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Upcoming ARISS contact with Airdrie Space Science Club, Airdrie, AB, Canada
by David Jordan 12 May '20

12 May '20

AnInternational Space Station school contact has been planned withparticipants at AirdrieSpace Science Club, Airdrie, AB, Canada on15May.The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:10UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10minutes before this time. The duration of the contact isapproximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be aMulti-Point Telebridge between NA1SS and ZS6JON.Amulti-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on thetelebridge from their own home. Thecontact should be audible over portionsof South Africa and adjacent areas.Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHzdownlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Theevent will be live streamed at https://youtu.be/2mflSlShPHA . Story: Forthe past 10 years, the Airdrie Space Science Club has provided youthaged 10-14 the chance to build and launch model rockets, look at theuniverse during astronomy evenings, and participate in special eventssuch as ARISS contacts, and high-altitude balloon launches. Participantswill ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1.How has seeing Earth from its orbit affected you, in your frame ofreference whenmoving around the ISS, or inyour perspective of humanity as a whole? 2.What happens if you vomit in the space station? How do you clean itup? 3.How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you while you are in space? 4.What will be your first meal when you get back to Earth? 5.What does it feel like when the rocket lifts off? 6.What does the space station smell like? 7.Was training to be astronaut harder or easier than training to be anavy seal? 8.What experiment that you've done had the most unexpected results?What was the expectedand actual outcomeof said experiment? 9.How successful is your 3-D printer on the station? 10.We are a model rocket building club. Did you ever build modelrockets when you wereyoung? 11.What does microgravity feel like on your body? 12.Does the Earth look any clearer or less polluted now compared to whenyou flew in2009 and with Canadian ChrisHadfield in 2013? 13.Do you play any games while you are on the ISS? 14.What kind of music do you listen to? PLEASECHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: VisitARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on theInternational Space Station (ARISS). Toreceive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Nextplanned event(s): TBD AboutARISS AmateurRadio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperativeventure of international amateur radio societies and the spaceagencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In theUnited States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation(AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Laband National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primarygoal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology,engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduledcontacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS andstudents in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radiocontacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn aboutspace, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information,see www.ariss.org. Thankyou & 73, David – AA4KN

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-05-12 21:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 12 May '20

12 May '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-05-12 21:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Airdrie Space Science Club, Airdrie, AB, Canada, Multi-point telebridge via ZS6JON The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Fri 2020-05-15 15:10:28 UTC 55 deg via ZS6JON Watch for live stream at: https://youtu.be/2mflSlShPHA (***) A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. ************************************************* Looking for some stay at home activities related to science and for when you are not playing on your radio? Check out these links: >From ARISS Vice Chair Oliver Amend DG6BCE: ESA Astronauts to offer inspiration during isolation in #SpaceConnectsUs https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Astronauts_to_offer_inspiration_during_isolati… Celestron, the telescope, microscope, and sports optics folks, now has something called #STEMINYOURBACKYARD that you can find on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. By the way, I don't work for Celestron or have any business dealings with them and this is just something I saw. Apparently there are 10 free STEM activities covering Astronomy, Nature and Wildlife, and The Microscopic World. Check out: https://www.celestron.com/blogs/news/discover-stem-in-your-backyard NASA has a STEM page with fun activities to do at home. Check out https://www.nasa.gov/stem ************************************************* 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 additional schools (***) Cancelled: No additional 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 2020-05-12 21:00 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 2020-04-30 17:30 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 133 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 1388. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1321. 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 **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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A BIG thank you to Kevin, WA7WF
by Chris Busch 12 May '20

12 May '20

A BIG shout out and thank you to Kevin, WA7WF for the tremendous help in resolving my LVB tracker to rotor control problem so I could get back on the birds after a long absence. Kevin has spent two weeks, over a dozen email exchanges and even sent me a preprogrammed PIC with the latest FW to help me solve the issue (which turned out to be an RS232 ground loop). Elmering at it’s best! Thank you again Kevin. 73 Chris K4CKB

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Texas Potato Masher II
by Russ Ramirez 11 May '20

11 May '20

The directions at Jerry's (WB5RMQ) website http://wb5rmg.somenet.net/k5oe/Texas_Potato_Masher_2.html are pretty clear, but I'm wondering if anyone has a PDF of the AMSAT Journal from 1999, January-February issue? Apparently the original article was published in this issue. Russ K0WFS

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HuskySat-1 transponder is open
by Andrew Glasbrenner 11 May '20

11 May '20

Good morning friends, After a week of testing, the transponder on HuskySat-1 is enabled and open for use and testing. It's fairly sensitive, and 5-10 watts is plenty most of the time. There are some fades due to satellite orientation, and some passes are definitely better than others. The operations and engineering teams are also watching a few anomalies. Please keep an eye on the beacon during transponder ops, for those with spectrum scopes. Strong signals may impact the beacon strength. HuskySat-1 is the Husky Satellite Lab at University of Washington's first cubesat, and the first mission with AMSAT's linear transponder module (LTM-1), a V/u transponder and integrated telemetry beacon and command receiver. UW recently completed their Part 5 operations and have graciously let AMSAT's Part 97 transponder operations commence. This transponder module is available for use in educational cubesat missions willing to enable the transponder for worldwide use. Contact myself or VP Engineering Jerry Buxton for additional details. Reports and observations are welcome to the list. Congratulations to Husky Satellite Lab, and to the entire AMSAT Engineering team for keeping amateur radio in space. Thanks to Dr. Mark Hammond, N8MH for commissioning and operations support. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT VP Operations HuskySat-1 V/u inverting transponder, 145.910 to 145.940 uplink, 435.810 to 435.840 downlink, telemetry beacon 1200 baud BPSK at 435.800

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RS-44 on LOTW?
by Bernie and Cheryl 10 May '20

10 May '20

Dear Folks: I have been uploading my QSO's to LOTW fairly quickly. I have noticed that none of my RS-44 QSOs show up. Is this happening for everyone? If not, what am I doing wrong? Thanks, in advance, for any help you can give me. 73 de Bernie, KF0QS

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 15, Issue 154
by Stephan Greene 10 May '20

10 May '20

No CTCSS (we weren't that sophisticated in 1992-3), no significant drift. Currently is being commanded on manually for 1 minute at a time. High-elevation passes over US East Coast are good candidates for now. I have no info if plans or feasibility of more. I'm impressed it's working at all! 73 Steve KS1G > From: Jean Marc Momple <jean.marc.momple(a)gmail.com> > To: saguaroastro <saguaroastro(a)cox.net> > Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 10 May 2020 19:24:51 +0400 > Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-27 > Good Morning (evening my side Hi!), > > Had a good pass with high elevation but could not receive the beacon nor > myself on AO-27. > > Has the frequencies drift a lot or do we need to have a CTCSS tone? > > 73 > > > Jean Marc (3B8DU) >

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RS-
by Ray Soifer 10 May '20

10 May '20

Not only is there lots of activity on RS-44, but quite a bit of it is on CW. Feels like FO-29 in its prime. 73 Ray W2RS

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ARISS News Release (ANR) No. 20-04
by David Jordan 10 May '20

10 May '20

ARISSNews Release No. 20-04 DaveJordan, AA4KN ARISSPR aa4kn(a)amsat.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ARISSto Attempt Second Test of New MultipointTelebridge Contact via Amateur Radio May10, 2020—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)is announcing a second test of its new distance-learning ARISS radiocontacts with astronauts. ARISS is the group that puts togetherspecial amateur radio contacts between students around the globe andastronauts with ham radio licenses on the InternationalSpace Station (ISS). Thiswill be the second test of thenew-style radio contact, called MultipointTelebridge Contact via Amateur Radio.The concept was developed for distance learning when schools closedworldwide dueto COVID-19. The virus eliminated all opportunities for ARISS radiocontacts at education organizations. A new ARISStelebridge radio ground station will be used this time, this operatedby John Sygo, amateur radio call sign ZS6JON, near Johannesburg,South Africa. Thenew concept requires three things. The ARISS telebridge radio groundstation--a satellite ham radio station with special equipment that anARISS team member uses for teleconferencing, the ham astronaut on theISS using the ARISS ham radio station, and students at their homes.The telebridge radio operator links to the astronaut at the ARISSradio mic, and each youth ties in from home via their telephones.Their families can listen along with faculty and the public fromhome.Each student takes a turn asking their question of the astronaut. Theyouth taking part in ARISS’s second test belong to the AirdrieSpace Science Club in Airdrie, AB, Canada The radio contact isscheduled for May 15 at 15:10 UTC. ISS Commander Chris Cassidy,amateur radio call sign KF5KDR, will support the ARISS radio contact.Prior to COVID, the students had participated in space and radiocommunications lessons such as balloon launches with ham radiopayloads and building model rockets to launch. Brian Jackson, amateurradio call sign VE6JBJ, is one of the five club leaders. He related,“Duringthis pandemic, our opportunities to develop kids’ interest in spacehas been interrupted. This ARISS contact gets them looking backup, towards the sky, and imagining themselves as an astronaut oneday.” ARISSinvites the public to view the livestream of the upcoming ARISS radiotest at: https://youtu.be/2mflSlShPHA. Duringthe contact, youth will ask as many of the following questions astime allows: 1.How has seeing Earth from its orbit affected you, in your frame ofreference when moving around the ISS,or in your perspective of humanity as a whole? 2.What happens if you vomit in the space station? How do you clean itup? 3.How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected you while you are in space? 4.What will be your first meal when you get back to Earth? 5.What does it feel like when the rocket lifts off? 6.What does the space station smell like? 7.Was training to be an astronaut harder or easier than training to bea navy seal? 8.What experiment that you've done had the most unexpected results?What was the expected and actualoutcome of said experiment? 9.How successful is your 3-D printer on the station? 10.We are a model rocket building club. Did you ever build modelrockets when you were young? 11.What does microgravity feel like on your body? 12.Does the Earth look any clearer or less polluted now compared to whenyou flew in 2009 and with CanadianChris Hadfield in 2013? 13.Do you play any games while you are on the ISS? 14.What kind of music do you listen to? AboutARISS: AmateurRadio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperativeventure of international amateur radio societies and the spaceagencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In theUnited States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation(AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Laband National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primarygoal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology,engineering, the arts, and mathematics topics by organizing scheduledcontacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS andstudents. Before and during these radio contacts, students,educators, parents, and communities learn about space, spacetechnologies, and amateur radio. For more information, seewww.ariss.org. Likeus on Facebook at Amateur Radio On The ISS (ARISS) Likeus on Instagram at ariss_int Followus on Twitter at ARISS_status MediaContact: DaveJordan, AA4KN ARISSPR

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AO-27
by George Henry 10 May '20

10 May '20

Just worked Michael (N3UC) thru it... Nice signal from the old bird! George, KA3HSW

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K5Z Returning to DL88 Tentatively on June 1st
by Ron Bondy 10 May '20

10 May '20

Hi Everyone, Our attempt to activate DL88 on satellites in March as K5Z in Big Bend National Park was unsuccessful due to rain. We have a new plan now to pick multiple dates to activate DL88 and make a go / no go decision a few days earlier based on the current weather report. We are doing this to pick a date with favorable weather so we can get in and out of DL88 safely. We plan to activate DL88 in Big Bend National Park by driving in 30 miles on back country (dirt) roads. We plan to rent a vehicle with 10 inches of clearance as recommended by Clayton W5PFG. Big Bend National Park is still closed, but we are hoping it will open June 1st for day use. Doug N6UA and myself Ron AD0DX are planning to activate DL88 on June 1st if there is no rain in the forecast and we believe we can get in and out safely. I have setup K5Z on qrz.com, please follow along there for updates. Finally, the AMSAT community has been very generous again to donate $1000 to help with our expenses for the trip. Doug and I really appreciate the generosity of everyone that donated. We love to rove and activate grids, and the financial assistance lets us travel more and make these grids available to grid chasers. Thanks to everyone that donated, we are very grateful for both the large and the small donations. THANK YOU! I post regularly on Twitter as @ad0dx and I will also keep the K5Z page on qrz.com up to date. Let's keep our fingers crossed that Big Bend National Park opens up on June 1st and that the weather cooperates as well. We plan to make the 3 hour drive in and out of DL88 in the same day. Look for us to be active approximately 10am local (1500z) to 5pm local (2200z) This trip is mainly focused on DL88 but we will activate a few other grids on the way to DL88. We are still discussing our route and will post details regarding other grids when available. We will be active on both FM and linear satellites. Please contact me offlist at ad0dx at yahoo dot com if you have any questions about the trip. Cheers and 73, Ron ad0dx

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ANS-131b Special Bulletin: HuskySat-1 Transponder is Open
by Mark D. Johns 10 May '20

