/savespacecamp <https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/savespacecamp> Clint Bradford K6LCS PS Thought we had an Alabama ham around here … Guess he hasn't heard of this wonderful institution!

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Reply to W5PFG's letter of 10 July 2020
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 30 Jul '20

30 Jul '20

Hi. The following is the text of a letter sent on behalf of Michelle Thompson W5NYV and me to AMSAT President Clayton Coleman W5PFG, along with everyone who co-signed Clayton's letter of 10 July 2020. Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK ********************************* Text of forwarded letter is below ********************************* July 27, 2020 AMSAT Board Members Clayton Coleman, President Dear Sirs and Madam: I am writing in my capacity as counsel to Michelle Thompson and Patrick Stoddard regarding the letter to members entitled “AMSAT Leadership Explains 2018-2020 Legal Expenses” posted on July 10, 2020 (“Letter”). Through the course of my representation of my clients, I know that information included in this letter is patently false and defamatory and has resulted in reputational harm to Ms. Thompson and Mr. Stoddard. On behalf of my clients, I demand that appropriate corrective action be taken to address these falsehoods and prevent further harm to their reputations. The most egregious falsehood, among several, is the statement that AMSAT is “under attack” by my clients. Ms. Thompson and Mr. Stoddard have consistently worked to improve AMSAT – and have done nothing to attack or undermine the organization they support. It is true that my clients have worked diligently to evaluate the mission, activities, finances, and procedures of AMSAT. Specifically, they have taken steps to increase the financial transparency of AMSAT, enforce the provisions of its existing bylaws, and obtain access to corporate and financial documents. They have done all of this work as volunteers, deeply invested in the well-being and success of AMSAT as an organization. While I understand that certain AMSAT officials may interpret my clients’ actions to be critical of their personal actions, it is simply not true that AMSAT as an organization is “under attack.” The broad dissemination of a statement to the contrary is false, harms Ms. Thompson’s and Mr. Stoddard’s ability to serve AMSAT and calls into question their integrity. As you know, Ms. Thompson and Mr. Stoddard were improperly denied access to AMSAT’s corporate records. They had to retain my firm just to be able to carry out their corporate responsibilities as Directors. They now are questioning the propriety of the legal expenditures as they have not been given any evidence that these expenses were ever approved by board action, much less in advance of the engagement, as is required by Article II, Section 1 of AMSAT’s bylaws. One of the principal fiduciary responsibilities of all board members is to obey the provisions of the organization’s governing documents. Rather than “disrupt and possibly defame” or “publicly attack the integrity and honor” of AMSAT Officers and Directors, Ms. Thompson and Mr. Stoddard have merely been trying to review whether the AMSAT board has met this important fiduciary obligation. You noted, “[t]he only powers that Directors have is when the Board is in session and Board members make their vote” – and yet, we are not aware of any Board meeting in which this Letter was discussed. The fact that five of the current Directors have decided to sign this letter without conferring as a Board is good evidence that Directors may choose to exercise his or her individual oversight role in the absence of a Board meeting. In conclusion, my clients are doing their best to improve financial transparency and good governance in AMSAT. We agree that “a poisonous atmosphere makes it impossible for good ideas to be heard” and my clients both wish to create instead an “atmosphere of collaboration and common purpose.” They ran on a reform platform and were duly elected by the members to carry out that mandate. With this letter, Ms. Thompson and Mr. Stoddard formally request that the Letter be retracted and removed from AMSAT’s public website. Alternatively, the Letter should, in consultation with my clients, be corrected to accurately reflect the reality of their interactions with AMSAT and its Board. Given that the unfounded accusations against my clients harm their reputation and question their integrity, we request action be taken no later than ten (10) days after the receipt of this demand. We look forward to your prompt attention to this matter. Sincerely, Carolyn A. Klamp, Counsel cc: Dr. Tom Clark Keith Baker, Jerry Buxton, Dr. Mark Hammond, Paul Stoetzer, Martha Saragovitz, Robert Bankston, Drew Glasbrenner, Bruce Paige Michelle Thompson Patrick Stoddard

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Fwd: AMSAT Critical Election
by Ray Soifer 30 Jul '20

30 Jul '20

Subject: Re: AMSAT Critical Election Howie,, Thanks for including me in your distribution. I am not endorsing any candidate, nor do I think my endorsement would matter anyway. As you know, there already is a HEO amateur satellite payload in orbit. It was mainly built by AMSAT-DL as a "passenger" on a GEO satellite placed into orbit by a friendly Arab government. It cannot be directly accessed from North America but there is nothing to prevent a North American ham from accessing it through a gateway via the Internet. No, such a contact wouldn't count for DXCC, but as you said, not all hams are interested in awards or contests. Unfortunately, the US does not have a ham-friendly government. After rejecting the comments of AMSAT and ARRL in the "small satellite" rulemaking, FCC seems more interested in creating obstacles to amateur HEOs (e.g., the orbital debris docket). I won't even mention ITAR/EAR. Does it really matter who builds the next one? If so, why? I must admit that I get a bit nervous when somebody mentions that he wants to build a satellite interesting to commercial users. Why should amateur bands be used for such things? I am not speaking here for IARU, but I spend a fair amount of time helping to review the proposals we get for frequency coordination. Quite a few of them are really commercial projects, dressed up to use amateur bands. Our bands are precious; we need to keep protecting them. Finally, not all hams are interested in awards or contests, but many are. AMSAT has always had a combination of techies and operators, each doing what they do best. Long may that continue. 73 Ray W2RS

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Re: [amsat-bb] Next BoD Cycle
by Clint Bradford 30 Jul '20

30 Jul '20

>> … 1) Bob Bruninga (WB4APR) - APRS on RS0ISS + many satellites >> … 2) Frank Bauer (KA3HDO) - ARISS liaison to AMSAT They each would add tremendously to the talent pool … and never be sources of our discontent*. Clint Bradford K6LCS * - In honor of the Freedom Summer of 1964, which brought revolutionary changes to Mississippi - and the nation.

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Work-Sat Web Site Moving
by Clint Bradford 30 Jul '20

30 Jul '20

The Work-Sat Web site is moving to a new host ... You can access it during the next three days at - https://www.k6lcs.com/work-sat/ <https://www.k6lcs.com/work-sat/> Otherwise, it will be back to normal (?) for the weekend. (Usually “normal” and “Clint” aren’t terms used in the same email message … ) And so it goes … Clint Bradford K6LCS PS Why the move? More control and security for my visitors. Easier to update for ME.

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How many AMSAT awards have been issued?
by Bruce 29 Jul '20

29 Jul '20

I was asked by a ham last week how many awards have I issued. You know, I really had no idea. I took over doing the AMSAT awards in May, 2001. Most of the awards I have computer records for. However, the Satellite Communicator Club award, I did not start keeping track of them until 2003. So, you ask, how many awards have you issued? Satellite Communicator 407+ My records only go back to 2003 South Africa Satellite Communication Achievement 167 AMSAT Satellite Communication Achievement 273 Sexagesimal 64 Century 24 W4AMI 81 W4AMI endorsements 66 W4AMI 5000 25 Rover 55 GridMaster 3 and if I added correctly, it comes out to 1,165 plus whatever Satellite Communicator awards were issued in 2001 and 2002. That's a lot of certificate paper, a lot of ink and a bunch of envelopes and stiffeners to get them safely to their owners. Do you have one on your wall? If not, maybe you should submit for one or more so that one day I will hit 2,000 or 3,000 who knows. ;-) 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Member 2016-2020 ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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Coax repaired
by Russ Kinner 29 Jul '20

29 Jul '20

Well, after getting some connectors and a gas tube arc protector on the antenna, I'm back on air. Thanks to KX9X roaming today to confirm I'm functional. Now, receiving the ballot is still in the future. Looks like the USPS is really slowing the delivery of the mail due to no OT, and other orders from the top. Hope I don't need to ask for a replacement due to their lack of funds. Rusty, WA8ZID

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Amsat.org vs Launch.amsat.org?
by Bill Gaylord 29 Jul '20

29 Jul '20

What's the difference between the two? I am a Amsat member (as of sunday) and only have access to launch.amsat.org's login. I have not found a way to register for amsat.org's login and my launch.amsat.org login does not work on amsat.org. KD9KCK

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Next BoD Cycle - Bruninga (WB4APR) & Bauer (KA3HDO)
by Robert MacHale 29 Jul '20

29 Jul '20

During the next election cycle for Board of Directors I hope these guys will run - they are both senior and vibrant contributors to the community. 1) Bob Bruninga (WB4APR) - APRS on RS0ISS + many satellites 2) Frank Bauer (KA3HDO) - ARISS liaison to AMSAT This is just my personal opinion - I am not sponsored by anyone; no sideways hidden agendas. 73 Robert MacHale . KE6BLR FCC Licensed Radio Operator . http://www.aprsat.com/predict . http://www.spaceCommunicator.club . Supporting Boy Scout Merit Badges in Radio, Robotics, and Space Exploration Silly Joke: What did the little mountain say to the bigger mountain? Hi Cliff! He who dares not offend cannot be honest. -- Thomas Paine