10 May '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-131b The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, 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 commun- icating 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(a)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: * Huskysat-1 Transponder is Open SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-131.02 ANS-131b AMSAT News Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 131.02 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020-May-10 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-131.02 Huskysat-1 Transponder is Open After a week of testing, the transponder on HuskySat-1 is enabled and open for use and testing. It’s fairly sensitive, and 5-10 watts is plenty most of the time. There are some fades due to satellite orien- tation, and some passes are definitely better than others. The opera- tions and engineering teams are also watching a few anomalies. Please keep an eye on the beacon during transponder ops, for those with spec- trum scopes. Strong signals may impact the beacon strength. HuskySat-1 is the Husky Satellite Lab at University of Washington’s first cubesat, and the first mission with AMSAT’s linear transponder module (LTM-1), a V/u transponder and integrated telemetry beacon and command receiver. UW recently completed their Part 5 operations and have graciously let AMSAT’s Part 97 transponder operations commence. This transponder module is available for use in educational cubesat missions willing to enable the transponder for worldwide use. Contact myself or VP Engineering Jerry Buxton for additional details. Reports and observations are welcome to the amsat-bb mailing list. Congratulations to Husky Satellite Lab, and to the entire AMSAT Engineering team for keeping amateur radio in space. Thanks to Dr. Mark Hammond, N8MH for commissioning and operations support. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT VP Operations HuskySat-1 V/u inverting transponder, 145.910 to 145.940 uplink, 435.810 to 435.840 downlink, telemetry beacon 1200 baud BPSK at 435.800 --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 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. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, Mark D. Johns, K0JM k0jm at amsat dot org

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2.4 GHz Driver Amp Kit + IARU-R2 Satellite Workshop on YouTube
by M5AKA 10 May '20

10 May '20

Filtered 2400 MHz Driver Amplifier Kit designed by David Bowman G0MRF now available. Contains all the parts required to drive a PA on 2.4 GHz for QO-100. The completed board will have a gain of about 25 – 26 dB and for best linearity, should be kept to 200 mW output https://amsat-uk.org/2020/05/10/filtered-2400-mhz-driver-amplifier-kits/ CAS-7C 2U CubeSat with V/U transponder is planned to launch on September 15, 2020 with CAS-5B and CAS-7A from Jiuquan Launch Center into a 500 km orbit http://amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/formal_detail.php?serialnum=740 Online Amateur Radio Satellite talk on Zoom on Wednesday, May 13 at 1830 GMT https://amsat-uk.org/2020/05/05/online-amateur-radio-satellite-talk-zoom/ Amateur Satellite Workshop on YouTube on May 27 at 2300 GMT http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/may/amateur-satellite-workshop-on-you… Videos of talks given at the Online Satellite Workshop held May 2-3 are available http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/may/online-satellite-workshop-talks-a… Spring issue of OSCAR News available to members https://amsat-uk.org/2020/05/04/spring-issue-of-oscar-news-available/ 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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Fw: Fixed Antenna
by k6vug＠sbcglobal.net 09 May '20

09 May '20

resending to the correct BB email address... - Umesh ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: k6vug(a)sbcglobal.net <k6vug(a)sbcglobal.net>To: Randy Davenport <pastor.spaceboy(a)gmail.com>Cc: "amsat(a)amsat-bb.org" <amsat(a)amsat-bb.org>Sent: Saturday, May 9, 2020, 4:58:29 PM PDTSubject: Re: [amsat-bb] Fixed Antenna Please also see https://www.rtl-sdr.com/simple-noaameteor-weather-satellite-antenna-137-mhz… 73!Umeshk6vug On Saturday, May 9, 2020, 4:52:52 PM PDT, k6vug(a)sbcglobal.net <k6vug(a)sbcglobal.net> wrote: Basically it is a inverted Vee made with stiff wire but mounted horizontally. The arms of the Vee facing into the AOS and along the path of the pass. This article should help - Center-fed Horizontal V-dipole | | | | Center-fed Horizontal V-dipole KK4OBI Discussion about Horizontal, Center-fed, V-dipoles. Gain, impedance, SWR, changes in characteristics with change... | | | See 3rd paragraph, six to 12 feet off the ground/roof decouples it quite well from the surrounding. Just run the coax along the vertical support. Works best for NOAA and loud birds like AO-91, AO-92. NOAA image - noaa-18-201902021712-hvct_cm97.jpg | | | | | | | | | | | noaa-18-201902021712-hvct_cm97.jpg NOAA 18 southbound 60W at 02 Feb 2019 17:13:33 GMT on 137.9125MHz, HVCT enhancement, Normal projection, Channel ... | | | 73!Umesh On Saturday, May 9, 2020, 3:47:37 PM PDT, Randy Davenport <pastor.spaceboy(a)gmail.com> wrote: How does a horizontal vee dipole work with the ham says?Randy ka4nma On Sat, May 9, 2020, 5:53 PM k6vug--- via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: If you are ok with a nuts, bolts and small tools, a horizontal-Vee dipole is a great fun project to do and use, I demo NOAA WX sats with it. 73!Umeshk6vug On Saturday, May 9, 2020, 12:45:52 PM PDT, Pedro Converso via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: If you have a piece of 300ohm TV line, I have had reasonable success with this simple low SWR, dual band antenna, specially on the more common low elevation passes: http://amsat.org.ar/Dual-Band_VHF-UHF_Twinlead_J-Pole_Antenna_pdf-notes_201… 73, lu7abf, Pedro On 5/9/20, GEO Badger via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > Oops, this should have gone to the list. My two way wrist watch is acting > up. > Or build a j-pole for 70cm. All these can be built inexpensively with items > from your local home improvement store. You might also contact local hams. > > BTW, since it is for RX only, the dimensions aren't very critical. > --- > 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, May 9, 2020, 11:32:23 AM PDT, Gregory Beat via AMSAT-BB > <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > START with SIMPLE ... Build a Vertical Dipole for 70cm, > then LISTEN to RS-44 beacon and linear transponder. > https://amsat-uk.org/2020/04/30/dosaaf-85-rs-44-amateur-radio-transponder-a… > > 20 years ago, Jerry Brown, K5OE wrote a series of DIY Antenna Construction > articles, some of these were published in the Amsat Journal. These > satellite and VHF/UHF antennas were built by countless AMSAT members across > the world. > http://wb5rmg.somenet.net/k5oe/ > > Eggbeater II Omni LEO Antenna > http://wb5rmg.somenet.net/k5oe/Eggbeater_2.html > > Texas Potato Masher II Antenna > http://wb5rmg.somenet.net/k5oe/Texas_Potato_Masher_2.html > > 70cm Quagi Antenna > http://wb5rmg.somenet.net/k5oe/70cm_quagi.html > > Jeff, K7XQ had problems with all Eggbeater designs (not impressed with > performance). > He developed a Tall Quadfillar Helix Antenna ... but no longer posted on web > page. > > greg, w9gb > AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-UK > == > > Date: Sat, 9 May 2020 10:53:55 -0600 (MDT) > From: James Johnson, VA7CND > To: AMSAT-BB Reflector > Subject: [amsat-bb] Fixed Antenna > > I have been trying to find a used Eggbeater or similar antenna to use to > listen for Satellites. > The exchange on the USD to CND currency is a killer. I noticed many plans to > build one on the internet. Any suggestions which one would be worth trying > for RX to start? > > 73, VE7HJ > _______________________________________________ > 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 _______________________________________________ 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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SatPC32 V. 12.8d - Satellites Source Files issues
by Rafael Pena 09 May '20

09 May '20

Fellows I would like some guidance with the satellites source files. The following has started to bug my mind. I have added certain satellites under the various source files, i.e., amateur, nasa, nasabre TXT files. nasa has lots of them. When I switch to any other one, I lose the nasa set up and the last one I pick remains the default for all of them. It is a pain because then I have to recreate each one again the way I like them. I don't recall this happening before. Did I touch something? Rafael / NN3RP

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ANS-131 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark D. Johns 09 May '20

09 May '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-131 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, 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 commun- icating 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(a)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: * 2019 Back Issues of The AMSAT Journal on launch.amsat.org * Call for Nominations - 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election * New Chinese Amateur Satellites Expected to Launch in September * Cubesat Developers Workshop Presentations Available * Visual Observations Of RS-44 Underway * Hack-a-Sat Call for Participation * NASA TV To Air Cygnus Departure From Space Station * Online Amateur Radio Satellite Talk on Zoom * Satellite Distance Records Set * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-131.01 ANS-131 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 131.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020-May-10 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-131.01 2019 Back Issues of The AMSAT Journal on launch.amsat.org AMSAT's new online member portal, launch.amsat.org, is up and running. All AMSAT members must log in and update their contact information to ensure continued, uniterrupted service. Full instructions for getting logged in are in the March/April issue of The AMSAT Journal, avail- able for free download on amsat.org and launch.amsat.org. There is also separate instructions on each site. Those interested in joining AMSAT can create an account, using the Join link on launch.amsat.org IMPORTANT UPDATE: AMSAT's Member Portal not only puts you in charge of your member account but gives you exclusive access to member-only content. Want to read back issues of The AMSAT Journal, in full color? We just posted all 2019 issues, plus the first two issues of 2020. We will continue to work on uploading prior years, so check back often. Log in today! (ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-Member Services for the above information) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice. For details, please visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Call for Nominations - 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election AMSAT solicits nominations for the 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors election, to be held in the third quarter of the year. The seats of the following three incumbent Directors expire in 2020 and will be filled by this year's election: Tom Clark, K3IO; Mark Hammond, N8MH; and Bruce Paige, KK5DO. Further, up to two Alternate Directors may be elected for one-year terms. A valid nomination for Director must be written and requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT member. Written nominations, with the nominee’s name, call sign, and contact information, as well as the nominators' names, call signs, and contact information, should be sent to the AMSAT Secretary: Brennan Price, N4QX 300 Locust St SE, Unit E Vienna VA 22180-4869 brennanprice at verizon.net A copy should be sent to AMSAT Manager, Martha Saragovitz, at martha at amsat.org. The AMSAT bylaws require that the nomination be written and in the form specified by the Secretary. In light of the ongoing pandemic and the resulting closure of the physical office, the Secretary has elected to accept written nomination materials in electronic form, including e-mail or electronic image of a paper document. Fax trans- missions cannot be accepted due to the closure of the office. No matter what means are used, petitions MUST be received by the Secretary no later than June 15th. The Secretary will verify the qual- ifications of candidates and nominating members or Member Societies as petitions are received, and will notify candidates whether their nom- inations are in order by the end of June. [ANS thanks Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- New Chinese Amateur Satellites Expected to Launch in September Two new Chinese amateur radio satellites are now expected to launch on September 15, 2020. The first of these satellites, CAS-7A, is a 27 kg microsat (750 mm x 650 mm x 260 mm) with three-axis stabilization and several transponders. The transponders include a 15m to 10m linear transponder (H/t), a 15m to 70cm linear transponder (H/u), and a 2m to 70cm linear transponder(V/u). The satellite also includes a 2m to 70cm (V/u) FM transponder. Several beacons and data downlinks are also feat- ured, CW beacons on 10m and 70cm, 4.8k or 9.6k GMSK telemetry on 70cm, and a 1 Mbps GMSK image data downlink on 3cm for the on board camera. IARU coordinated frequencies for the uplinks and downlinks are listed below. This launch is also expected to carry CAS-7C, a 2U CubeSat with a V/u linear transponder and a CW beacon. Frequencies for CAS-7C have not been coordinated by the IARU at the time of this writing. CAS-7C will also deploy a 1 mm diameter 1080 meter long carbon fiber rope. CAS-7A and CAS-7C will launch from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center into a 500 km sun-synchronous orbit with an inclination of 98 degrees. Frequencies: CAS-7A H/t Linear Transponder Uplink - 21.245MHz through 21.275 MHz Downlink - 29.435MHz through 29.465 MHz CW Beacon 29.425 MHz CAS-7A H/u Linear Transponder Uplink - 21.3125 MHz through 21.3275 MHz Downlink - 435.3575 MHz through 435.3725 MHz CW Beacon 435.430MHz CAS-7A V/u Linear Transponder Uplink - 145.865 MHz through 145.895 MHz Downlink - 435.385 MHz through 435.415 MHz CW Beacon 435.430MHz CAS-7A V/u FM Transponder Uplink 145.950 MHz Downlink 435.455 MHz 4.8k / 9.6k GMSK telemetry downlink - 435.480 MHz 1 Mbps GMSK image data downlink - 10460.00 MHz [ANS thanks the IARU for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Cubesat Developers Workshop Presentations Available Although we are not able to come together in San Luis Obispo for the CubeSat Developers Workshop today, we are excited to share some of the presentations that would have taken place with you online. Find the slide decks for these presentations on our archive <http://mstl.atl.calpoly.edu/~workshop/archive/> as well as videos on our YouTube channel <https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCENz0fNHsDR8Kz3jM6C_VWw/featured>. You will also be able to find all of our previous Workshop presentations in NASA's Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute (S3VI) <https://www.nasa.gov/smallsat-institute>. We are excited to have our archives integrated into S3VI and hope you can use this tool to further your research and involvement with CubeSat. If you were selected to present your abstract at this year's Workshop and would still like your presentation to be included in our archive, email us at cubesat-workshop(a)calpoly.edu <mailto:[email protected]>. We also want to share some of our CDW Zoom backgrounds with you. Feel free to download and use them in your next meeting! We look forward to welcoming you all back to San Luis Obispo from *April 27-29, 2021* for the next CubeSat Developers Workshop. We will continue to announce new deadlines and registration information via email and on our website <https://www.cubesat.org/workshop-information> as we continue to plan for 2021. Be sure to join the CubeSat Workshop mailing list <http://www.cubesat.org/mailinglist/> for future announcements. We hope you continue working together (from home) to advance CubeSats [ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Visual Observations Of RS-44 Underway Visual observations of the payload and attached Briz-KM rocket body made whilst the object has been flying over the UK at night, indica- ted a rotation period of 19 seconds. Optically with binoculars, it appeared between magnitude +5 to invisible in hazy moonlit skies, on near zenithal transits. No flashes nor glints were observed, which could indicate the stack is in a slow roll along the longitudinal axis, rather than a tumbling motion. On a radio aspect, it would appear the beacon signals are stronger as the payload approaches, declining thereafter upon passing TCA. Assuming RS-44 is mounted to the front and that some aerials have deployed, then this would account for the phenomenon, as receding away from the station would have the aerials blocked by the Briz rocket body - however, I have not seen any information released as to the physical condition of RS-44. It would be useful for the transmit- ters to remain on, to monitor over the long term if the nutation rate slows over time. The CW beacon was timed at 20 seconds between trans- mission, which fits with the optical work, but this may well just be coincidental as to how the beacon is programmed. Later radio monitoring indicates the beacon repetition is 15-16 sec- onds on the callsign being transmitted. Whether this ties in with hopefully future optical work to see if the spin rate has slowed to the same, or we have a differential - we wait and see! [ANS thanks Max White, M0VNG, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hack-a-Sat Call for Participation I've put out the call for participation for the Hack-a-Sat competition in the past, and would like to bring you all up to date on the devel- opments and opportunities that have developed since. The website is here: https://www.hackasat.com/ Hack-a-Sat is an activity that was scheduled to happen at the in-per- son DEFCON event. As of today, yes, it's true. DEFCON has been cancelled. Those of you that have volunteered at Ham Radio Village in the past are familiar with the event. For those of you that are not, it's a long-running hacking and cybersecurity event that has enthusiastical- ly adopted everything RF and amateur radio. The United States Air Force, in conjunction with the Defense Digital Service, organized this year’s Space Security Challenge, called Hack- A-Sat. This challenge asks hackers from around the world to focus their skills and creativity on solving cybersecurity challenges on space systems. This competition is going to be held! It's now a vir- tual event. Security in the amateur radio sense of the word is fundamentally dif- ferent from commercial and military applications. We have an advan- tage here, mainly due to the enormous leverage we have due to our con- text being completely different from what the Air Force and commercial interests assume. This is, essentially, a diversity advantage. If you want to participate on an experienced Capture The Flag (CTF) team, then I am here to extend an invitation. Anyone that reads through the rules and can afford to spend some time during the event is invited to apply to join Vaporsec. This is a team that has a major- ity of information security professionals. There are some satellite industry people, some amateur involvement, and I'd like to make sure that anyone interested in competing from AMSAT-BB gets a chance to join a competitive team. The benefits to amateur radio are primarily technical, with policy and security a close second. The Air Force has some agendas here in terms of improving satellite security. Exposure to the challenges alone is a an excellent opportunity to learn more about modern satellite technol- ogy...and what a significant player in space wants to find out more about. Don't assume that that the challenges in the competition are going to be "too hard." What is trivial for one viewpoint is unsolv- able for another. I'll be writing about the event and what we learned when it is over, so this sort of knowledge will not be secret. However, there is no replacement for participation, and you could very well have the prac- tical knowledge, gained from operating real satellites, that wins the competition. As you can see from the website, there is some real money involved and opportunities for technical writing. Let me know at w5nyv(a)arrl.net if you would like to talk more about joining a CTF team for this really neat and unique event. Know someone that you think should participate? Please forward to them. [ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, AMSAT Board Member for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- NASA TV To Air Cygnus Departure From Space Station Nearly three months after delivering several tons of supplies and sci- entific experiments to the International Space Station, Northrup Grum- man’s unpiloted Cygnus cargo craft is scheduled to depart the Inter- national Space Station on Monday, May 11. Live coverage of the spacecraft’s release will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at 11:45 a.m. EDT, with release scheduled for noon. Dubbed the “SS Robert H. Lawrence,” Cygnus arrived at the station on February 18. Within 24 hours of its release, Cygnus will begin its secondary mission, hosting the Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiment – IV (Saffire-IV), which provides an environment to safely study fire in microgravity. It also will deploy a series of payloads. Northrop Grum- man flight controllers in Dulles, Virginia, will initiate Cygnus’ de- orbit to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere Monday, May 25. More information on Cygnus’ mission and the International Space Sta- tion can be found at: http://www.nasa.gov/station [ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Online Amateur Radio Satellite Talk on Zoom Robin Moseley, G1MHU, will give a talk on Zoom titled “Introduction to amateur satellites, meteor scatter, EME and ISS” on Wednesday, May 13, at 1830z The presentation is being organised by the Denby Dales Amateur Radio Society and being on Zoom it’ll be viewable on any Tablet or Smartphone with the Zoom App or from a Windows PC or Laptop. The Zoom meeting ID is 278 609 9353 https://zoom.us/j/2786099353 [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Distance Records Set Satellite operators are rapidly pushing towards the 7,942 km theoret- ical maximum range on RS-44. The 7,859 km record held by KI7UNJ and JA0CAW was eclipsed on 06-May-2020 at 19:00 UTC with a QSO between EA4CYQ and UA0STM, a distance of 7,894 km. On 09-May-2020, this record fell again when W5CBF in Louisiana, USA worked LA7XK in Norway, a distance of 7,916 km. Another claimed DX record was also claimed on May 6. This time it was on PO-101 (Diwata2PH). EA4SG reports working R9LR at 23:03 UTC. The distance between the two stations is 5,128 km. Distance records for all satellites are maintained at: https://www.amsat.org/satellite-distance-records/ Please email n8hm [at] amsat.org if you wish to claim a new record, longer distance QSO not yet documented, or records for any other sat- ellite/transponder not yet listed. Please note that if a satellite carries multiple transponders or supports multiple frequency bands, records on each transponder/band may be claimed, such as Mode A and B on AO-7 or Mode U/S, L/S, U/K, etc, on AO-40. This includes the ISS and records may be claimed for the packet digipeater and crossband re- peater, but does not include different operating modes on the same transponder (such as CW or SSB on AO-7 Mode B). [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive VP, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Mitch, AD0HJ, has decided to "go check on the tree" in North Dakota. He has also said he will be activating a bunch of grids: 5/20 UTC DN96/97 5/21 UTC DN78/88 5/22 UTC DN76/77 5/23 UTC DN86/87 5/24 UTC EN06/16 Details on his Twitter page, @ad0hj Ron, AD0DX, and Doug, N6UA, are making another run at the elusive DL88 in Big Bend National Park, Texas. They tried this grid back in March, and due to the mud couldn’t get to the grid, so never ones to quit, off they go again. The tentative date is Sunday May 31, 2020. They will be using the K5Z call sign. More information is available at the K5Z QRZ Page. Please submit any additions or corrections to ke0pbr (at) gmail.com [ANS thanks Paul Overnfor, KE0PBR, the *NEW* AMSAT rover page manager(!) for the above information. Welcome aboard, Paul.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS News Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. Airdrie Space Science Club, Airdrie, AB, Canada, Multi-point tele- bridge via ZS6JON. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS and the scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR. The contact is go for Friday 2020-05-15 15:10:28 UTC with 55 degrees over South Africa. 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 cancella- tions or postponements of school contacts. As always, ARISS will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates at the ARISS webpage: https://www.ariss.org/ [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team men- tors for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meet- ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Due to COVID-19, many hamfest and events around the United States have been cancelled or postponed. While we make every effort to ensure the information contained below is correct, there may be some that we missed. We wish all of you safekeeping and hope to be at a hamfest near you soon. Current schedule: No scheduled events The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have been CANCELED: May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Com, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download from: https://bit.ly/2ygVFmV This color brochure is designed to be printed double-sided and folded into a tri-fold handout. To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Virgin Orbit tweets that it is celebrating a big win this week after the successful completion of a wet dress rehearsal with LauncherOne just in time for #NationalSpaceDay! Wet dress rehearsals with all commodities loaded is one of the last major events before launch. (ANS thanks @Virgin_Orbit for the above information) + A new version of the North American Overlay Mapper program: v4.0.0.0 has been released for Windows 7 and 10, with many new features. The 'NAOMI' program can import ADIF logs, Cabrillo logs, and a variety of lists, and then georeference them from the latest FCC and ISED databases, and then plot North American QSOs, Grid Locators, and Counties, onto 47 maps at 1:2,000,000 scale, 2 North American over- view maps at 1:20,000,000 scale, a zoomable Online Map with a choice of map-providers, a full-screen World Map, and a Great Circle Map with a choice of 16 different backgrounds. You can edit logs, check for errors, parse for counties, export data in different formats, search and browse the databases, overlay a variety of lists, export the maps for use in other applications, or to share online. NAOMI is available at: https://www.mapability.com/ei8ic/naomi/index.php (ANS thanks Southgate ARC for the above information) + NASA will pay a staggering $146 million for each SLS rocket engine, with 4 needed per SLS flight. These Space Shuttle main engines were intended to be reused, but SLS will throw them away. Other things you could buy for $146 million: two basic Atlas V rocket launches, three Falcon 9 launches, or a fully expendable Falcon Heavy launch, with 2/3 the lift capacity at 1/20th the cost. (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) + A study has found that all 1,078 commercially-launched smallsats in the last five years experienced delays, with a median delay of 128 days. The largest delay categories: 11% of delays were administra- tive, 13% were ISS manifest changes (for ISS-deployed sats), 20% were due to delays in launch vehicle development, and 40% were due to primary payload delays affecting their rideshares. Full report at https://bit.ly/3fuw1Mz (ANS thanks The Orbital Index for the above information) + A satellite built by Air Force Academy cadets will launch into space May 16 aboard the X-37B, Orbital Test Vehicle sponsored by the De- partment of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office and built by Boeing. This is the first time a satellite built and designed by ca- dets will catch a ride into space aboard the X-37B. FalconSAT-8 will carry five experimental payloads, and members of the Cadet Space Operations Squadron will operate it. There was no mention of amateur radio connected with this satellite, nor has there been a request for IARU frequency coordination in the amateur radio satellite ser- vice, although previous FalconSats have had amateur radio payloads. (ANS thanks U.S. Air Force Academy for the above information) + When a new crew member arrives on the International Space Sta- tion, the population of humans living in space changes, of course. But so, too, does the population of microbes. As we have all learned in this time of Covid-19, countless types of microorganisms inhabit our bodies, inside and out, and when an astronaut arrives on the station, they bring their specific collection of microbial "hitch- hikers" with them. A new study shows that the microorganisms living on surfaces inside the space station so closely resembled those on an astronaut's skin that scientists could tell when this new crew member arrived and departed, just by looking at the microbes left behind. Many of the microorganisms living in and around us are harm- less or even essential for good health, but some can cause disease or damage structures in built environments. https://bit.ly/3dlEobi (ANS thanks spacedaily.com 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. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 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. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, Mark D. Johns, K0JM k0jm at amsat dot org

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Re: [amsat-bb] Fixed Antenna
by Gregory Beat 09 May '20

09 May '20

START with SIMPLE ... Build a Vertical Dipole for 70cm, then LISTEN to RS-44 beacon and linear transponder. https://amsat-uk.org/2020/04/30/dosaaf-85-rs-44-amateur-radio-transponder-a… 20 years ago, Jerry Brown, K5OE wrote a series of DIY Antenna Construction articles, some of these were published in the Amsat Journal. These satellite and VHF/UHF antennas were built by countless AMSAT members across the world. http://wb5rmg.somenet.net/k5oe/ Eggbeater II Omni LEO Antenna http://wb5rmg.somenet.net/k5oe/Eggbeater_2.html Texas Potato Masher II Antenna http://wb5rmg.somenet.net/k5oe/Texas_Potato_Masher_2.html 70cm Quagi Antenna http://wb5rmg.somenet.net/k5oe/70cm_quagi.html Jeff, K7XQ had problems with all Eggbeater designs (not impressed with performance). He developed a Tall Quadfillar Helix Antenna ... but no longer posted on web page. greg, w9gb AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-UK == Date: Sat, 9 May 2020 10:53:55 -0600 (MDT) From: James Johnson, VA7CND To: AMSAT-BB Reflector Subject: [amsat-bb] Fixed Antenna I have been trying to find a used Eggbeater or similar antenna to use to listen for Satellites. The exchange on the USD to CND currency is a killer. I noticed many plans to build one on the internet. Any suggestions which one would be worth trying for RX to start? 73, VE7HJ

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Icom IC-821 issues
by Andrew Lazenby 09 May '20

09 May '20

Hello all, I recently purchased a Icom IC-821H with a few issues. When first powered up, the display has a series of dashes across it, and there is no receive audio. After it warms up for 10min or so it will begin to flicker, and then it comes up and operates as it should. Has anyone ever encountered this issue, and/or have a fix for it? Thanks, Andrew N4LAZ Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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Re: [amsat-bb] RS-44
by Roy Dean 09 May '20