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OSCAR Satellite QSO Party starts August 1
by M5AKA 29 Jul '20

29 Jul '20

The OSCAR Satellite QSO Party starts 0000 GMT on August 1 and runs until 2359 GMT on September 22. Details at https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/20/oscar-satellite-qso-party/ On Monday, July 27, Dom Smith M0BLF @dnas2 gave an online talk – Getting started on the QO-100 geostationary satellite transponders – as part of the RSGB Tonight @ 8 live webinar series. The video of his talk is now available, see https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/27/getting-started-on-qo-100/ ISS MAI-75 SSTV activity planned for Aug 4-5 https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/27/iss-mai-75-sstv-activity-planned-for-aug-4-… UWE-4 News: Successful first demonstration of orbit control on a 1U CubeSat https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/22/uwe-4-news-successful-first-demonstration-o… Trevor M5AKA---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ----

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geo sat
by mikflathead＠aol.com 29 Jul '20

29 Jul '20

I have been spending time listening to AO100. Are there any plans for one to be over the USA in the future? Mike

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AO-92 mode L/v at 0241utc for 24 hrs 29 July 2020
by Mark Hammond 29 Jul '20

29 Jul '20

Happy L-band! AO-92 mode L/v at 0241utc for 24 hrs 29 July 2020, if power budget permits. 73, -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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Sats and SOTA 7/29
by Michael N4DCW 28 Jul '20

28 Jul '20

From W4C/WM-014 (Standing Indian) tomorrow, Wednesday 7/29, I’ll aim for the following passes: 1123Z SO-50 1147Z XW-2F 1220Z AO-27 1304Z SO-50 Happy chasing! 73, Michael -- Michael Whitman(a)n4dcw.com Louisville, KY, USA - EM78

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Re: [amsat-bb] beepbeepbeepboopboopboopbeepbeepbeep
by Roy Dean 28 Jul '20

28 Jul '20

Ok, answered my own question: https://network.satnogs.org/observations/2615366/ Not just me. --Roy K3RLD > Anybody else hear this on the 16:00z pass of AO-92 that is finishing up > right now? Or is it my SDR? (didn't hear it on the AO-91 pass immediate > before this AO-92 pass). > > --Roy > K3RLD > >

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beepbeepbeepboopboopboopbeepbeepbeep
by Roy Dean 28 Jul '20

28 Jul '20

Anybody else hear this on the 16:00z pass of AO-92 that is finishing up right now? Or is it my SDR? (didn't hear it on the AO-91 pass immediate before this AO-92 pass). --Roy K3RLD

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Re: [amsat-bb] Signal to Noise ratio
by Mike Seguin 28 Jul '20

28 Jul '20

And here's a short text from Ian, GM3SEK about adjusting preamp gain. No test equipment needed. Too much gain can be a bad thing... ==== Here's a method that requires no test equipment at all. It comes from G4DGU, who designed all the original muTek transverters and outboard preamps to have adjustable gain. This method uses the sharp threshold effect of FM detectors at low S/N ratios, and it allows you to optimize the preamp/transverter gain for your local band noise conditions. 1. Turn the transverter/preamp gain well up. 2. Find a very weak but steady unmodulated carrier (off-air, not from a signal generator or a local birdie). Rotate the antenna until you can just detect the signal in FM mode. 3. Reduce the preamp/transverter gain until you hear the noise increase. The FM threshold is sensitive to a small fraction of a dB in S/N. 4. Increase the gain just a little,to the point where you can't hear the quieting improve much. 5. Switch back to a real DX mode. Remember that every dB of unnecessary preamp/transverter gain will probably subtract almost 1dB from your system intermod intercept! The penalty of adjusting the gain correctly is that you're living just above the "knee" where S/N will begin to deteriorate rapidly if something changes. It's worthwhile to repeat this test every few months - especially just before a contest. 73 from Ian G3SEK Editor, 'The VHF/UHF DX Book' 'In Practice' columnist for RadCom (RSGB) On 7/28/2020 9:28 AM, Leffke, Zachary via AMSAT-BB wrote: > An EXCELLENT topic of conversation, and one I keep circling back to over and over and over....... > > -Zach, KJ4QLP -- 73, Mike, N1JEZ "A closed mouth gathers no feet"

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Turning on a light
by Michael Tondee 28 Jul '20

28 Jul '20

The AMSAT membership has obviously long been in the dark about how the organization operates and what's involved in the finances and various decision making processes. Michelle and Patrick are trying to turn on a light and get some clarity and transparency. Despite the rancor it's caused and the fact that it's painful, it's becoming more and more undeniable how necessary it was and I fail to see how it's a bad thing. I'd love to go back to discussing satellites too but sometimes you have to go through the bad to get to the good. That's life. 73, Michael, W4HIJ

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Re: [amsat-bb] Searching AMSAT Archives Using Google 'Site:' Tool
by Clint Bradford 28 Jul '20

28 Jul '20

Hmmm ... never tried that. List messages are included in regular Google searches - but I am not sure if the more current years are included, or just the ones on the “old system” are being searched. Clint Bradford K6LCS Sent from my iPhone

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Signal to Noise ratio
by Albert Ozias 28 Jul '20

28 Jul '20

Do preamps improve the signal to noise ratio or simply amplify signal and noise?

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Re: [amsat-bb] Easy and FUN Antenna Projects
by Roy Dean 28 Jul '20

28 Jul '20

Ok, Clint. Then I'll call it as I see it: Please stop clogging the internet with your personal web page propaganda. --Roy K3RLD > Roy Dean: > > You need a little education. > > “Spam” is irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent indiscriminately to all audiences. > > “Advertising” is the activity or profession of producing ads for commercial products or services. > > What do I offer on my Web site? Information. Free-of-charge. No product nor service that > benefits me personally. > > SO … What I did - post ANTENNA PROJECTS to groups entitled “antennas,” “satellites,” and > “DIY Projects” is really quite an appropriate use of the ‘Net. No spam. Target audiences. > > Clint Bradford K6LCS > >

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(no subject)
by Jim Davis 27 Jul '20

27 Jul '20

Department of Redundancy Dept.

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AMSAT Awards Update
by Bruce 27 Jul '20

27 Jul '20

Here are the awards issued in the last two months. AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award for making their first satellite QSO Anthony Rizi, NR1Z Edward Hartzel, W3HMK James Brooks, KB3EFH Vilanova University ARC, W3YP Robin Shelley, G8VVY ------ AMSAT Communications Achievement Award Anthony Rizi, NR1Z, #628 Angus Alexander, KJ7KOJ, #629 ------ AMSAT Sexagesimal Satellite Communications Achievement Award Stephan Greene, KS1G, #187 Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ, #188 ------ AMSAT South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award Anthony Rizi, NR1Z, #US230 Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ, #US231 Angus Alexander, KJ7KOJ, #US232 ------ AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award (1,000-4,000) Mitchell Whitman, N4DCW, #110 Mark Johns, K0JM, #111 David Hoffman, KL1XI, #112 Phillip Sauvey, AK7DD, #113 Dennis Love, N7EGY, #114 Kell Bodholt, KI7UXT, upgrade to 2000 ------ AMSAT Rover Award Rover Call ===== ======== #054 N0TEL #055 AK7DD #056 KE0WPA ------ GridMaster Award GridMaster Call ========== ======== #11 KO4MA #12 N4UFO #13 W5CBF To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org and click on Services then Awards. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Member 2016-2020 ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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Sorry to Leave...Let Me Know When the BS is Done
by Dino Papas 27 Jul '20

27 Jul '20

Can someone let me know when all the political diatribe is done with so I can resubscribe to the mail list and just hear about satellites? TNX! Dino KLØS

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Searching AMSAT Archives Using Google 'Site:' Tool
by JoAnne K9JKM 27 Jul '20

27 Jul '20

It is possible to search the Amsat-BB archives by using the "site:" command in Google. For example, to find all mentions of the word "Diplexer" in amsat-BB, type this line into Google: Diplexer site:http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb To restrict the search to a particular year, type: Diplexer site:http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2014 The 'site' command is also applicable to the AMSAT News Service archives at: https://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/ (via Dan Schultz N8FGV, posted in ANS-267 bulletins, September 24, 2017) -- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm(a)amsat.org

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Secretly Hired Lawyers
by Clint Bradford 27 Jul '20

27 Jul '20

>> … secretly hired lawyers. It was the last thing we expected to find. Did you expect to threaten there welfare of a corporation and NOT have them responsibly respond? Oh, and b the way, litigants many times don’t tell the “opposition” their strategy when seeking counsel. I hear very few intelligent arguments from these “truth seekers.” And the noise of their NOT responding to allegation of past mis-deeds is deafening. Clint Bradford K6LCA AMSAT-NA Ambassador 909-999-SATS

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SSTV from ISS Aug 4-5
by Clint Bradford 27 Jul '20