09 May '20

> > I tried to receive the CW beacon from RS-44 around 1600 UTC today, but > didn't pick up anything. Did anybody else hear it (or see it on a > waterfall)? Steve AI9IN The last few satnogs observations don't show any CW. --Roy K3RLD

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AO-27
by George Henry 09 May '20

09 May '20

I see several reports on the AMSAT satellite status page that AO-27 has been heard, and Scott, K4KDR, tweeted about a QSO with Glenn, AA5PK... Is AO-27 actually back from the dead? George, KA3HSW

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IC 9700 & Satpc32
by Gerald Witalec 09 May '20

09 May '20

H to everyone on this board. I've been thinking about purchasing the IC-9700. I noticed a lot of you arehaving trouble with the Satpc32 program. I'm sure there are other programs to use with the 9700 and ifso, what are some of you using and to what extent of success? I have heard of some drifting problemswith the 9700 and hope that has been resolved by Icom. Would need your expertise on these issues. Any help would be greatly appreciated before I decidewhether or not to make that purchase. Jerry...W8RQM

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-05-09 17:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 09 May '20

09 May '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-05-09 17:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Airdrie Space Science Club, Airdrie, AB, Canada, Multi-point telebridge via ZS6JON The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Fri 2020-05-15 15:10:28 UTC 55 deg via ZS6JON A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. ************************************************* Looking for some stay at home activities related to science and for when you are not playing on your radio? Check out these links: >From ARISS Vice Chair Oliver Amend DG6BCE: ESA Astronauts to offer inspiration during isolation in #SpaceConnectsUs https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Astronauts_to_offer_inspiration_during_isolati… Celestron, the telescope, microscope, and sports optics folks, now has something called #STEMINYOURBACKYARD that you can find on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. By the way, I don't work for Celestron or have any business dealings with them and this is just something I saw. Apparently there are 10 free STEM activities covering Astronomy, Nature and Wildlife, and The Microscopic World. Check out: https://www.celestron.com/blogs/news/discover-stem-in-your-backyard NASA has a STEM page with fun activities to do at home. Check out https://www.nasa.gov/stem ************************************************* 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: Postponed: Srednja Skola Za Elektrotehniku I Racunalstvo, Rijeka, Croatia, direct via 9A5G (***) Canadian Cub Jamboree, Guelph/Eramosa, ON, Canada, telebridge via TBD (***) Cancelled: No additional 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 2020-05-09 17:30 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 2020-04-30 17:30 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 133 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 1388. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1321. 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 **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Re: [amsat-bb] Fixed Antenna
by Roy Dean 09 May '20

09 May '20

> > I have been trying to find a used Eggbeater or similar antenna to use to > listen for Satellites. > The exchange on the USD to CND currency is a killer. I noticed many plans > to build one on the internet. > Any suggestions which one would be worth trying for RX to start? > > 73 VE7HJ To be honest, I had better results using a 1/4 wave ground plane antenna (the kind you make with an SO-239 panel mount fitting and 4 radials) than the typical "rectangular" DIY eggbeater (using exclusively with satellites). I would recommend making a QFH. --Roy K3RLD

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RS-44
by Steve Kristoff 09 May '20

09 May '20

I tried to receive the CW beacon from RS-44 around 1600 UTC today, but didn't pick up anything. Did anybody else hear it (or see it on a waterfall)? Steve AI9IN

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Fixed Antenna
by James Johnson 09 May '20

09 May '20

I have been trying to find a used Eggbeater or similar antenna to use to listen for Satellites. The exchange on the USD to CND currency is a killer. I noticed many plans to build one on the internet. Any suggestions which one would be worth trying for RX to start? 73 VE7HJ

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Re: [amsat-bb] satellite cw beacon
by Roy Dean 09 May '20

09 May '20

> > Speaking of CW beacons, I tried to copy the CW beacon from CAS-4B this > morning and all I found was a continuous tone/carrier. It was doppler > shifting so I assume I was hearing (and watching on waterfall) the > satellite but no CW. Is this normal? Does it just send code on certain > occasions? Steve AI9IN I noticed this as well, about a week or two ago. The very next pass, the CW was back on. Transponder operation didn't seem to be affected at all. --Roy K3RLD

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Re: [amsat-bb] [ic-9700] IC-9700 with SatPC32 not updating
by Yono Adisoemarta 09 May '20

09 May '20

No problem at all here thru USB cable (no ferrite), but on Windows 7 laptop. 73 de Yono YD0NXX Sent from my iPhone > On May 9, 2020, at 9:45 AM, Rick VK6RK <rick(a)vk6xlr.net> wrote: >

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satellite cw beacon heard on about 145.820 MHz
by Graham c 08 May '20

08 May '20

I often set one of my FM radios on 145.825 when I am not actively doing much else just on the oft chance I might hear the ISS pass by. Yesterday and today while I was close to the radio I notice some CW breaking the squelch on the radio and just now I fired up a SDR to see what I could hear (and see). Definitely a satellite (lots of doppler) frequency about as high as 145.820 and faded out at LOS around 145.812 around 2020-05-08 1945 UTC I am located near Ottawa Canada. CW around 15 wpm sending 10 characters like T1YBZGZDZZ. I didn't write down every group - too busy trying to track. A quick look through satellite / frequency listings didn't provide a quick answer so I am wondering if someone might have an idea on what satellite this is. cheers, Graham ve3gtc

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SATPC32 Issue >
by PETER BUDNIK 08 May '20

08 May '20

Hope everyone is doing well! When using SATPC32 on a Windows 7 computer I get this error message. Since I purchased the SATPC32 program I had this happen 4 times in the last couple of weeks. Only way for me to fix is uninstall and re-install as new. It than works fine for awhile and up comes the error message again. Is there something I doing or is it Windows 7 problem or SATPC32. tnx for any help and 73 Peter,KB1HY

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FM vs Linear Transponders
by Ray Soifer 08 May '20

08 May '20

Being neither a grid-chaser nor a ragchewer, I hesitate to get involved in this debate, but my flak jacket is on so here goes. There is a fundamental difference between FM satellites and linear transponders: every LEO FM satellite that has been put up so far has only one channel, while linear transponders can accommodate several QSOs at the same time. Thus, for those of us operating from densely populated areas, using an FM satellite to talk with friends seems a misuse of available resources. It also creates an incentive to run excessive power in order to keep others from taking over the channel. A linear transponder is much better suited to that type of operation. Rapid-fire grid-chasing, state-chasing or DX chasing, on the other hand, can easily make 3 or 4 QSOs per minute, a more efficient use of a single-channel transponder. That's my input. Now I'll go back to CW. 73 Ray W2RS

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Re: [amsat-bb] APRS Birds Summary Page
by Robert Bruninga 08 May '20

08 May '20

Here is the summary page for all APRS satellites: http://aprs.org/sats.html Though they say nothing about how to operate normal APRS. Assumed... Bob, WB4APR -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org> On Behalf Of Brad Smith via AMSAT-BB Sent: Friday, May 8, 2020 3:08 PM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] APRS Birds <Also, there is a lot of bandwidth on the APRS satellites (Falconsat-3,ARISS, NO-84) and the PSK birds (NO-84, NO-104) waiting for moreusers. Remember, with APRS you can do more than just send yourposition, you can send messages back and forth and have a decentconversation. So for those tired of the QRM on FM, consider givingthem a try.> I have mastered packet exchange through the ISS and would love to do packets on the APRS satellites. However, I have not found an article, etc,. that tells how to do it. I understand that it is not quite the same as the ISS/digipeaters contacts. If one can't find an "instruction sheet", how can one participate? I was hoping that this year's AMSAT satellite book would give a clue, but due to obvious circumstances, the book has not been published. Since I am the only one in my ham clubs who does any packets at all, help is not going to come from local hams. I am very thankful for the help from some hams around the US who elmered me, so far. Brad KC9UQR _______________________________________________ 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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APRS Birds
by Brad Smith 08 May '20

08 May '20

<Also, there is a lot of bandwidth on the APRS satellites (Falconsat-3,ARISS, NO-84) and the PSK birds (NO-84, NO-104) waiting for moreusers. Remember, with APRS you can do more than just send yourposition, you can send messages back and forth and have a decentconversation. So for those tired of the QRM on FM, consider givingthem a try.> I have mastered packet exchange through the ISS and would love to do packets on the APRS satellites. However, I have not found an article, etc,. that tells how to do it. I understand that it is not quite the same as the ISS/digipeaters contacts. If one can't find an "instruction sheet", how can one participate? I was hoping that this year's AMSAT satellite book would give a clue, but due to obvious circumstances, the book has not been published. Since I am the only one in my ham clubs who does any packets at all, help is not going to come from local hams. I am very thankful for the help from some hams around the US who elmered me, so far. Brad KC9UQR

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FM vs Linear Transponders
by Stephen DeVience 08 May '20

08 May '20

I'm thinking about some kind of hardware/software combination kind of like this company's products: https://www.hobbypcb.com/ I have two of their HF and VHF/UHF radios. All frequency control is done via usb and an arduino nano, which I'm sure can be adapted to a phone app. There are a lot of plans for simple SSB transceivers that could probably be combined with that. I like SDRs too, but then you probably need at least a laptop to get enough computing power to do a good job. I'm glad you're thinking about this too. -Stephen, N8URE

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APRS Birds
by Stephen DeVience 08 May '20

08 May '20

PSAT (NO-84) works exactly the same way as the ISS, and you can even use ARISS as the path. Unfortunately its digipeater has been off lately. NO-103 should also work the same way, whenever it eventually will be turned on. For those who can reach it, IO-86 works the same way, but the path is YBSAT. All are on 145.825 MHz. Falconsat-3 is V/U mode and 9600 baud. Some Falconsat-3 instructions are here: https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/FalconSAT-Stodda… https://andrewbnortham.com/ke8fzt/falconsat/ Aisat looks to have stopped working, as has the APRS portion of NO-104. One issue I notice when using my TH-D72 is that some people send packet messages that are not in the full APRS format, so they aren't decoded properly. This shouldn't be an issue when using software like Xastir or UISS. Also, the longer the message, the more likely it will pick up errors and not be digipeated or decoded. So shorter is better. -Stephen, N8URE

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PacComm Spirit 2
by James Johnson 08 May '20

08 May '20

Would anyone have a copy of the manual for this TNC. I have lots of PacComm manuals but the Spirit II was designed for satelitte work. I know I'm playing with old technolgy but just like old tube gear its fun to get it working. James VE7HJ Victoria BC

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Re: [amsat-bb] FM vs Linear Transponders
by Stephen DeVience 08 May '20

08 May '20

The ground station complexity for using the linear satellites is a real issue, especially for anyone trying to rove or use a handheld antenna. I've always found the suggestion to use two FT-817s strapped to your neck very awkward (and pricey). I'm starting to think of what would be needed for a handheld-size linear satellite transceiver. It would have to do SSB on UHF and VHF, and the Doppler correction could probably be handled by a phone app which would also provide visual tracking. I know it's a bit more complicated than FM, but at least you wouldn't need much power. Having separate U/V and V/U versions would be even easier. It could be a fun project. -Stephen, N8URE

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FITSAT-1 5 GHz transmitter?
by Michelle Thompson 07 May '20

07 May '20

Greetings all! I have a few questions about the 5 GHz transmitter from FITSAT-1, based on the block diagram. Anyone here involved with that particular design? If you're interested - It's an excessively lengthy link to a PDF paper about the mission, but if you put "Development and operations of nano-satellite FITSAT-1 (NIWAKA)" into Google Scholar, then it shows up and is accessible. -Michelle W5NYV

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Re: [amsat-bb] Just an observation
by Stephen DeVience 07 May '20

07 May '20

"More orbiting bandwidth means more people participating in any way they want to, be it grid-chasing, DX, or simply chatting casually with an old or new friend." Absolutely, and it's a testament to the interest in this part of the hobby that we are fighting over bandwidth, rather than complaining that there's no one answering our CQ. It's a good sign! Also, there is a lot of bandwidth on the APRS satellites (Falconsat-3, ARISS, NO-84) and the PSK birds (NO-84, NO-104) waiting for more users. Remember, with APRS you can do more than just send your position, you can send messages back and forth and have a decent conversation. So for those tired of the QRM on FM, consider giving them a try. Stephen, N8URE

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Just an observation
by Steve Kristoff 07 May '20

07 May '20

FWIW- If you are going to admonish someone for poor behavior on an FM satellite, it is probably not the best idea to do it during the pass. Done that way, the admonishment becomes as bad as the original QRM. Steve AI9IN

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Re: [amsat-bb] Just an observation
by Stephen DeVience 07 May '20

07 May '20

*I don't really understand since getting active on sats again - which is why the same guys keep working each other on every FM satellite pass.* This is especially puzzling when there are rare DX and special event stations on. I was on a pass last night where there were both, yet the everyday folks were stepping on them and calling one another instead. 73, Stephen, N8URE

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Fw: 2M desense on Icom IC-9700
by BeetleJerald Oliver 07 May '20

07 May '20

----- Forwarded Message ----- From: BeetleJerald Oliver <revjwo(a)att.net>To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 02:55:41 PM CDTSubject: 2M desense on Icom IC-9700 I just replaced my Yaesu FT-847 with the Icom IC-9700. I am having problem with 2M uplink overloading (desense) the 70CM downlink, resulting in not being able to use RS-44, FO-29, or SO-50. It is the same antenna system that I used with the FT-847 and I experienced no problem at all with the FT-847. SWR on both VHF/UHF is quite low using M2 CP yagis on fiberglas boom, 11 feet apart. I have the problem whether I use the preamps, or not. Even at 5W out, it is quite noticeable. Anyone else had this problem? KJ4EU Jerry

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SatPC32 and the Green Herron Rotor Controller
by Peter 07 May '20

07 May '20

So, I do not see as a choice the Green Herron RT21 Alt Az rotorcontroller????? How can I get the program to control the antennas???ThanksPeterW2PP

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PCSat32 and the Green Herron Rotor controller
by Peter 07 May '20

07 May '20

I don't see the Green Herron RT21 alt az controller in the listof rotors How can I get the program to work with this?THnaksPeterW2PP

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Drones For Sale
by Coy Johnson 07 May '20

07 May '20

Hello: My Name is Coy Johnson 57 Grant 372 Prattsville, Ar 72129 I have for sale the following items for sale: 1. DJI Mavic 2 Pro Drone and accessories. $1000.00 2. DJI Mavic 2 Zoom Drone and Accessories. $1000.00 You can call me to talk about what all comes with each one. I also have Two Metal Detectors for sale. 1. Minilab Equinox 800 , with accessories . $450.00 2.Garrett Motel 400 , with Wireless head phones. $200.00 If interested in any of this “ PLEASE Call” 870-699-5052

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DOSAAF-85/RS-44
by Ray Soifer 07 May '20

07 May '20

I operated the 1822 pass yesterday (6 May) and worked two stations, AA2HJ and K9QHO, on CW with about 100 W eirp. Signals were almost as strong as FO-29 used to be and the apogee is about the same as AO-7. A good DX macine for those of us out of range of QO-100. 73 Ray W2RS

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Re: [amsat-bb] SAT32PC question
by Dave Webb KB1PVH 06 May '20

06 May '20

Ted, The nasabare is only the TLE which is what's used to track the satellite. The doppler.sqf is the actual frequency and mode info for each satellite that only needs to be added to when a new satellite is added. I'm not sure where HRD gets the frequency and tone info when a new satellite is launched if you don't manually put it in. HRD works fine I guess for FM but totally blows it on the SSB birds unless they really have fixed things. Dave-KB1PVH Sent from my Galaxy S9 On Wed, May 6, 2020, 7:32 PM Ted Krempa <k7trkradio(a)charter.net> wrote: > Thanks for the answer to Paul, Dave... > > Brings up a question that has always puzzled me about Sat32PC...does one > need to be constantly updating the sqf file? I would think that 'updating' > function would bring in all that info, from, i.e.., the nasabare update. > (This is what HRD does)...(same question for the 'tone' file) It seems > SATPC needs constant massaging, which is one reason I have never been able > to find it functional.. > > Anyway, say hi to the horses !! > > 73, Ted > K7TRK > > -----Original Message----- > From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dave Webb > KB1PVH via AMSAT-BB > Sent: Wednesday, May 6, 2020 1:53 PM > To: Paul Mcl > Cc: Amsat > Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] SAT32PC question > > Paul, > > You need to make entries in the doppler.sqf file with the frequency info. > Here's a write up that should help you out. > > amsat-uk.org/2013/11/23/adding-new-satellites-to-satpc32/amp/ > > Also there's a Doppler.sqf line generator that's on the AMSAT website where > you plug in frequencies and modes and it will generate the proper info. > > https://www.amsat.org/doppler-sqf-line-generator/ > > Dave-KB1PVH > > > Sent from my Galaxy S9 > > On Wed, May 6, 2020, 4:40 PM Paul Mcl via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > wrote: > > > Apologies for what could be an easy question but I am a bit new to this. > > Just getting the station set up at the moment. > > > > I have installed SAT32PC and have it tracking a number of the amateur > > satellites. I have noticed a few sats including PO101, CAS4A and 4B > don’t > > have any frequency info shown in the window above the map. > > > > Not sure how to resolve this so any help appreciated. > > > > Thanks > > > > Paul MM0ZBH > > _______________________________________________ > > 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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SAT32PC question
by Paul Mcl 06 May '20

06 May '20

Apologies for what could be an easy question but I am a bit new to this. Just getting the station set up at the moment. I have installed SAT32PC and have it tracking a number of the amateur satellites. I have noticed a few sats including PO101, CAS4A and 4B don’t have any frequency info shown in the window above the map. Not sure how to resolve this so any help appreciated. Thanks Paul MM0ZBH

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Re: [amsat-bb] SDRSharp
by Steve Kristoff 06 May '20

06 May '20

Thanks for the quick support on my SDRSharp question folks. It's coming together. Steve AI9IN ----- Original Message -----

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Re: [amsat-bb] New Yaesu G-5500DC
by Nick KE8AKW 06 May '20

06 May '20

Yes. The brand new version of the G-5500 with the "DC" at the end is not compatible with anything before it, as they are now using 22V DC to drive the G5500DC rather then a regular G5500 that uses 24V AC. So that means a G5500DC motor is not compatible with a G5500 Control box, and vice versa. As for why they changed their motors to DC, I dont really know. But something to look out for sure. 73 Nick KE8AKW

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New Yaesu G-5500DC
by Rafael Pena 06 May '20

06 May '20

Hey fellows is me again, Rafael / NN3RP I wanted to share with you this new to me knowledge about the Yaesu G-5500DC AZ / EL. I am to receive new potentiometer for the AZ that is having issues. So I will try fixing it. Here is what I learned today on the new DC version system. It is not compatible with the old one. Here's the story....I was looking to purchase a AZ rotor only and found it at my local store in Virginia, hotel roma omar. I was happy to see that they are selling the AZ and EL separately. But also the whole setup. I purchased and got me the AZ today. Yes, I am that crazy...got to make that money to work for me! Before purchasing it, I saw the setup being also sold at DXEnglish store. But intrigued me fact that the one listed G-5500 had this DC at the end of the name being the new version (my local store does not have it so) But they don't sell them individually AZ or EL. So I sent for one locally and it is in my hands now. Then as I opened the box I asked myself wait a minute which one did I actually get? Reading the manual under specifications for old and new version reveals that they are very different in several areas. A call to the store sent me over to Yaesu Tech support. I spoke with this gentleman who save me from my pulling more hairs. It was confirmed. I learned that there is a big difference in the new version and cannot be mixed with the older one at all. So I asked which one did I get? He said ...."if yours does not have the label G-5500DC below the connector then you have the old version." So for a moment I paused and realized that I bought the one needed. I am to setup once the rain stops. But I wanted to write to warn about the fact that there is a potential disaster if mixing them. I found some pictures of the new version and can be accessed via one drive here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Al_5NCnHQyKatyHKmTViqUiqpj2Y?e=MAPLUL 73 Rafael / NN3RP

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SDRSharp
by Steve Kristoff 06 May '20

06 May '20

Is anyone using SDRSharp with an RTL-SDR on a Windows 10 machine? I've uploaded and deleted and reuploaded more than once and I can't get it work. The screen comes on looking good, but when I hit the "Play" button it locks up and nothing happens. I have had older versions working on older Windows, so I sort of know what I'm doing, but I don't know enough I guess. My plan was to use VBCable between SDRSharp and MixW to decode CW beacons from satellites. Any helpful hints would be appreciated. Steve AI9IN

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LoRa modules sx1276
by Nick Pugh 05 May '20

05 May '20

I have been playing with Lora radios SX1276 on 145 Mhz. The spec sheets reports sensitivities of -148 dbm with a bandwidth of 7800 hz and a spreading factor of 12. I am unable to get close to this spec when place in a link with antennas. I suspect that at my location there has external noise on the antenna. When I test the module at UHF they meet the sensitivity specs. My idle noise on the antenna no signal is -120 dbm and the noise terminated into 50 ohms is -127 dbm with a bandwidth of 10 khz. I have 2 questions? 1. What is the noise temperature of the antenna? 2. How can I express the reduction in sensitivity of the Lora radios with antenna temperature? Nick Pugh K5QXJ nick Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School Disagree I Learn

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FS: 2 meter transverter
by John Geiger 04 May '20

04 May '20

I have for sale one of the Ukrainian 10m to 2 meter transverter that I have been using as a receive converter on the satellites. When you use this with your 10 meter radio you get all of the features of your HF radio on 2 meters. This particular transverter was set up for use with a flex radio by the previous owner, so it has the lower power input and requires hard keying via a PTT line. Since I was using it as a receive only converter that wasn't an issue for me. I do have the attenuator board with it that would need to be installed. This lets you run up to 10 watts into it, and also lets you do RF sense T/R switching instead of needing a PTT line. It is rated at 10 watts output. It comes with a power cord, 2 BNC to SO239 adapters for the antenna in and out. I am asking $60 shipped for it and can take paypal/check/MO. 73 John AF5CC

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Re: [amsat-bb] DM92 activation
by Glenn Miller - AA5PK 04 May '20

04 May '20

As Drew KO4MA pointed out, AO-92 will be in Mode L, so I'll be on the entire RS-44 pass. My spare 23 cm antenna isn't exactly portable. Glenn

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DM92 activation
by Glenn Miller - AA5PK 04 May '20

04 May '20

Plan to operate a few passes from DM92 on Wednesday, 6 May: CAS-4B at 1612Z AO-92 at 1628Z and switching over to RS-44 at some point during AO-92 pass AO-91 at 1708Z. 73 Glenn AA5PK

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Re: [amsat-bb] Calling CQ on linear sats
by Mark D. Johns 04 May '20

04 May '20

Graeme, You appear to have the correct frequencies in the radio, and Jean-Marc already supplied the SatPC32 material. Do note two things: 1) this is a linear satellite, so you will be using SSB and TUNING across the passband that is 60 kHz wide. You don't have to stay in the middle of that band! You can -- and should! -- tune around. A lot of stations pile up in the center when we could all be spreading out. It's not like an FM satellite, where there is just one frequency channel. 2) the transponder is INVERTING. That means that you will transmit on Lower Sideband (LSB) on 2 meters, but you will receive on Upper Sideband (USB) on 70 cm. As you tune your receiver UP in frequency, the transmit VFO should go DOWN in frequency, and vice versa. If you put your FT-847 into Satellite mode (see the manual), it will do that reversed tuning for you automatically. Once you have all of that down, the only trick is the "fine tuning" to match your transmit frequency EXACTLY to the corresponding receive frequency. This is called "Calibration" in SatPC32. See the SatPC32 instructions for that (it's too long for email). Some people try to do this part manually, but it changes constantly, so it makes satellite operation a real pain. Let the computer do the hard work! Contact me off the list if you need more. -- Mark D. Johns, KØJM AMSAT Ambassador & News Service Editor Brooklyn Park, MN USA EN35hd ----------------------------------------------- "Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in." ---Mark Twain On Mon, May 4, 2020 at 12:11 PM graeme milne <graeme61(a)googlemail.com> wrote: > > Hi All > > Been reading these emails with interest. > Have emailed 2 radio hams for info (1 in USA and 1 in UK) ,no reply yet. > As this AMSAT-BB email is getting responses quick,i am putting my question forward . > > > > I have never worked linear before ( or cannot remember). > I used to work many many years ago ISS,RS12/13,UO-14 etc etc. > > I have been trying to work RS-44 with no success. > > A mention of centre freq was center freq...............145.965 > 435.640 > (This is what i set up on the Yaesu FT847) > I have a sneaky feeling this is wrong. > Should i disengage the cat for the radio and manually tune to work RS-44 or any Linear sats ,using this method ? > > Any tips would be gratefully appreciated. > > > RS-44 – V/u Inverting Analog SSB/CW > Uplink (LSB) 145.935 MHz through 145.995 MHz > Downlink (USB) 435.610 MHz through 435.670 MHz > CW Beacon 435.605 MHz > > I do hear the sat but it sounds mickey mouse which suggests to me i am off frequency. > > My set up here is as follows. > > Yaesu FT847 > AZ/EL Rotators Yaesu G5400B > Antennas: Crushcraft 22xb Yagi for VHF > M2 436CP42UG Yagi for UHF > > ERC-M interface for yaesu G5400B to computer. > Software Fodtrack and Fodsked to control the AZ/EL G5400B automatically. > > Cat cable from Yaesu FT847 to the computer . > Fodtrack controls the frequencies automatically on Yaesu FT847. > > Kind Regards > Graeme mm5iss > > > On Mon, 4 May 2020 at 16:21, Mark D. Johns via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: >> >> Yes, Jean Marc. Many of us would be willing and anxious to help -- I >> don't want to scare newcomers away. But if they don't reach out to us, >> and if they don't make an email address available on their QRZ page, >> it isn't possible. Of course, they probably aren't reading here, >> either! >> -- >> Mark D. Johns, KØJM >> AMSAT Ambassador & News Service Editor >> Brooklyn Park, MN USA EN35hd >> ----------------------------------------------- >> "Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, >> you would stay out and your dog would go in." >> ---Mark Twain >> >> On Mon, May 4, 2020 at 11:09 AM Jean Marc Momple >> <jean.marc.momple(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> > >> > Mark, >> > >> > Well said “OR IF YOU DON'T HEAR YOURSELF, the problem is on your end. So fix your receiver “. >> > >> > That said it is incredible that many OM’s do not do a minimum of home work (WEB research etc..) before TXing (not only on the LEO Birds but also on GEO now). >> > >> > When I was a trainee long ago each time I put to my “Boss" a question which if I was reading the documentation the answer would be obvious, his reply was RTFM, after a few days I asked him what RTFM means and he simply said calmly "Read The F… Manual”. >> > >> > My observation so far is that if some doing things which are not right is due most probably because they do not RTFM as many infos available on the net, or do not dare (or shy) to ask for help from others (e.g. on this forum). There is no stupid question, not knowing is not a shame, not asking for help when one does not know is, eventually causing issues. So simple. >> > >> > 73 >> > >> > >> > >> > Jean Marc (3B8DU) >> > also AMSAT Ambassador this side of the planet >> > >> > >> > >> > > On May 4, 2020, at 7:29 PM, Mark D. Johns via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: >> > > >> > > Folks, if you can't hear yourself on the downlink, please don't keep calling CQ! >> > > >> > > On passes of CAS4-4B and CAS-4A today, there were at least three >> > > different stations calling CQ repeatedly, sometimes right on top of >> > > other QSOs. They were each answered by multiple stations, but just >> > > kept calling CQ, again and again. >> > > >> > > I will not post callsigns here, and if email addresses had been >> > > available on QRZ.com I would have written to each individually. But >> > > these satellites are very active, so if no one is coming back to you, >> > > or you don't hear other signals as you tune across the passband, OR IF >> > > YOU DON'T HEAR YOURSELF, the problem is on your end. So fix your >> > > receiver! >> > > -- >> > > Mark D. Johns, KØJM >> > > AMSAT Ambassador & News Service Editor >> > > Brooklyn Park, MN USA EN35hd >> > > ----------------------------------------------- >> > > "Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, >> > > you would stay out and your dog would go in." >> > > ---Mark Twain >> > > _______________________________________________ >> > > 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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Calling CQ on linear sats
by Mark D. Johns 04 May '20