27 Jul '20

MAI-75 SSTV activity planned for Aug 4 and 5 The final crew schedule for the week of Aug 3-9 was released recently and it showed a MAI-75 activity scheduled for Aug 4 and 5. This is soon after the Space X Demo-2 undock so changes to that event could impact the schedule. The current dates and times of the activity are as follows: Aug 4 (12:25-18:10 UTC) is setup and Day 1 operations. Aug 5 (11:15-18:45 UTC) is Day 2 operations and close out. This is the Moscow Aviation Institute SSTV experiment that is activate for orbital passes over Moscow, Russia. It has traditionally been PD-180 or PD-120 and transmitting on 145.800 MHz. -July 27th 2020 - ARISS Blog

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Alfa Spid Rotor Question
by Bob Leavitt 27 Jul '20

27 Jul '20

Our Grade School has been selected to participate in the NASA ARISS program. We are working to have our station setup for the scheduled October ISS contact. We are having a problem with the Alfa Spid rotor controller, in that it can see the port but cannot talk to it. This problem was duplicated by the technician at Hy-Gain (US Distributor). Has anyone else had a similar problem? If so, is there a solution? TNX 73, Bob KEØSDV

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Historical Data download for FOX-1A?
by Bill Gaylord 27 Jul '20

27 Jul '20

Is it possible to get some sort of download for the Historical Telemetry downlinked by Fox-1A? It would be interesting to study its life in space. 73 KD9KCK

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Re: [amsat-bb] Historical Data download for FOX-1A?
by Bill Gaylord 27 Jul '20

27 Jul '20

I will look into that in a few minuetes and also take a look at the file that Chris linked (Finally got home, was up in Dowagiac,Michigan for the weekend.) KD9KCK On Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 8:43 PM Mark L. Hammond <marklhammond(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Oh I forgot! How about way back machine and nasabare.txt from AMSAT? > > Mark N8MH > > On Sun, Jul 26, 2020 at 9:34 PM Bill Gaylord <chibill110(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> I looked it up by Norad ID. From what i know its TLE are opennly >> distrobuted by space tracked because it went up with some military stuff. >> Same reason it was never on CelesTrack. >> >> KD9KCK >> >> On Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 8:24 PM Mark L. Hammond <marklhammond(a)gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >>> Hi Bill, it’s aka AO-85 so pretty sure the Keps can still be gotten. Old >>> or new. >>> >>> 73, >>> Mark N8MH >>> >>> On Sun, Jul 26, 2020 at 9:21 PM Bill Gaylord via AMSAT-BB < >>> amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: >>> >>>> Thank you very much! Not at my computer at the moment but i will take a >>>> look in a bit. >>>> >>>> Btw is there a way for FoxTelem to be told what time it is to allow to >>>> process passes shortly after they occur? (I plan on trying to automate >>>> pulling data from SatNOGS for the still operating Foxes.) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> Also not totally related but any idea where i can look for old TLE for >>>> Fox-1A. I normally go to SpaceTrack to get thay sort of stuff but >>>> because >>>> Fox-1A doesnt exist there its not going to help much. >>>> >>>> KD9KCK >>>> >>>> >>>> On Sun, Jul 26, 2020, 7:37 PM Chris Thompson <g0kla(a)arrl.net> wrote: >>>> >>>> > Hi Bill, >>>> > >>>> > You can download all of the data for AO-85 from this link: >>>> > http://amsat.org/tlm/ao85/serverlogs.tar.gz That contains the raw >>>> data >>>> > in CSV format. For Fox-1A the conversions are defined in the back of >>>> the >>>> > manual for FoxTelem. >>>> > >>>> > As Jerry said, your best bet might be to use FoxTelem. You can save >>>> the >>>> > data as a CSV file from any graph. Even if it plots multiple >>>> channels. >>>> > That allows you to save converted data in human readable form and do >>>> > further analysis in another program. >>>> > >>>> > I'm more than happy to walk you through how to do this and help >>>> extracting >>>> > or converting the data. Let me know how I can help. >>>> > >>>> > 73 >>>> > Chris >>>> > >>>> > On Sun, Jul 26, 2020 at 8:26 PM Burns Fisher via AMSAT-BB < >>>> > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: >>>> > >>>> >> What CSV files are you getting from FoxTelem. As I recall they all >>>> have a >>>> >> first line that has the name of the field. Or do you mean >>>> >> translation from downlinked units to standard units (like volts, ma, >>>> >> degrees, etc)? I'm not sure there is a doc, but there probably >>>> should be. >>>> >> Let us know what you need to know. >>>> >> >>>> >> Burns WB1FJ >>>> >> >>>> >> On Sun, Jul 26, 2020 at 4:38 PM Bill Gaylord via AMSAT-BB < >>>> >> amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: >>>> >> >>>> >> > Is there a document on how the CSV files are formatted? (I can't >>>> seem to >>>> >> > find any information on what columns are what.) >>>> >> > >>>> >> > KD9KCK >>>> >> > >>>> >> > On Sun, Jul 26, 2020 at 2:07 AM Jerry Buxton via AMSAT-BB < >>>> >> > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: >>>> >> > >>>> >> > > Bill, >>>> >> > > >>>> >> > > You can download all of the data for any particular satellite >>>> with >>>> >> > > FoxTelem, using the "fetch server data" menu item. >>>> >> > > I would suggest setting up/switching to a separate FoxTelem data >>>> >> > > directory for that so the info doesn't overwrite your own >>>> captured >>>> >> data >>>> >> > > and can be left alone to play with. >>>> >> > > >>>> >> > > Your analysis is of interest to engineering and many others I am >>>> sure, >>>> >> > > once you have studied the data and come to some conclusions or >>>> >> > > hypotheses you may want to consider presenting it in an AMSAT >>>> Journal >>>> >> > > article. >>>> >> > > >>>> >> > > Jerry Buxton, NØJY >>>> >> > > >>>> >> > > On 7/25/2020 22:22, Bill Gaylord via AMSAT-BB wrote: >>>> >> > > > Is it possible to get some sort of download for the Historical >>>> >> > Telemetry >>>> >> > > > downlinked by Fox-1A? It would be interesting to study its >>>> life in >>>> >> > space. >>>> >> > > >>>> >> > > _______________________________________________ >>>> >> > > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum >>>> available >>>> >> > > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. >>>> >> > Opinions >>>> >> > > expressed >>>> >> > > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official >>>> views >>>> >> of >>>> >> > > AMSAT-NA. >>>> >> > > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite >>>> >> > program! >>>> >> > > Subscription settings: >>>> >> https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >>>> >> > > >>>> >> > _______________________________________________ >>>> >> > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum >>>> available >>>> >> > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. >>>> >> Opinions >>>> >> > expressed >>>> >> > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official >>>> views of >>>> >> > AMSAT-NA. >>>> >> > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite >>>> >> program! >>>> >> > Subscription settings: >>>> https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >>>> >> > >>>> >> _______________________________________________ >>>> >> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum >>>> available >>>> >> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. >>>> >> Opinions expressed >>>> >> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official >>>> views of >>>> >> AMSAT-NA. >>>> >> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite >>>> program! >>>> >> Subscription settings: >>>> https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >>>> >> >>>> > >>>> > >>>> > -- >>>> > Chris E. Thompson >>>> > chrisethompson(a)gmail.com >>>> > g0kla(a)arrl.net >>>> > >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available >>>> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. >>>> Opinions expressed >>>> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views >>>> of AMSAT-NA. >>>> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite >>>> program! >>>> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >>>> >>> -- >>> Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] >>> AMSAT Director and Command Station >>> >>> -- > Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] > AMSAT Director and Command Station > >

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Coax failure
by Russ Kinner 27 Jul '20

27 Jul '20

Well, my shortcuts in installing my VHF/UHF antennas finally caught me. I took the antenna down and it got away from me so the coax was kinked where it exited the house and the shield and center conductor opened. Very nice peak in the TDR function in my Nano-VNA where the open happened. New coax connectors on the way with the proper lightening connector so I can better protect the installation. You take short cuts, you eventually pay. So I'm stuck at 98 confirmed LotW for a few more days. Even with 50 years licensed, sometimes you get a lesson dropping you down a notch or two. Rusty. WA8ZID

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Re: [amsat-bb] Easy and FUN Antenna Projects
by Clint Bradford 26 Jul '20

26 Jul '20

Roy Dean: You need a little education. “Spam” is irrelevant or inappropriate messages sent indiscriminately to all audiences. “Advertising” is the activity or profession of producing ads for commercial products or services. What do I offer on my Web site? Information. Free-of-charge. No product nor service that benefits me personally. SO … What I did - post ANTENNA PROJECTS to groups entitled “antennas,” “satellites,” and “DIY Projects” is really quite an appropriate use of the ‘Net. No spam. Target audiences. Clint Bradford K6LCS >> ...Clint, do you really need to spam the internet with advertisements for your website?

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Re: [amsat-bb] Easy and FUN Antenna Projects
by Roy Dean 26 Jul '20

26 Jul '20

> > Got an old umbrella in the front closet? Some barbed wire pieces behind the shed? > > Work the "easy" FM voice satellites with your HT and one of the antenna projects > posted on the ANTENNAS page at ... > http://www.work-sat.com > > Clint K6LCS > > Clint, do you really need to spam the internet with advertisements for your website? https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/easy-and-fun-antenna-projects-for-… https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/easy-and-fun-antenna-projects-for-… https://www.eham.net/community/smf/index.php/topic,130404.0.html https://www.eham.net/community/smf/index.php/topic,130405.0.html --Roy K3RLD

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Re: [amsat-bb] HEO Junk?
by Clint Bradford 26 Jul '20

26 Jul '20

>> … Dude, why assume it was junk??? Well, I never imagined being to see anything worthwhile HEO-wise with the naked eye … But you are correct: It sure could have been something viable … Clint K6LCS

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Easy and FUN Antenna Projects
by Clint Bradford 26 Jul '20

26 Jul '20

Got an old umbrella in the front closet? Some barbed wire pieces behind the shed? Work the "easy" FM voice satellites with your HT and one of the antenna projects posted on the ANTENNAS page at ... http://www.work-sat.com Clint K6LCS

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So CA ARISS member developes ISS device
by Clint Bradford 26 Jul '20

26 Jul '20

https://lamesacourier.com/space-radio/ <https://lamesacourier.com/space-radio/> Clint Bradford K6LCS

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Re: [amsat-bb] FM Satellite HT Night Proposal
by Zach Metzinger 26 Jul '20

26 Jul '20

On 07/25/20 19:46, Yono Adisoemarta via AMSAT-BB wrote: > Over here in Indonesia we put the “HT only” note on the weekly IO-86 schedule as announced by LAPAN thru their fb/ig/twitter channel. > > And reminders thru postings in various WhatsApp groups. It seems that we're relying more and more on Internet-driven communications to schedule our satellite operations, rather than using our amateur radio resources. Shouldn't we be getting bulletins through the satellite itself, perhaps on the telemetry channel? I recall this being done on a previous satellite. Perhaps this is why we're losing spectrum allocations? Food for thought. --- Zach N0ZGO

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Re: [amsat-bb] FM Satellite HT Night Proposal
by Roy Dean 26 Jul '20

26 Jul '20

> > No doubt that AO-91 and AO-92 may not be the best choice due to the > extreme popularity there, but perhaps AO-27 or SO-50 could be a good > option. Or maybe even PO-101. I would think that if AMSAT is setting the rules (or guidelines), then it should be AMSAT that hosts the event. Therefore I would suggest that ONLY AO-91 and AO-92 be considered. As for getting the word out, I think most of us will listen to a control operator who states "HT use only until XX:XX UTC" (along with a proper callsign ID, of course). There are always those knuckleheads who try to make QSOs against the control operator's wishes, but I'm sure "cancel culture" will take care of them..... (whether or not it's justified is another topic of discussion). Remember experimenter's wednesday? Maybe "experimenter's every-other wednesday".... --Roy K3RLD

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Re: [amsat-bb] Ballots?
by Douglas B Tabor 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

Pony Express is slow out in the wild woolies of Wyoming. Have yet to see a ballot in my mail. And the Wells-Fargo wagon has been by a couple of times since I saw the first ballot received message on the BB. 73, Doug, N6UA Douglas Tabor dtabor52(a)icloud.com

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To repeat . . . again . . .
by Brennan Price 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

Accounting for performance standards of international first class and domestic presorted standard delivery, correctly addressed ballots will not be considered lost in post until August 12. Regarding the format of the election: the bylaws require a mailed ballot, but not necessarily a mailed return. I would have liked to have provided an electronic return option, but that would have incurred costs and restrictions on candidate statement availability. These issues raised concern among the board and officers across the perceived idealogical divide. Accordingly, this election is being conducted by post. Post not infrequently involves waiting. That's why two months are allowed for the return time. Members' understanding of the finality of the timing and method of the election is appreciated. 73 de Brennan N4QX Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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Re: [amsat-bb] Telling the difference between 50-ohm and 75-ohm N connectors
by Glenn Little WB4UIV 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

The center pin for 50 Ohm and 75 Ohm BNC are the same. The difference in impedance is determine by the dielectric. If you look at a 50 Ohm BNC connector you see dielectric around the center pin for the female and around the inside perimeter for the male. The 75 Ohm BNC is missing this dielectric. It is very easy to see the difference if you know what to look for. The Type N connector impedance is determined by the diameter of the center pin. The 75 Ohm connector had a smaller diameter center pin than does the 50 Ohm connector. To insert a 50 Ohm male Type N connector into a 75 Ohm female will destroy the female center pin. To insert a 75 Ohm male type N connector into a 50 Ohm male may not do any damage, but the connection will be very unreliable. 73 Glenn WB4UIV Retired TV Chief Engineer On 7/25/2020 6:15 PM, GEO Badger via AMSAT-BB wrote: > Same with the 75??? BNC/M connector. > --- > Ciao baby, catch you on the flip side > 73 de W3AB/GEO > > http://www.w3ab.org > > You can say "over", you can say "out", you just can't say "over and out". > > On Saturday, July 25, 2020, 11:52:48 AM PDT, Zach Metzinger via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > > I just ran across this tidbit[1]: > >> Q: How can I tell the difference between a 50 and 75 Ohm N connector? >> A: You can tell the difference by the center pin. A 50 Ohm connector has a pointed pin. A 75 Ohm has a rounded pin. > I've always looked at the center conductor to shield (not ferrule) > distance to make sure I had a 50-ohm version. I don't have any 75-ohm > versions lying about the shack. Can anyone else confirm this? > > I recall, back in my RF engineer days, that we had a whole box of 75-ohm > N connectors which were marked with bright red paint. Woe to the junior > engineer who coupled the 50-ohm and 75-ohm version, which would bend the > center spring fingers on the female connector apart permanently. > > One can also kill a female N connector by mating it with a male PL-259. > I have not done this myself, but I knew someone who did this twice on > his fancy new antenna analyzer and wondering why everything was such a > poor match. :-) > > [1] https://www.showmecables.com/n-male-crimp-connector-lmr-400-belden-9913 > > --- Zach > N0ZGO > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Glenn Little ARRL Technical Specialist QCWA LM 28417 Amateur Callsign: WB4UIV wb4uiv(a)arrl.net AMSAT LM 2178 QTH: Goose Creek, SC USA (EM92xx) USSVI LM NRA LM SBE ARRL TAPR "It is not the class of license that the Amateur holds but the class of the Amateur that holds the license"

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Re: [amsat-bb] FM Satellite HT Night Proposal
by Michael Tondee 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

Seeing this post from Koos talking about an HT with full duplex capabilities makes me wonder how many of you are trying to work these birds without it. I know there are not many full duplex HT's out there that work as well as the ones we used to have but you really are shooting yourself in the foot from the get go if you don't pursue some type of full duplex solution, even if it's two HT's. FM sat night or not, it really should not be that hard to work an FM sat with a 5 watt handheld and a directional antenna. The key is hearing yourself and making sure you actually have the birds "attention". Anyone who tells you that you don't need full duplex to work the sats is doing you a disservice. Sat work of any sort is going to be tough if you go into it with the equivalent measure of " tying one hand behind your back" Just sayin... 73, Michael, W4HIJ Message: 1 Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2020 11:12:19 +0200 From: Koos van den Hout<koos(a)idefix.net> To:[email protected] Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] FM Satellite HT Night Proposal Message-ID:<20200725091219.3hp4sxfiwjg3ahts(a)idefix.net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Quoting Walter Holmes via AMSAT-BB who wrote on Sat 2020-07-25 at 00:49: > Any idea what the chances would be of having something like 1 night a week or month, on ONE of the FM birds, that could be reserved for HT access only? > > My thinking on this would be a great way for people to test out their portable or limited satellite stations with a great deal less collisions against all the other much stronger stations. > > I have heard from plenty of people that would like to try a temporary or portable station on the birds, but we all know that?s not even a remote possibility unless your on super early in the morning or late at night. As it happens I was trying a new radio for a portable setup last evening (I bought a KG-UV1K to get full-duplex capabilities). On a not-to-high pass yesterday evening (max 21 degrees elevation with lots of buildings around) I did hear AO-92 and could understand some of the callsigns, but could not get in at all. Mister Ollaaaa was also active on some occassions. I will try again on a higher pass. My plan is to bring it along on an upcoming holiday, which will be in a somewhat rare grid. But since it's a holiday and I'm not sure when a pass will be at a usable time, I'm not going to announce it as an activation. I may just make a few contacts. So I'm the 'target audience' for your idea, and I really think it's a good idea. Koos PE4KH

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Arrow antenna for sale
by n4qwf 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

I have the model 146/437-10wBP arrow antenna I wish to sell. It has the removable duplexer in the handle and is the split boom model. It has 3 elements for VHF and 7 elements for UHF. It is in excellent condition. The new price is $159.00 for this antenna. I am asking $100.00 plus shipping. Thanks <<John

1 1

Telling the difference between 50-ohm and 75-ohm N connectors
by Zach Metzinger 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

I just ran across this tidbit[1]: > Q: How can I tell the difference between a 50 and 75 Ohm N connector? > A: You can tell the difference by the center pin. A 50 Ohm connector has a pointed pin. A 75 Ohm has a rounded pin. I've always looked at the center conductor to shield (not ferrule) distance to make sure I had a 50-ohm version. I don't have any 75-ohm versions lying about the shack. Can anyone else confirm this? I recall, back in my RF engineer days, that we had a whole box of 75-ohm N connectors which were marked with bright red paint. Woe to the junior engineer who coupled the 50-ohm and 75-ohm version, which would bend the center spring fingers on the female connector apart permanently. One can also kill a female N connector by mating it with a male PL-259. I have not done this myself, but I knew someone who did this twice on his fancy new antenna analyzer and wondering why everything was such a poor match. :-) [1] https://www.showmecables.com/n-male-crimp-connector-lmr-400-belden-9913 --- Zach N0ZGO

1 0

Modernized/Efficient Voting [was: Ballots?]
by Ev Tupis 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

The wisdom of the crowd is coming into focus. -Ev, W2EV Doug Faunt N6TQS wrote: Print, sign, scan, email should be an acceptable solution. 73, Doug Jean Marc Momple <jean.marc.momple(a)gmail.com> worte: Therefore, I strongly suggest that electronic vote be put in place or at least the ballots should be sent trough e-mail and scan sign copy of the duly filled document be valid for far away members.