04 May '20

Folks, if you can't hear yourself on the downlink, please don't keep calling CQ! On passes of CAS4-4B and CAS-4A today, there were at least three different stations calling CQ repeatedly, sometimes right on top of other QSOs. They were each answered by multiple stations, but just kept calling CQ, again and again. I will not post callsigns here, and if email addresses had been available on QRZ.com I would have written to each individually. But these satellites are very active, so if no one is coming back to you, or you don't hear other signals as you tune across the passband, OR IF YOU DON'T HEAR YOURSELF, the problem is on your end. So fix your receiver! -- Mark D. Johns, KØJM AMSAT Ambassador & News Service Editor Brooklyn Park, MN USA EN35hd ----------------------------------------------- "Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in." ---Mark Twain

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Re: [amsat-bb] Calling CQ on linear sats
by Jean Marc Momple 04 May '20

04 May '20

Graeme, Ok will try : I guess you are using SatPc32, in such case you should add the following lines in the Doppler.SQF file: RS-44,435605,0,CW,0,REV,0,0,CW Beacon (DOSAAF-85) RS-44,435640,145965,USB,LSB,REV,0,0,SSB (DOSAAF-85) Second line for SSB. Made already a few QSO on the bird and these frequencies are OK. Do not forget to update the Kepplers. I cannot help for the FT-847 setup as not knowing, as using a TS-2000. Hope this help. 73 Jean Marc (3B8DU) > On May 4, 2020, at 9:11 PM, graeme milne <graeme61(a)googlemail.com> wrote: > > Hi All > > Been reading these emails with interest. > Have emailed 2 radio hams for info (1 in USA and 1 in UK) ,no reply yet. > As this AMSAT-BB email is getting responses quick,i am putting my question forward . > > > > I have never worked linear before ( or cannot remember). > I used to work many many years ago ISS,RS12/13,UO-14 etc etc. > > I have been trying to work RS-44 with no success. > > A mention of centre freq was center freq...............145.965 > 435.640 > (This is what i set up on the Yaesu FT847) > I have a sneaky feeling this is wrong. > Should i disengage the cat for the radio and manually tune to work RS-44 or any Linear sats ,using this method ? > > Any tips would be gratefully appreciated. > > > RS-44 – V/u Inverting Analog SSB/CW > Uplink (LSB) 145.935 MHz through 145.995 MHz > Downlink (USB) 435.610 MHz through 435.670 MHz > CW Beacon 435.605 MHz > > I do hear the sat but it sounds mickey mouse which suggests to me i am off frequency. > > My set up here is as follows. > > Yaesu FT847 > AZ/EL Rotators Yaesu G5400B > Antennas: Crushcraft 22xb Yagi for VHF > M2 436CP42UG Yagi for UHF > > ERC-M interface for yaesu G5400B to computer. > Software Fodtrack and Fodsked to control the AZ/EL G5400B automatically. > > Cat cable from Yaesu FT847 to the computer . > Fodtrack controls the frequencies automatically on Yaesu FT847. > > Kind Regards > Graeme mm5iss > > > On Mon, 4 May 2020 at 16:21, Mark D. Johns via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > Yes, Jean Marc. Many of us would be willing and anxious to help -- I > don't want to scare newcomers away. But if they don't reach out to us, > and if they don't make an email address available on their QRZ page, > it isn't possible. Of course, they probably aren't reading here, > either! > -- > Mark D. Johns, KØJM > AMSAT Ambassador & News Service Editor > Brooklyn Park, MN USA EN35hd > ----------------------------------------------- > "Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, > you would stay out and your dog would go in." > ---Mark Twain > > On Mon, May 4, 2020 at 11:09 AM Jean Marc Momple > <jean.marc.momple(a)gmail.com <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > > > Mark, > > > > Well said “OR IF YOU DON'T HEAR YOURSELF, the problem is on your end. So fix your receiver “. > > > > That said it is incredible that many OM’s do not do a minimum of home work (WEB research etc..) before TXing (not only on the LEO Birds but also on GEO now). > > > > When I was a trainee long ago each time I put to my “Boss" a question which if I was reading the documentation the answer would be obvious, his reply was RTFM, after a few days I asked him what RTFM means and he simply said calmly "Read The F… Manual”. > > > > My observation so far is that if some doing things which are not right is due most probably because they do not RTFM as many infos available on the net, or do not dare (or shy) to ask for help from others (e.g. on this forum). There is no stupid question, not knowing is not a shame, not asking for help when one does not know is, eventually causing issues. So simple. > > > > 73 > > > > > > > > Jean Marc (3B8DU) > > also AMSAT Ambassador this side of the planet > > > > > > > > > On May 4, 2020, at 7:29 PM, Mark D. Johns via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > > > > > Folks, if you can't hear yourself on the downlink, please don't keep calling CQ! > > > > > > On passes of CAS4-4B and CAS-4A today, there were at least three > > > different stations calling CQ repeatedly, sometimes right on top of > > > other QSOs. They were each answered by multiple stations, but just > > > kept calling CQ, again and again. > > > > > > I will not post callsigns here, and if email addresses had been > > > available on QRZ.com I would have written to each individually. But > > > these satellites are very active, so if no one is coming back to you, > > > or you don't hear other signals as you tune across the passband, OR IF > > > YOU DON'T HEAR YOURSELF, the problem is on your end. So fix your > > > receiver! > > > -- > > > Mark D. Johns, KØJM > > > AMSAT Ambassador & News Service Editor > > > Brooklyn Park, MN USA EN35hd > > > ----------------------------------------------- > > > "Heaven goes by favor; if it went by merit, > > > you would stay out and your dog would go in." > > > ---Mark Twain > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org <mailto:[email protected]>. 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 <https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb> > > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org <mailto:[email protected]>. 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 <https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb>

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-05-04 17:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 04 May '20

04 May '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-05-04 17:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Airdrie Space Science Club, Airdrie, AB, Canada, Multi-point telebridge via ZS6JON The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Fri 2020-05-15 15:10:28 UTC 55 deg via ZS6JON (***) ************************************************* A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. ************************************************* Looking for some stay at home activities related to science and for when you are not playing on your radio? Check out these links: >From ARISS Vice Chair Oliver Amend DG6BCE: ESA Astronauts to offer inspiration during isolation in #SpaceConnectsUs https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Astronauts_to_offer_inspiration_during_isolati… Celestron, the telescope, microscope, and sports optics folks, now has something called #STEMINYOURBACKYARD that you can find on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. By the way, I don't work for Celestron or have any business dealings with them and this is just something I saw. Apparently there are 10 free STEM activities covering Astronomy, Nature and Wildlife, and The Microscopic World. Check out: https://www.celestron.com/blogs/news/discover-stem-in-your-backyard NASA has a STEM page with fun activities to do at home. Check out https://www.nasa.gov/stem ************************************************* 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 additional schools (***) Cancelled: No additional 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 2020-05-04 17:00 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 2020-04-30 17:30 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 133 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 1388. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1321. 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 Welcome aboard! Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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AO-92 QRM
by Stephen DeVience 04 May '20

04 May '20

I just heard some conversations during the AO-91 pass as well, followed by a bunch of other noises QRMing the bird. The satellite was over the great lakes at the time. -Stephen, N8URE

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AO-92 QRM
by Dave Pascoe 04 May '20

04 May '20

I witnessed the AO-92 QRM again on the 0100Z pass today (Sunday night). The source of the QRM seems to be related to the Gloucester, MA area. A net was taking check-ins at 9PM EDT and I heard at least 2 or 3 stations check in. One of the stations, I believe, was on Echolink, so it is probably the 145.13 Gloucester, MA that is part of the issue. I suspect it is some sort of UHF/VHF cross-band setup that someone has in that area, within range of the 145.130 repeater (60-mile coverage area). Someone at AMSAT may want to reach out to the club and enlist their help: http://caara.net/main/ Hope this helps. 73, Dave KM3T

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Linear Up-Down app updated for RS-44
by Wendy and Terry Osborne 04 May '20

04 May '20

Hi Folks, For those who are using my Linear Up-Down app, I have updated it for RS-44. You can download the new version here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c4j35i9k4yzswcl/AACiHtIU8f8_gI8oWVkcJpz0a?dl=0 73, Terry Osborne ZL2BAC

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ANS-124 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 03 May '20