1 0

HEO junk?
by Clint Bradford 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

While looking for the comet from Southern California last night (too low to see through city lights), I saw something right above me … moving … Way too slow to be what I would call “low-earth” stuff … Which meant is was much higher? Is there “HEO junk” out there? Puzzled, Clint K6LCS

5 4

AO7 yesterday
by Joseph Trombino, Jr 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

Howdy Gang. Got my SSB preamps installed yesterday and listened for AO7 just for grins. Listened on the beacon frequency 145.700Mhz+/- for a few minutes past AOS and heard nothing. Tuned down into the passband heard a couple of stations…believe I copied KB1HY in FN31 on SSB. Is the beacon still working on AO7? Just getting my feet wet after quite a few years. 73, Joe W2KJ

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W0AAE GRID ROVING TO EN47 AREA
by Ham Radio Essentials 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

Hello all, Sorry this information is a little late. I've been busy with other stuff. I will be going to the North Shore of Minnesota, July 26-29 . I'm hoping to activate a few grids on this trip. Grids will probably be EN47, EN46, or around those grids. I will only be doing AO-91 and AO-92 satellites, and maybe some SO-50. This will be a relaxing trip, so I will get on the satellites when I can. Thanks everybody! 73 de W0AAE

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Re: [amsat-bb] Ballots?
by Doug Faunt N6TQS +1-510-717-1197 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

It's pretty sad we can't vote online. I had to use up one of my stock of stamps- how 20th century, like checks. 73, doug

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FM Satellite HT Night Proposal
by Douglas Tabor 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

I really like Walters’ idea of having an HT only (or QRP) time for an FM satellite. Once a week or even month would be fine. I have special memories of using my TH-D72 with a long whip getting into AO-91 and working ZL3GAV (from RF73 to RE66) back in 2018. My thought is this non-QRO time would allow new-to-sat hams and those testing portable equipment an opportunity to experience the wonder of satellites without having to wedge themselves between other QSOs. And to Walters’ final comment about operating with an HT and an Arrow That was my experience for two years with ONLY SO-50 available and a Yaesu FT-530 running 2.5 watts. The competition for SO-50 was intense with other rovers and QRO stations. Hector (congrats GridMaster #13) suggested I use a larger battery for full 5 watts from the FT-530. This could be one of potential results for an operator using this ’special’ time for HT-only FM sat usage. 73 and Dream On Walter. Great idea! Doug, N6UA Douglas Tabor dtabor52(a)gmail.com

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RS-44 orbit
by ok2gz 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

Hi Bob and Nico, I want to add some info about this problem. If You have the ARRL Satellite Handbook, see page A-8 (Appendix A - Satellite Orbits). There is Equation 13a, which give us the value - rate of change of argument of perigee in degrees per day. The value for RS-44 with current TLE data is -2.3331333 degrees per day. A negative value means that the ARGP angle will be smaller tomorrow. For example 180 degrees divided by -2.3331333 is approx. -77.1495471 days. So, in 77.15 days the positions of the apogee and perigee will be swaped. And yet, if we have apogee in the best position for some rare qso with RS-44 transponder, this situation will be repeated 2.366 times per year. My calculation: 360/2.3331333 = 154.2989 and 365 days / 154.2989 is 2.366 With the same equation 13a we can calculate the famous angle of 63.435 degrees of inclination with zero drift as Nico says. This angle was used by the old Russian Molnia satellites at a time when it was still difficult to reach a geostationary orbit. My favorite FO-29 (now probably nice history) has Rate of change ARGP -2.573348 deg/day. Yet, AO-91 with elliptical orbit (apogee 811.8 km /perigee 453.6 km) has Rate of change ARGP = -3.251476 degrees/day, so it takes -55.359 days for exchange apogee and perigee positions.. It is very good to check the ARGP angle in the TLE data when working via elliptical orbiting satellites. For example, for the qso between the eastern costs of the USA and Europe, we need an orbit height of approximately 950 km (for OK stations). FO-29has an apogee height of 1320.8 km, perigee 801.2 km. It was not possible to make with the apogee in the wrong position QSO USA-Europe... 73 Jarda ok2gz -- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. https://www.avg.com

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RS-44 orbit
by 73 Bob W7LRD 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

Hi-RS44 varies in altitude from about 1180 to about 1525. Seemingly always in the southern hemisphere. I'm trying to wrap my head around the orbital mechanics and getting nowhere. Does the maximum height ever get to the northern hemisphere? I'm obviously missing something here, a little help please. 73 Bob W7LRD

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Re: [amsat-bb] FM Satellite HT Night Proposal
by Koos van den Hout 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

Quoting Walter Holmes via AMSAT-BB who wrote on Sat 2020-07-25 at 00:49: > Any idea what the chances would be of having something like 1 night a week or month, on ONE of the FM birds, that could be reserved for HT access only? > > My thinking on this would be a great way for people to test out their portable or limited satellite stations with a great deal less collisions against all the other much stronger stations. > > I have heard from plenty of people that would like to try a temporary or portable station on the birds, but we all know that’s not even a remote possibility unless your on super early in the morning or late at night. As it happens I was trying a new radio for a portable setup last evening (I bought a KG-UV1K to get full-duplex capabilities). On a not-to-high pass yesterday evening (max 21 degrees elevation with lots of buildings around) I did hear AO-92 and could understand some of the callsigns, but could not get in at all. Mister Ollaaaa was also active on some occassions. I will try again on a higher pass. My plan is to bring it along on an upcoming holiday, which will be in a somewhat rare grid. But since it's a holiday and I'm not sure when a pass will be at a usable time, I'm not going to announce it as an activation. I may just make a few contacts. So I'm the 'target audience' for your idea, and I really think it's a good idea. Koos PE4KH -- Amateur station PE4KH https://pe4kh.idefix.net/

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Re: [amsat-bb] HEO junk?
by Bruce Perens 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

Looks like this one, so you may be right: https://mobile.twitter.com/IridiumBoss/status/1284565484344672256

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Re: [amsat-bb] HEO junk?
by Joseph B. Fitzgerald 25 Jul '20

25 Jul '20

Not all comet watchers enjoy seeing man made objects apparently. This Facebook post has generated a lot of press. https://www.facebook.com/elcielodecanarias.es/photos/a.224658390885198/4415… de KM1P

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Re: [amsat-bb] HEO junk?
by Vince Fiscus, KB7ADL 24 Jul '20

24 Jul '20

At 07:38 PM 7/24/2020 +0000, jfitzgerald(a)alum.wpi.edu wrote: >Not all comet watchers enjoy seeing man made objects apparently. This >Facebook post has generated a lot of press. >https://www.facebook.com/elcielodecanarias.es/photos/a.224658390885198/4415… >de KM1P I don't do facebook, or twitter or care to. A satellite qso is much more fun, and educational.