03 May '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-124 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, 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 commun- icating 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: * New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of The AMSAT Journal Now Available * AMSAT President Hails Launch of Wild Apricot Membership Portal * Call for Nominations - 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election * RS-44 Transponder Now Active * Virginia Tech Camera on AO-92 Takes Stunning Photos, Additional Passes Planned Tuesday, May 5th * Redesigned AMSAT CubeSat Simulator Launched * Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for April 30, 2020 * FCC Adopts Updated Orbital Debris Mitigation Rules * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 2020 * Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge Virtual Hackathon, May 30-31 * On-Line Student STEM: TI Codes Contest 2020 * First Guatemalan Satellite Deployed from the ISS * Former AMSAT Area Coordinator, Prominent DXer Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ, SK * During the COVID-19 Pandemic, ARISS to Begin Experimental Demonstra- tions of School Contacts using a Multipoint Telebridge Amateur Radio Approach * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-124.01 ANS-124 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 124.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE May 3, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-124.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice. For details, please visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of The AMSAT Journal Now Available Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of the AMSAT office, the March/April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal will not be printed and mailed to members. Instead, a full-color PDF is being made available on the AMSAT website. The issue can be downloaded below: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-MarAprJournal This issue includes detailed information about AMSAT's new online membership portal, now active at https://launch.amsat.org. AMSAT members are encouraged to review this article, which includes detailed instructions on accessing your membership account. Stay tuned for more features, including members-only content coming soon. Articles in the March/April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal: * Apogee View - Clayton Coleman, W5PFG * Engineering Update - Jerry Buxton, N0JY * Treasurer's Report - Robert Bankston, KE4AL * AMSAT's New Member and Event Portal - Robert Bankston, KE4AL * amsatLink — Proposed Wireless Communications Network - Robert Bankston, KE4AL * Educational Relations Update - Alan Johnston, KU2Y * A New Design for the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator - Alan Johnston, KU2Y; Jim McLaughlin, KI6ZUM; David White, WD6DRI; Pat Kilroy, N8PK * For Beginners — Amateur Radio Satellite Primer IV - Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF * PSAT 1U — A Low-Cost, EasyBuild 1U CubeSat - George Downey, Robert Bruninga, WB4APR * Gridmaster Heat Map - Paul Overn, KE0PBR [ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT President Hails Launch of Wild Apricot Membership Portal Friday, May 1, 2020 brings a significant change to AMSAT's member experience. The launch of our Wild Apricot-based member portal on this date retires the dBase database system launched in the early 1980s by then-President Dr. Tom Clark, K3IO (then W3IWI) and is the result of a process authorized by the Board of Directors in 2016. Members now have control over the own profiles. Member communications will be handled via email, resulting in significant cost reduction. Wild Apricot will not only serve AMSAT as our member management plat- form. Other capabilities will be released in the future such as event management, communications, and access to member-only content. Stay tuned for new capabilities being launched over the coming months. As this is a totally new system for AMSAT, we may face challenges ahead. I ask for your patience as the User Services team works through these challenges to provide our members the best user experience poss- ible. Ultimately, Wild Apricot is the right solution moving AMSAT for- ward both technologically and operationally. This effort would not have been possible without the hard work and leadership of Robert Bankston, KE4AL, in his position as Vice Pres- ident of User Services at AMSAT. Significant hours were put into this project. I applaud and congratulate Robert for a successful launch. 73, Clayton W5PFG AMSAT President [ANS thanks Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, AMSAT President, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Call for Nominations - 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election AMSAT solicits nominations for the 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors election, to be held in the third quarter of the year. The seats of the following three incumbent Directors expire in 2020 and will be filled by this year's election: Tom Clark, K3IO; Mark Hammond, N8MH; and Bruce Paige, KK5DO. Further, up to two Alternate Directors may be elected for one-year terms. A valid nomination for Director must be written and requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT member. Written nominations, with the nominee’s name, call sign, and contact information, as well as the nominators' names, call signs, and contact information, should be sent to the AMSAT Secretary: Brennan Price, N4QX 300 Locust St SE, Unit E Vienna VA 22180-4869 brennanprice(a)verizon.net A copy should be sent to AMSAT Manager, Martha Saragovitz, at martha(a)amsat.org. The AMSAT bylaws require that the nomination be written and in the form specified by the Secretary. In light of the ongoing pandemic and the resulting closure of the physical office, the Secretary has elected to accept written nomination materials in electronic form, including e-mail or electronic image of a paper document. Fax trans- missions cannot be accepted due to the closure of the office. No matter what means are used, petitions MUST be received by the Secretary no later than June 15th. The Secretary will verify the qual- ifications of candidates and nominating members or Member Societies as petitions are received, and will notify candidates whether their nom- inations are in order by the end of June. [ANS thanks Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- RS-44 Transponder Now Active The amateur satellite world was surprised to wake up to the news on April 30th that a new transponder was activated for testing and open for use by amateurs worldwide Constructed by specialists at Information Satellite Systems and Students at Siberian State Aerospace University, DOSAAF-85 was launched on a Rockot/Breeze-KM launch vehicle from Plesetsk Cosmo- drome on December 26, 2019. The satellite apparently failed to separate from the upper stage of the launch vehicle and remains attached. The satellite’s name commemorates the 85th anniversary of the Voluntary Society for the Assistance to the Army, Aviation, and Navy (DOSAAF), the organization responsible for the military training of Soviet youth. Designated RS-44, or Radio Sputnik 44, the satellite carries a 60 kHz wide V/u linear transponder and a CW beacon. With an orbit of 1511 km x 1175 km and an inclination of 82.5 degrees, this is the highest orbiting functioning amateur satellite available worldwide. Due to the 1511 km apogee, regular DX contacts should be easy to make. The first claimed DX record came from Joe Werth, KE9AJ, and Jérôme LeCuyer, F4DXV, who reported a 6,993 km trans-Atlantic QSO between EN50gn09 in Illinois and JN04iu40 in France. This was quickly eclipsed less than 24 hours later when Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ, and Tetsurou Satou, JA0CAW, reported the first trans-Pacific QSO between CN93jw (Oregon, USA) and PM97nw (Niigata, Japan), a distance of 7,859 km. The theoretical max- imum range for QSOs via RS-44 is 7,942 km. The NORAD ID is 44909, object 2019-096E. Initial reports from the first days of operation suggest that the transponder is very sensitive and easily workable with low power and handheld antennas, however significant periodic fading is reported, likely due to the fact that the satellite remains attached to the upper stage of the launch vehicle and is unable to deploy its gravity gradient boom to stablize itself. The satellite is planned to remain continuously available for testing purposes until May 11th at which time a decision on further operations will be made. The Keplerian elements for RS-44 have been added to the AMSAT and CelesTrak distributions, as well as several popular tracking apps. The ARRL has released version 11.10 of the TQSL configuration file to add support for RS-44 to LoTW. RS-44 – V/u Inverting Analog SSB/CW Uplink (LSB) 145.935 MHz through 145.995 MHz Downlink (USB) 435.610 MHz through 435.670 MHz CW Beacon 435.605 MHz [ANS thanks Dmitry Pashkov, R4UAB, Igor Blinov, RW3XL, Nico Janssen, PA0DLO, the ARRL, and others for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Virginia Tech Camera on AO-92 Takes Stunning Photos, Additional Passes Planned Tuesday, May 5th The Virginia Tech camera on board AO-92 was activated on two passes over North America on Tuesday, April 28th. Several great photos were taken, captured by amateur stations running FoxTelem, and uploaded to the AMSAT Central Scrutinizer. All of the photos taken by AO-92 can be viewed on the AMSAT website at the link below. The Virginia Tech camera will be activated again on Tuesday, May 5th during morning passes over the United States. The camera remains active for 45 minutes after being enabled by a ground station. Stations in the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central, and South America are encouraged to set their stations up to receive and upload high speed telemetry in FoxTelem. FoxTelem downloads and instructions can be found at https://www.g0kla.com/foxtelem/index.php AO-92 Camera Image Archive: https://www.amsat.org/tlm/showImages.php?id=4 [ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT Vice President - Operations for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Redesigned AMSAT CubeSat Simulator Launched A new design for the CubeSatSim, the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator is now available on GitHub (http://cubesatsim.org/code). The CubeSatSim is a Raspberry Pi Zero W-based functional model of a “1U” CubeSat nano- satellite for demonstrations and educational outreach. It has a 3D- printed frame structure and is designed to act, as reasonably as poss- ible, as one flying in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The simulator runs on rechargeable battery power and solar panels and transmits its authentic voltage, current, and temperature telemetry on the UHF Amateur Radio band. The CubeSatSim has been presented at the AMSAT Space Symposium the past two years and at Hamvention last year. The new design was developed to reduce the cost to build and to im- prove functionality. Jim McLaughlin, KI6ZUM, and David White, WD6DRI, are prominent STEM advocates and school mentors in the San Diego area. They offered to help redesign the hardware and collaborated with Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT VP Educational Relations, and Pat Kilroy, N8PK, over the past nine months. The resulting design has reduced the cost to build in half (from around $400 to around $200) and added a new Fox-1 emulation mode. In addition to the AFSK (Audio Frequency Shift Keying) and 1200 bps APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) telemetry in AO-7 format of the original design, the new version supports DUV (Data Under Voice) FSK (Frequency Shift Keying) 200 bps telemetry com- patible with Fox-1A through Fox-1D and BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying) 1200 bps telemetry compatible with HuskySat-1 and the upcoming Fox-1E. Chris Thompson, G0KLA/AC2CZ, the author of AMSAT’s FoxTelem satellite telemetry software, has put out a testing version 1.09 of the software that supports the CubeSatSim. Instructions on how to download and con- figure this test version are on the GitHub Wiki. http://cubesatsim.org/wiki Also new to the CubeSatSim is a STEM Payload board with a STM32F103C8T6 “Blue Pill” Arduino compatible microcontroller. The board also has a built-in BME-280 Temperature Humidity Barometric Pressure Sensor and an MPU-6050 (GY-521) 3-Axis Accelerometer and Gyro. Also new is a tape measure dipole or monopole or SMA antenna, an integrated Band Pass filter, and a sturdy new 3D printed frame and more powerful solar panels. A new Twitter account @CubeSatSim has also been launched. Follow to get the latest updates on the CubeSatSim including videos and photos. Links to all CubeSatSim resources are at CubeSatSim.org. More details on the redesigned CubeSatSim can be found in the March/ April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal, available at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-MarAprJournal The CubeSatSim team wishes to thank the AMSAT board, President, and all AMSAT members for their ongoing support of this educational project. [ANS thanks Dr. Alan Johnston, KU2Y, AMSAT Vice President - Educational Relations for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for April 30, 2020 The following satellites have decayed from orbit and have been removed from this week's AMSAT TLE Distribution: ALMASAT-1 - NORAD Cat ID 38078 (Decayed from orbit April 25, 2020). nSIGHT1 - NORAD Cat ID 42726 (Decayed from orbit April 25, 2020). The following satellite has been activated and added to this week's AMSAT TLE Distribution: RS-44 - NORAD Cat ID 44909. Per Nico Janssen, PA0DLO concerning RS-44: "The new amateur payload DOSAAF 85 (RS-44) appears to work very well. Doppler measurements confirm that it is indeed object 44909, 2019-096E. The satellite identifies itself as "RS44" (i.e. Radio Sputnik 44) on its CW beacon on 435.6043 kHz. The passband is about 63 kHz wide. It may also have a downlink between 2400 and 2485 MHz. The frequencies of RS44/DOSAAF 85 have not been IARU coordinated. The satellite is in an elliptical orbit with a perigee of 1175 km, an apogee of 1511 km and an inclination of 82.5 degrees. The payload is apparently attached to the Breeze-KM upper stage of a Rokot launch vehicle that launched three Gonets satellites on December 26, 2019. It was originally expected to launch in 2015. It is based on the Yubileiniy platform." [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ FCC Adopts Updated Orbital Debris Mitigation Rules On April 23rd, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a Report and Order (R&O) and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) updating rules on orbital debris mitigation for the first time since 2004. The newly adopted regulations increase the disclosure re- quirements for pre-space notifications submitted for amateur space stations. In the draft version of the R&O, released in early April, the FCC had included the adoption of additional requirements regarding indemni- fication and maneuverability. AMSAT, ARRL, university researchers, and satellite industry groups opposed certain aspects of these rules. In response, the Commission moved those provisions to a FNPRM for further comment. In addition to maneuverability and indemnification requirements for amateur space stations, the Commission also seeks comment on a disposal bond requirement for certain spacecraft. AMSAT is evaluating the FNPRM and will file comments expressing our views of the proposed regula- tions. The adopted R&O / FNPRM can be found at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/FCC-20-54A1.pdf [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive Vice President, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 2020 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period April 1, 2020 through May 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL Apr May KO4MA 1750 1753 K7TAB 531 600 AE5B 442 450 ND0C 301 346 N4DCW 201 300 KC9UQR 252 275 WA9JBQ 225 250 W4DTA 217 240 WI6K New 200 S57NML 126 179 DL4ZAB 150 172 KS1G 134 170 YO2CMI 100 168 KE0WPA 108 152 ZS5LEE New 105 VE3CGA New 100 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! [ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge Virtual Hackathon, May 30-31 NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Explora- tion Agency) are inviting coders, entrepreneurs, scientists, designers, storytellers, makers, builders, artists, and technologists to partici- pate in a virtual hackathon May 30-31 dedicated to putting open data to work in developing solutions to issues related to the COVID-19 pan- demic. During the global Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge, participants from a- round the world will create virtual teams that - during a 48-hour per- iod - will use Earth observation data to propose solutions to COVID- 19-related challenges ranging from studying the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and its spread to the impact the disease is having on the Earth system. Registration for this challenge opens in mid-May. "There's a tremendous need for our collective ingenuity right now," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mis- sion Directorate. "I can?t imagine a more worthy focus than COVID-19 on which to direct the energy and enthusiasm from around the world with the Space Apps Challenge that always generates such amazing solutions." The unique capabilities of NASA and its partner space agencies in the areas of science and technology enable them to lend a hand during this global crisis. Since the start of the global outbreak, Earth science specialists from each agency have been exploring ways to use unique Earth observation data to aid understanding of the interplay of the Earth system -- on global to local scales -- with aspects of the COVID- 19 outbreak, including, potentially, our ability to combat it. The hackathon will also examine the human and economic response to the vi- rus. ESA will contribute data from the Sentinel missions (Sentinel-1, Sent- inel-2 and Sentinel-5P) in the context of the European Copernicus pro- gram, led by the European Commission, along with data from Third Party contributing Missions, with a focus on assessing the impact on climate change and greenhouse gases, as well as impacts on the economic sector. ESA also is contributing Earth observation experts for the selection of the competition winners and the artificial-intelligence-powered EuroDataCube. "EuroDatacube will enable the best ideas to be scaled up to a global level," said Josef Aschbacher, director of Earth Observation Programm- es at ESA. "The pandemic crisis has a worldwide impact, therefore in- ternational cooperation and sharing of data and expertise with partners like NASA and JAXA seems the most suitable approach." JAXA is making Earth observing data available from its satellite mis- sions, including ALOS-2, GOSAT, GOSAT-2, GCOM-C, GCOM-W, and GPM/DPR. "JAXA welcomes the opportunity to be part of the hackathon," said JAXA Vice President Terada Koji. "I believe the trilateral cooperation among ESA, NASA and JAXA is important to demonstrate how Earth observation can support global efforts in combating this unprecedented challenge." Space Apps is an international hackathon that takes place in cities around the world. Since 2012, teams have engaged with NASA's free and open data to address real-world problems on Earth and in space. The COVID-19 Challenge will be the program's first global virtual hacka- thon. Space Apps 2019 included more than 29,000 participants at 225 events in 71 countries, developing more than 2,000 hackathon solutions over the course of one weekend. Space Apps is a NASA-led initiative organized in collaboration with Booz Allen Hamilton, Mindgrub, and SecondMuse. The next annual Space Apps Challenge is scheduled for October 2-4. For more information about NASA Space Apps Challenges, visit: https://www.spaceappschallenge.org/ [ANS thanks NASA for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- On-Line Student STEM: TI Codes Contest 2020 Texas Instruments and NASA have announced the "TI Codes Contest 2020". This STEM activity invites student teams to connect and learn together remotely to let their imaginations reach new heights by solving this unique challenge during the 20th anniversary of humans on the Inter- national Space Station (ISS): Propose a way to automate or optimize a process or product for living and working on the ISS. Then use coding and Texas Instru- ments (TI) technology to design and build a model of the solution. Stage 1: Pitch your idea - is running now. Teams connect virtually with up to five students, ages 13–19, plus an adult sponsor. (A spon- sor can be a teacher, parent or other adult who can mentor students remotely.) Then, determine which process or product your team wants to automate or optimize that would help the International Space Station. The deadline for submissions: May 21, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. Central time. Access full contest rules, prize lists, NASA STEM resources, and enter your team at: https://education.ti.com/en/promotion/codescontest [ANS thanks Texas Instruments and NASA for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- First Guatemalan Satellite Deployed from the ISS Guatemala’s first satellite, a small CubeSat called QUETZAL-1, was de- ployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday, April 28, 2020. Its primary mission is to test a sensor for remote data acquisition for natural resource management, which could be used to monitor water qual- ity in inland water bodies. QUETZAL-1 LogoThe satellite is part of the Japanese Kibo cubesat pro- gram, a product of the cooperation between, among others, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG), and more institutions. The operational frequencies were chosen through cooperation from Guatemalan radio amateurs and the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU). Downlink 4800 bps GMSK on 437.200 MHz. The Quetzal-1 project team director is Guatemalan engineer José Bagur, TG8JAV, a graduate from mechatronics engineering at Universidad Del Valle. Source: IARU Region 2 https://iaru-r2.org/ IARU Quetzal-1 http://amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=653 Quetzal-1 Telemetry info https://uvg.edu.gt/cubesat-en/ Quetzal-1 Telemetry decoder http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?page_id=75524 Follow Quetzal-1 on Twitter https://twitter.com/quetzal1_uvg [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Former AMSAT Area Coordinator, Prominent DXer Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ, SK Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ, became a silent key on Wednesday, April 29th at his home in the U. S. Virgin Islands. A prominent contester and DXer, Herb served as an AMSAT Area Coordinator in the Caribbean in the 1970s and 1980s. Activating Anguilla as VP2EFZ, he gave Pat Gowen, G3IOR, the last country he needed on OSCAR 7 to complete the first DXCC via satellite. [ANS thanks The Daily DX, QRZ.com, and former AMSAT Vice President - Operations Rich Zwirko, K1HTV, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- During the COVID-19 Pandemic, ARISS to Begin Experimental Demonstra- tions of School Contacts using a Multipoint Telebridge Amateur Radio Approach Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is pleased to announce the first use of a concept called Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio, allowing school contacts for Stay-At-Home students and simultaneous reception by families, school faculty and the public. During the last several weeks, efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus have resulted in massive school closures worldwide. In addition, the Stay-At-Home policies invoked by authorities, initially shut down opportunities for ARISS school contacts for the near future. To circumvent these challenges and keep students and the public safe, ARISS is introducing the Multipoint Telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio concept. First operation of this experimental system occurred during a contact with a group of Northern Virginia Students located in Woodbridge, VA on Thursday, April 30 at 13:35 UTC (9:35EDT). During this event, an ARISS telebridge radio ground station linked to the astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS)ham radio station and each Stay-At-Home student and their teacher was individually linked to the telebridge station. Under the teacher’s direction, each student, from their home, takes a turna sking their question of the astronaut. Quoting ARISS Chair Frank Bauer, “This approach is a huge pivot for ARISS, but we feel it is a great strategic move for ARISS. In these times of isolation due to the virus, these ARISS connections provide a fantastic psychological boost to students, families, educators and the public. And they continue our long-standing efforts to inspire, engage and educate students in STEAM subjects and encourage them to pursue STEAM careers.” An archive of the April 30th contact can be viewed at https://youtu.be/Cu8I9ose4Vo. 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 Corp- oration (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 [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS PR, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Due to COVID-19, many hamfest and events around the United States have been canceled or postponed. While we make every effort to ensure the information contained below is correct, there may be some that we missed. We wish all of you safekeeping and hope to be at a hamfest near you soon. Current schedule: June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Com, Plano, TX The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have been CANCELED: May 8-9, 2020, Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Services, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations AD0DX has announced a tentative activation of DL88 in Big Bend Nat- ional Park for Sunday, May 31st. At this time, the park remains closed but the team hopes it will reopen soon. Doug Tabor, N6UA, will join him for this activation. Details about the plans can be found on the K5Z QRZ.com page: https://www.qrz.com/db/K5Z [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT Vice President - User Services, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + The May 2020 issue of Aerospace America, the monthly magazine of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) features an article entitled "Cosmic GPS" describing the emerging use of GPS on spacecraft flying beyond the GPS constellation altitude and, eventually, to the moon. Above-constellation use of GPS was first demonstrated on AMSAT-OSCAR 40. AMSAT Vice President - Human Space- flight Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, is extensively quoted in this article. Read it at https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/features/cosmic-gps/ + AMSAT's Zazzle store has added a few new products, including a water bottle, car flag, and fanny pack. A wide variety of other products are also available, including the popular new OSCAR t-shirt. Check out the store at https://www.zazzle.com/store/amsat_gear. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes to AMSAT to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space. + Scientists from NASA, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Lunar Planetary Institute have created a detailed new map of the lunar surface in stunning color. Called the Unified Geological Map of the Moon, it marries decades of surveys of the moon’s surface going as far back as Armstrong and Aldrin’s Apollo mission, with more re- cent data from NASA and JAXA. It doesn’t just look pretty — the map will greatly help NASA and other organizations plan future landing sites optimized for scientific missions. NASA's Artemis project could take humans to the moon as early as 2024. AMSAT, along with ARISS, partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar or- bit as part of an Artemis precursor initiative. The digital map is available for the public at: https://on.doi.gov/2YnZGAO + Scott Chapman, K4KDR, is featured in Scott Manley's new video about the Iranian Noor satellite. https://youtu.be/SPTz7Ig9RQE + As another part of the RSGB "Get on the air to care" campaign, the May edition of RadCom is being made available to radio amateurs around the world to read online as a sample edition. A number of IARU national societies have taken a similar step and the RSGB is happy to join those societies in supporting the worldwide amateur radio community during these difficult times: https://www.rsgb.org/sampleradcom + In a Public Notice released on April 30th, the FCC confirmed that amateur license examinations may be conducted remotely. The full Public Notice can be found at the link below: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-20-467A1.pdf + The AMSAT Folding@home team continues to climb the rankings. Now in the top 2,500 of all teams at the time of this writing, the team has grown to 37 members with 70 active CPUs within the past 50 days and includes five members in the top 100,000 of all users. Alex Free, N7AGF, is our top contributor with over 21,000,000 points credited to AMSAT's team. For more information about the Folding@home project and how you can contribute to scientific research, including the fight against COVID-19, see https://foldingathome.org/. AMSAT's team number is 69710: https://stats.foldingathome.org/team/69710 + In advance of their move to a new headquarters location, the FCC has updated their offical seal. The new seal includes a satellite and ground station, reflecting the increasing importance of space communications. https://twitter.com/FCC/status/1255882365936775171 --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 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. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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WTB: Satellite rig-Icom 820/821/910 or the like
by John Geiger 03 May '20