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Radio Information, Please
by Gerald Payton 24 Jul '20

24 Jul '20

I just renewed membership and request information about compatibility on my radio ( IC-2730A ) for working the FM birds. I was hoping to use my IC-2730A along with HRD but cannot find a CAT cable for compatibility. HRD lists the 2730 as an available radio but no joy connecting. I am hoping to connect with someone that IS or HAS used this radio with or without HRD for help. If this is NOT a viable radio, please notify me! Jerry AB5R

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-07-24 20:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 24 Jul '20

24 Jul '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-07-24 20:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: American School of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Thu 2020-07-30 16:41:42 UTC 78 deg Watch for live simulcast starting about 10 minutes before AOS at: https://youtu.be/MSyfzEHYwrE (***) ######################################################################################################################################## A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. ************************************************* ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, I will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates. The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No new schools Cancelled: No new schools The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements here also. Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2020-07-24 20:00 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2020-07-20 16:30 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Proposal Window of February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 has now closed. For future proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. ******************************************************************************** ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, go to: https://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) https://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ ****************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. ******************************************************************************* All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 138 Sergey RV3DR with 134 Gaston ON4WF with 123 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed, and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1392. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1325. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 62 now on orbit Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner SpaceX-Demo2 now on orbit Bob Behnken KE5GGX Doug Hurley **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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ORI Transponder Design Review 30 July 2020
by Michelle Thompson 24 Jul '20

24 Jul '20

Greetings all! A design review workshop has been scheduled for 7am Pacific 30 July 2020 for the 6U digital multiplexing transponder from Open Research Institute. This work is made available for free to the general public and assumes AMSAT as the primary audience and beneficiary. The design is the same as one in progress for AREx (AMSAT/ARISS USA). The design review will be of direct benefit to AREx and meets their requirements. The design is under consideration for other missions. If you would like to participate in the design review workshop, then please write me at w5nyv(a)arrl.net for a Zoom invite. The communications functions and circuits are the focus of this review. System architecture document can be found here: https://github.com/phase4space/payload-dmt/tree/master/doc/system-architect… (Brief) Statement of Work for Phase 1 can be found here: https://openresearch.institute/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/02/Summary-… Thank you! -Michelle W5NYV (One of your AMSAT Directors)

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LEO sats
by Joseph Trombino, Jr 24 Jul '20

24 Jul '20

Howdy Gang. Getting my sat station set up again after many years. I’m familiar with AO7 and FO29 but not any of the newer LEO sats. What are the newer LEO’s, with linear transponders for SSB/CW only, that I should take a look at? Many thanks for any info. 73, Joe W2KJ

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LEO Sats
by Joseph Trombino, Jr 24 Jul '20

24 Jul '20

Many thanks to all of those folks who took the time to provide LEO sat info to me. Hope to be on the birds soon. Again, many thanks. 73, Joe W2KJ

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Brand new to satellite
by Doug Daniels 24 Jul '20

24 Jul '20

Hello all, I am brand new to satellite, and actually made my first QSO this morning on AO-91. I found this email group in the AMSAT Getting Started With Amateur Satellites 2020 which I purchased on a recommendation. Is this the informational email group? (I also signed up for the New England mailing list, but it looks like there hasn't been any activity since 2013) I am of course looking for all the information I can find, but this group seems to be more of a political discussion. Please point me in the right direction. Thanks! -- --... ...-- Doug K1RDD

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Is This AMSAT's Future?
by Stephen DeVience 24 Jul '20

24 Jul '20

It's interesting that there are amateur satellite allocations in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz ranges as well. A number of groups are doing ham internet on those frequencies using modified routers. This might be an option for some kind of digital satellite, although dealing with doppler could be a problem. I can envision an amateur version of Starlink. -Stephen, N8URE

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Orbit visualization & antenna performance
by Zach Metzinger 23 Jul '20

23 Jul '20

Hello all, In order to evaluate antenna effectiveness in the 70cm downlink band, I'm trying to visualize the orbits of the following satellites: AO-27 SO-50 RS-44 I can find the perigee/apogee and output power on these, and, so far, I have: AO-27 788x801 km 1W/0.5W/0.1W SO-50 603x713 km 0.25W RS-44 1175x1511 km 5W On the FM birds: My observed data shows that SO-50 is difficult to hear while AO-27 is booming, so I hypothesize that AO-27 is transmitting with 0.5W or 1W. RS-44's beacon seems to be fairly weak, while CW/SSB signals on the transponder are quite strong. Does anyone know where I might find more details on RS-44's construction such as antennas and power output for the beacon? Thanks, --- Zach N0ZGO EM12jw

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Re: [amsat-bb] Is This AMSAT's Future?
by Zach Metzinger 23 Jul '20

23 Jul '20

On 2020-07-22 13:18, Bob Hammond via AMSAT-BB wrote: > I'd like to learn more about microwave ham radio. Hello Bob, In these parts, North Texas Microwave Society (https://www.ntms.org/) is a gathering of microwave enthusiasts. I'm a relative newcomer to this group, but there are a lot of good articles and presentations on the website. W1GHZ (http://www.w1ghz.org/) has a site chock-full of various microwave projects, ideas, and publications. The RTL-SDR folks have an entire category dedicated to microwave projects and links, but it is not all amateur radio. https://www.rtl-sdr.com/tag/microwave/ These sites just scratch the surface of microwave work. I'm sure there are many on the -bb list that could provide other pointers. --- Zach N0ZGO

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Federated Wireless and me
by Robert McGwier 23 Jul '20

23 Jul '20

I founded Federated Wireless with Dr. Joseph Mitola (father of SDR and Cognitive Radio), Dr. Charles Clancy (VP for Intelligence MITRE), and Dr. Jeffrey Reed of Virginia Tech. The patents I am assigned and the ideas I helped with enable Spectrum Sharing now approved by the FCC. Verizon is our largest customer. I am a candidate for the AMSAT board of directors. If you find someone more qualified, vote for them. https://www.telecompetitor.com/qualified-cbrs-auction-bidders-total-271-inc… -- Bob McGwier Founder, Federated Wireless, Inc Founder and Technical Advisor, HawkEye 360, Inc Adjunct Professor Virginia Tech Former Chief Scientist: The Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology Senior Member IEEE, Facebook: N4HYBob, ARS: N4HY

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AMSAT Gridmaster Award
by Bruce 23 Jul '20

23 Jul '20

Congratulations to Hector, W5CBF, for earning AMSATGridmaster Award #13 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Member 2016-2020 ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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Address Change
by Michael Whitman 23 Jul '20

23 Jul '20

Brennan, So sorry for this confusion, but we moved and I hadn’t changed my address on the member portal before July 1. It WAS 4000 Waterford Circle and is NOW 517 Eline Ave. Do you mind to resend? Again, I’m so sorry about this. 73, Michael, N4DCW -- Michael Whitman michael(a)n4dcw.com Home Grid: EM78

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Re: [amsat-bb] Ballots?
by Brennan Price 23 Jul '20

23 Jul '20

I have replied to Jack and another similarly situated member separately, but wanted to offer the following guidance to all members. It would be worthwhile for members to verify their addresses of record through the AMSAT membership portal at launch.amsat.org. If that address is missing or incorrect, it is almost certain your ballot won't be delivered. If you need to correct the address, please advise me, and pending verification against the voter list, I will send a replacement at the next opportunity (which will be Saturday at the earliest, as I am away from home). The procedure for an correcting an incorrect address is different from the procedure for deeming a ballot lost in post. As stated earlier, given domestic and international delivery standards and accounting for guard time, a correctly addressed ballot will not be considered lost in post until August 12. 73, Brennan Price, N4QX Secretary, Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2020 10:53:36 -0400 From: <kd4iz(a)frawg.org> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>, <Info(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Ballots? Message-ID: <012a01d66101$0d3d48b0$27b7da10$(a)frawg.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Folks, I am an AMSAT life member and very much want to participate in the upcoming election of directors. I have been watching the mail for a ballot envelope from AMSAT and have yet to see one. Were the ballot envelopes mailed out all at once or are they being sent "batched"? When should I start to worry? Thanks much in advance for your answer. Jack Spitznagel, DDS, PhD KD4IZ Trustee for NR3DT Museum Ship USCGC W-37 Amateur Radio Group

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Orbit visualization & antenna performance
by Stephen DeVience 23 Jul '20

23 Jul '20

I couldn't find any tech specs other than what you have, but I did find a video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWHn4H-BDPI Also consider using Lilacsat-2 for your comparison. It has a circularly polarized UHF downlink. http://lilacsat.hit.edu.cn/wp/?page_id=257 https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/comms/lilacsat-2/ -Stephen, N8URE

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Ballots?
by kd4iz＠frawg.org 23 Jul '20

23 Jul '20

Folks, I am an AMSAT life member and very much want to participate in the upcoming election of directors. I have been watching the mail for a ballot envelope from AMSAT and have yet to see one. Were the ballot envelopes mailed out all at once or are they being sent "batched"? When should I start to worry? Thanks much in advance for your answer. Jack Spitznagel, DDS, PhD KD4IZ Trustee for NR3DT Museum Ship USCGC W-37 Amateur Radio Group

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Hawkeye 360 news
by Robert McGwier 23 Jul '20

23 Jul '20

Hawkeye 360, a company I cofounded, has its next cluster of 3 spacecraft through testing. It has significant new capabilities. And there are FIVE more clusters planned for launch in 2021. This candidate for the board of directors of AMSAT brings experience and capabilities that can help AMSAT. I ask for your vote and if you can find a more qualified candidate vote for them. https://spacenews.com/hawkeye-360-cluster-2/ Bob McGwier N4HY

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Re: [amsat-bb] Is This AMSAT's Future?
by Clint Bradford 23 Jul '20

23 Jul '20

Some wonderfully informative answers - many thanks! Clint Bradford K6LCS > On Jul 22, 2020, at 2:45 PM, amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org wrote: > > Is This AMSAT's Future?

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Slack vs. eMail -- The medium is the message
by Joe Leikhim 23 Jul '20

23 Jul '20

Something for the new BOD to consider. I have been monitoring/lurking AMSAT-BB for years, and still have to go to the archives to read a thread, cut and paste an e-mail to contribute. I still have not figured out its clunkiness. It may be a barrier to new tech types. I am old school and it seems archaic to me. I am using Groups.io and I am the owner/moderator of two mail lists over there. ICOM-IC-970(a)groups.io and ICOM-ICR-9000(a)groups.io. (Welcome aboard if interested) This is a very flexible system and has both an e-mail and web interface. It was designed to replace yahoo groups which declined into self destruction by yahoo. For my purposes, they run themselves. I recommend considering it for AMSAT-BB. Initially there will be some noise from folks in bandwidth challenged areas, but once they read the instructions and set their accounts appropriately it will work fine. My accounts are free. For a very large organization there may be a subscription cost. It may be possible to have the archives converted and embedded into the list. If not, they can be stored in the files area or linked to their current location. If the change is made, be sure to redirect or block new submissions to the old system so there is thread continuity. Feel free to subscribe to mine and check out the features. -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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QO-100 LNB
by Ev Tupis 23 Jul '20

23 Jul '20

Does the LNB have a dielectric lens on it? I can't tell from the pictures (and I'm looking to experiment with dielectric lenses...and am looking for an inexpensive source). Ev, W2EV Rochester VHF Group

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All operations back to normal
by Bruce 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

I removed the crashed drive, installed the cloned drive from April and everything booted. Reinstalled the crashed drive and was able to look at all the files, just not boot from it. Moved all my files and databases over and everything is back to normal. Wasted a couple hours but so much better than wasting days. Copied all the files for my email client and everything is as it was. Nothing lost. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Member 2016-2020 ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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Filters
by Brad Brooks WF7T 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

Bob, first...I hope you feel better quickly. Second, have you seen this? http://www.w1ghz.org/filter/Combline_Filters_for_VHF_and_UHF.pdf 73 Brad WF7T

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-92 L/v
by Andrew Glasbrenner 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

Hi David, Mark is correct. We did several polls, and they all came back to keep it where it is. The results were 2 to 1 and 3 to 1 in the two polls AMSAT did on FB and Twitter. There are other factors at play, but Tuesday night L/v seems to be the clear majority preference. If ESEO is ever placed in amateur service, that will be an additional L band resource. Golf-TEE and Golf-1 will also have L band uplink capability with the 10GHz downlink. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT VP Operations -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org> On Behalf Of Mark L. Hammond via AMSAT-BB Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2020 5:17 PM To: David Worboys <kg4zlb(a)icloud.com> Cc: AMSAT <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] HEO Hi David, The L-band receiver setup is on a 24 hour timer (unless the satellite resets due to SAA or low battery voltage before the timer is up!). As I recall, we did a pretty good poll via social media (FB, Twitter if I recall) and Wednesday UTC was the top pick. Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] AMSAT Director and Command Station On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 4:54 PM David Worboys via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > Following on from Patrick’s post (below), I just got home and checked > to find that the first AO-92 pass for me is at 23:13 edt tonight > which, as I have to get up at 3.15am for work, is a definite no-no! > > What is the reason for L/U to be only switched on for just a 24 hour > period and during the work week? Is it automatically switched back or > does the command station do it? If that latter, can it be left on for > say, 48 hours to give operators a better chance of working L band or > moved to a weekend slot? What with the non activity last week I think > its been about three weeks since the last time I could use Mode L and > whilst I appreciate that there are a lot of people who want to use > that mode, opening up the ability would give a greater number of operators the opportunity. > > If the 24 hour period is the maximum available to preserve the health > of the satellite then I understand but I would be interested in > knowing the rationale! > > Many thanks > > 73 > > David > KG4ZLB > > > > > > > On Jul 22, 2020, at 1:30 PM, Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) via > AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > Hi Andrew! > > I am all for a variety of satellites. When we had AO-51 in the 2000s, > I found the pieces to work its V/S FM repeater as I started working > satellites. Doppler at 2.4 GHz made tuning those downlinks an almost > constant thing on those passes, but it was fun. We have the sort of > transponder you mentioned in your post with AO-92's L/V FM repeater > right now. We are only permitted to use the 1.2 GHz band for satellite > uplinks, not downlinks. > > Many satellite operators now have the 1.2 GHz uplink capability with > the IC-9700, but the only time AO-92 L/V is available appears to be > inconvenient for many who might want to try it right now (Tuesday > evenings and Wednesday mornings in North America). We were told that > the switch from a Sunday UTC activation (Saturday nights and Sunday > mornings in North America) last year was not going to be a permanent > change. I think there would be more new call signs heard on AO-92 L/V > with those IC-9700s and other radios, if that mode was available at a > more convenient time for those who have work or school commitments > during the week. It isn't like we lack V/U or U/V FM satellites right > now. > > 73! > > > > > > Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK > http://www.wd9ewk.net/ > Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK > > > > > > > > > > On Wed, Jul 22, 2020 at 4:46 PM Andrew Lazenby via AMSAT-BB < > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > > Hello EveryoneI recently joined Amsat because I felt like a bit of a > > hypocrite for complaining about things, and not doing my part to > > change them. One thing that does bug me is the HEO satellites having > > microwave uplinks and downlinks. I think that will greatly limit the > > clientele that will be able to use these. > > I have head many older hams gripe about LEO satellites and reflect > > back on how back in the day there would be passes up for hours! Many > > of them where using drifty transverters with terrible noise figures, > > turning antennas with tv rotators and no preamp! The argument that I > > have heard > to > > move to mircowave uplinks and downlinks is lower noise, but if it > > worked with them back then, then what's changed? > > Something else to consider is that the microwave spectrum is under > > fire from commercial interest more and more. Why not consider like a > > U/L or > L/U > > transponder? That would bring the envelope a little closer to where > > the average ham could operate with out investing in some serious > > equipment, while keeping the dream of HEO alive for the large > > percentage of > satellite > > operators, and not just a handful? > > Forgive me if Im wrong, but I just wanted to put my 2 cents in the pot. > If > > we all would learn to work together as much as we fuss we would be > > making some tracks. Thanks everyone, Andrew N4LAZ > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. > Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect > the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. > Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect > the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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HEO
by Andrew Lazenby 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

Hello EveryoneI recently joined Amsat because I felt like a bit of a hypocrite for complaining about things, and not doing my part to change them. One thing that does bug me is the HEO satellites having microwave uplinks and downlinks. I think that will greatly limit the clientele that will be able to use these. I have head many older hams gripe about LEO satellites and reflect back on how back in the day there would be passes up for hours! Many of them where using drifty transverters with terrible noise figures, turning antennas with tv rotators and no preamp! The argument that I have heard to move to mircowave uplinks and downlinks is lower noise, but if it worked with them back then, then what's changed? Something else to consider is that the microwave spectrum is under fire from commercial interest more and more. Why not consider like a U/L or L/U transponder? That would bring the envelope a little closer to where the average ham could operate with out investing in some serious equipment, while keeping the dream of HEO alive for the large percentage of satellite operators, and not just a handful? Forgive me if Im wrong, but I just wanted to put my 2 cents in the pot. If we all would learn to work together as much as we fuss we would be making some tracks. Thanks everyone, Andrew N4LAZ Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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"Walking and chewing gum at the same time"
by David Reinhart 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

I put together an HEO station on the cheap. I even contributed an article to the Journal on how I did it. If you take your time, shop around, pick up some used gear, and do some work on your own, it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. One problem is we keep talking HEO vs LEO and we forget what used to be in between. The RS birds were very easy to work. They had a much lower Doppler shift than the FM birds and didn't even need a VHF antenna that was steerable in elevation, just azimuth; or even an egg beater with enough power. I used a G5RV and an ARR preamp in the shack along with my HF transceiver for receive. When I got my WAS OSCAR I worked my last state on an RS bird during a <1 minute pass! When I submitted my application for the award, I did some analysis and figured out that over 50% of contacts were on RS birds, mostly RS-10. At a couple of the Symposia I brought up the idea of a VHF/10m satellite built from two sets of multiple cubes, separated by the HF antenna made of spring steel, like measuring tape, with the VHF antennas at the end of one stack. The 10M transmitter in one stack, 2M receiver and control in the other, batteries in both, solar cells all over. Nobody was interested. If you walk to talk price barriers, list price on a new MFJ 2M SSB transceiver is $359, and a CW module is available, too. I used a used Kenwood 2M multimode rig to start with. I didn't contribute a fortune to AO-40, but I put in all I could afford a bit more besides. Not only was I terribly disappointed when it died, I was even more disappointed when everything but LEO seemed to vanish from our goals. Whoever is on the board, I want to see that back! David Reinhart, W4DSR (ex-WA6ILT)

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Is This AMSAT's Future?
by Joe Leikhim 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

There are a myriad of regional clubs that cater to weak signal operations from VHF into microwave bands. SBMS, SVHFS and FLWSS are some I am aware of. The technology for microwave experimentation is as older than ARRL itself. J.C. Bose 60 GHz experiments in the 1890s. I guess what I am saying is that there is no big leap to build or acquire microwave gear suitable for satellites. Perhaps some folks in the weak signal OPs are already AMSAT members or could be enticed. "I'd like to learn more about microwave ham radio. Bob W7OTJ" -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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Fw: HEO
by Robert Bankston 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

Andrew, The great thing about AMSAT's GOLF program is the flexible capabilities of its communications payload. Providing options make us more inclusive, rather than forcing you to use a specific band or mode. GOLF-Tee will have a V/u transponder and an SDR-based experimental package to allow a 1 Mbps downlink in the 10 GHz band. https://www.amsat.org/greater-orbit-larger-footprint-an-introduction-to-the… I know you are already V/u capable, so that leaves only the 10GHz downlink 38BDU is absolutely correct. TV LNBs are a cheap entry point to receive X-band. Unfortunately, U.S. satellite TV frequencies are different then the rest of the World, so we have more of a challenge. We will have to purchase from overseas or find something locally. DirectTV's International World products look promising. Their DTV36LNB is capable of 10GHz RX, using a 436 MHz IF. The LNB is running about $10 USD and a companion 36" dish for $60. QO-100 has proven that Hams will always rise up and share or offer affordable communication alternatives. If there is a cheaper and better way of doing it, we will collectively find a way to do it. Robert, KE4AL

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My Ballot arrived - Now what? Something to consider.
by john＠papays.com 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

One of my ham radio friends asked me a few weeks ago, "What is going on with AMSAT?" It's nothing short of an all out civil war. And it is nasty and it's tearing us apart. With so many posts and so many twists and turns, it is hard to determine the root cause of the War. You have to stand way back to have any chance of finding out. If you take the time, the real issues becomes clear. The War on the amsat-bb seemed to subside a few days ago when members started talking about the ballots they were receiving in the mail. Maybe the thought was, if I just cast my vote, the problem will go away. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Patrick and Michelle are not on the ballot and they will still be on the Board after the election is over. My ballot and the candidate's statements arrived yesterday. And so did the oversize postcard sent out by 3 of the candidates. I read the statements and have been reading the candidate's comments on other social media platforms. Some of the candidates talked about some of the War issues. Some said they would like to see regular Board meetings. One candidate posted that he would cast the third vote required to demand General Board meetings be held regularly! That's about as bold as it gets in the candidate's statements. The same person promised to do some other things as well if elected; some helpful and some not, in my opinion. But at least he said them.. A while back, a member made a post about who he would vote for. He documented everyone's credentials, experience, past efforts with AMSAT along with comments about personal interactions, if any. Those are good things to consider. But what about the future? What issues does the candidate deem important and how does he or she plan to deal with them? To me. the most important issue for AMSAT is to find a way to bring our Civil War to an end. And that would include negotiating an agreement with all parties that will restore civility and respect for all members, a culture that is open to all ideas regardless of who is suggesting them, as much transparency as the law permits along with fiscal responsibility and accountability. For the past week I've pondered how to do this and came up with a plan that has a chance of working. But I'm not running for a Board position (and never will) so I will defer to the candidates to come up with their own ideas. I challenge each candidate to address the issue and detail a plan to deal with it. Forget the general statements. There are things that must happen for the War to end. And if someone with a high school education and few accomplishments can do it, all of you should be able to solve this problem with ease. My vote will go to the candidates with the best plans. I urge others to wait a bit before casting their votes. Let's see what happens! 73, John K8YSE

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ANS-204 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Partners with UMaine's Wise-Net Lab to Develop Maine's First Small Satellite
by Paul Stoetzer 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-204 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT Partners with UMaine's WiSe-Net Lab to Develop Maine's First Small Satellite SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-204 ANS-204 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 204.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE July 22, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-204.01 AMSAT Partners with UMaine's WiSe-Net Lab to Develop Maine's First Small Satellite The University of Maine Wireless Sensing Laboratory (WiSe-Net Lab) and AMSAT have signed an agreement to collaborate on building and operating MESAT1, Maine’s first small satellite, to be launched in space in the next three years. MESAT1 is Maine's first CubeSat — one of 18 small research satellites selected by NASA to carry auxiliary payloads into space between 2021– 23. It is part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative that provides opportunities for nanosatellite science and technology payloads built by universities, schools and nonprofit organizations to ride share on space launches. UMaine’s WiSe-Net Lab, established in 2005, is involved in aerospace and space research. The lab was founded by Ali Abedi, KB1VJV, assistant vice president for research and director of the Center for Undergraduate Research. Lab researchers have developed the first wireless sensor network for NASA’s lunar habitation project and launched wireless leak-detection to the International Space station. The MESAT1 initiative will enable K–12 students and teachers in Maine to access space data for educational and research purposes, and encourage students to pursue STEM careers. AMSAT will provide a Linear Transponder Module (LTM) along with integration and operational support for MESAT1. AMSAT's LTM incorporates a VHF/UHF telemetry beacon, command receiver, and linear transponder. It will be available for radio amateurs worldwide to use when the satellite is commissioned. AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, celebrated the announcement. "This is a great day for AMSAT and UMaine's Wise-Net Lab. This partnership is a true win-win for both education and the amateur radio community. The collaborative effort under AMSAT's engineering and operations teams has once again succeeded to bring another opportunity to AMSAT." [ANS thanks AMSAT and UMaine's WiSe-Net Lab for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. President's Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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Dual band cavity filter?
by Robert Bruninga 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

Many of us use dual band radios but when operating on mountains or hills we need a front end cavity filter. The DCI dual band helical filter is ideal but I just learned it is $530! I'm starting to visualize a cavity filter made out of a piece of aluminum drain pipe. With a capacitive screw at the top for tuning VHF and a smaller one about 1/3rd the way up for UHF. My theory is that the lower UHF capacitance will be at a UHF high-Z point and will tune the UHF nicely and the one at the top will tune the VHF nicely. Of course with very much interaction. Unfortunately for our annual Golden Packet Event, the 3rd harmonic of our APRS VHF operating frequency is at 432 and our use of APRS UHF talking freq at 445.925 is quite away away. Maybe if such a single cavity design could work, we could use the event's UHF voice coordination frequency closer to the 3rd harmonic to make the filter easier or possible to tune dual band (Though we night then also Desense voice with every packet). I want it to buildable from Home Depot and common tools. Wont be as good as the $530 DCI filter, but maybe close enough for our event. It wont be robust and it wont be quality, but might work for us AND amsat dual band operators in the field. my big assumption is that a 1/4 wave cavity filter will also work on its 3rd harmonic? We only need to knock down QRM to prevent desense. Anyone have cheaper than $530 solutions? Bob

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"Walking and chewing gun at the same time"
by Michael Tondee 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

So now the line is that an HEO or a GEO, besides being expensive to launch, will be difficult and expensive for the average ham to acquire the equipment for so we should just forget about it? Is that what I'm reading? The hams I once knew, never backed down from a technical challenge. By all accounts it wasn't exactly "easy" to build an AO-40 station but a whole bunch of hams managed to get it done. There was a time when generating and receiving an SSTV signal was an enormously involved process but somehow the early innovators in the field got it done. Now it's one of the more simple and inexpensive things to do. Hams have always overcome technical challenges. It's what we do, or we used to do it anyway. Correct me if I'm wrong but AMSAT used to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. We had AO-40 and a myriad of other sats with varying degrees of challenge to working them. I don't think anyone is saying that we should just abandon the so called "easy sat" concept. Far from it. If that's what you enjoy, then more power to you but there is a large number of people out here that want something more than that. We enjoy the challenge. It's what drew us to this side of the hobby in the first place. Why can't we do both? We used to do that back when I was an enthusiastic member of this organization and I think it can be done again. I wouldn't still be here on this list hoping and praying for a change in it's direction and a return to it's former glory and status if I didn't. 73, Michael W4HIJ

3 2

"Walking and chewing gun at the same time"
by Joe Leikhim 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

YUP, WHAT HE SAID RIGHT THERE BELOW: "So now the line is that an HEO or a GEO, besides being expensive to launch, will be difficult and expensive for the average ham to acquire the equipment for so we should just forget about it? Is that what I'm reading? The hams I once knew, never backed down from a technical challenge. By all accounts it wasn't exactly "easy" to build an AO-40 station but a whole bunch of hams managed to get it done. There was a time when generating and receiving an SSTV signal was an enormously involved process but somehow the early innovators in the field got it done. Now it's one of the more simple and inexpensive things to do. Hams have always overcome technical challenges. It's what we do, or we used to do it anyway. Correct me if I'm wrong but AMSAT used to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. We had AO-40 and a myriad of other sats with varying degrees of challenge to working them. I don't think anyone is saying that we should just abandon the so called "easy sat" concept. Far from it. If that's what you enjoy, then more power to you but there is a large number of people out here that want something more than that. We enjoy the challenge. It's what drew us to this side of the hobby in the first place. Why can't we do both? We used to do that back when I was an enthusiastic member of this organization and I think it can be done again. I wouldn't still be here on this list hoping and praying for a change in it's direction and a return to it's former glory and status if I didn't. 73, Michael W4HIJ" -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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