03 May '20

I am looking for a full duplex satellite radio like the Icom 910/820/821, Kenwood TS790 or similar models-if anyone has one for sale after upgrading to an Icom 9700 or flex radio. Will consider other models as well. Please email me off the list and let me know the price shipped to Oklahoma. 73 John AF5CC

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AMSAT Field Day 2020
by Bruce 03 May '20

03 May '20

I have been monitoring the ARRL to see what they will be doing or changing for field day. Unfortunately my field day article did not make it into this issue (April/May) of the journal. The ARRL has on their website this for right now... "With 2020 ARRL Field Day – one of the biggest events on the Amateur Radio calendar – just about 12 weeks away, ARRL officials are monitoring this situation with the coronavirus very closely and paying close attention to all of the information and guidance being offered by the CDC's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html)." For right now, we will play it by ear and make adjustments to field day as it gets a bit closer. Hopefully more restrictions are lifted and we can plan radio a little bit more like normal. 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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Struggling with IC-9700 and WSJT-X
by Richard Lawn 02 May '20

02 May '20

Recently my Windows 10 computer went through an upgrade and ever since then I cannot get WSJT-X to talk via CAT to my 9700. I've tried the obvious things like unplugigng the USB cable and plugging it back in again and no dice. I even reinstalled WSJT-X because I found that HRD was working just fine. I'm at a loss on this. Any suggestions out there? Rick, W2JAZ

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Re: [amsat-bb] po-101 sub tone
by tjschuessler＠verizon.net 02 May '20

02 May '20

Ah! The response from the guy who built the software. Thanks very much Eric. Interestingly, the PDF of the user manual will not display the opcode chart. Just shows the heading and the rest of the page is blank. O well. Tom Schuessler, N5HYP Message: 7 Date: Sat, 2 May 2020 10:04:08 +0200 From: Erich Eichmann <mailto:[email protected]> To: mailto:[email protected] Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] po-101 sub tone Message-ID: <mailto:[email protected]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed Hi, as far as I see the code for the FT-847 for a 141.3 sub tone is hex 08 (p. 93 of the user manual) , for the TS-2000 it is dec. 22. Therefore the entry in SubTone.SQF for a 141.3 sub tone for Icom radios, Yaesu FT-847 and Kenwood TS-2000 should be: PO-101,141.3,$08,22 73s, Erich, DK1TB

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Re: [amsat-bb] G-5500 AZ Potentiometer
by Gregory Beat 02 May '20

02 May '20

As Mike Wilhelm noted, TOCOS is a Japanese manufacturer, that has a North American office (Northwest Chicago suburbs) not far from my QTH. TOCOS RA25 Wire Wound Potentiometer (designed for Panel Mount) “25” references 25mm (1 inch) diameter, made by CTS (Elkhart, IN) over past 100 years. https://tocos.com/products/series/wire-wound-panel-controls/ra25 DATASHEET for TOCOS RA25 https://tocos.com/uploads/media/products/0001/01/1256394e7e05d3b089a35ad588… SELECT Your Country, State/Province for TOCOS Distributors https://tocos.com/sales-locations TOCOS America 1177 East Tower Road Schaumburg, IL 60173 Telephone: 847-884-6664 FAX: 847-884-6665 Sales e-Mail: sales(a)tocos.com Web Site: http://www.tocos.com — greg, w9gb == From: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald(a)alum.wpi.edu> To: "amsat-bb(a)amsat.org" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>, Rafael Pena <pinoleronica(a)hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] G-5500 AZ Potentiometer I didn't find a supplier, but I did find a datasheet. You can probably find a replacement from a different manufacturer. Curiously it is only rated to -10C. https://www.tocos-j.co.jp/tocos-j-wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/RA25_Series… jbf

2 1

Still Waiting......
by Gerald Witalec 02 May '20

02 May '20

Approximately two weeks ago, I ordered the book written by Steve Ford, WB8IMY, "Amateur Radio Satellites for Beginners" so as to complimentmy library of books on Ham Radio. USPS has terribly failed to deliver my book and their posting is not updated daily. Last update I received on their web site was April 27th and now, this morning it is May 2nd with NO updates. I noticed that USPS delivery trucks making deliveries with evenlarger packages then the book. I have no idea when I will receive it. Looks like I will wait another week and then just cancel my order. It took me over two weeks to receive an antenna from HRO Milwaukee. I was thinking about purchasing the IC-9700 for the SATS and 2M/70 cm repeaters. Now I have my doubts as to when I would ever receive it and in what condition it may be in when delivered. I was thinking about driving to Milwaukee to it curb side during this virus crisis, but that is a seven hour one way drive from my QTH. No wonder the wife keeps asking when will I give up the hobby.Totally frustrated...Jerry.....W8RQM

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Re: [amsat-bb] po-101 sub tone
by on4cjq＠telenet.be 02 May '20

02 May '20

Jack, 3F is the code for a 67Hz tone, so for 141.3 it should be different. Even without a subtone the sat can be accessed. Probably you are just using a 67Hz subtone because that also works. Jerry,ON4CJQ ----- Oorspronkelijk bericht ----- Van: "amsat-bb" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Aan: "amsat-bb" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Verzonden: Vrijdag 1 mei 2020 21:13:02 Onderwerp: [amsat-bb] po-101 sub tone Tom: The sub tone is as follows PO-101,141.3,$3F,1 Hope that helps 73 JACK KC7MG _______________________________________________ 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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Re: [amsat-bb] G-5500 AZ Potentiometer
by Rafael Pena 01 May '20

01 May '20

Thanks for all the immediate emails received....very quick response and valuable information. I sent for a couple of the potentiometer (though not exactly the same as inside the rotator) but compatible ones. https://www.ebay.com/itm/RA25Y20S-B502-Original-New-Cosmos-Potentiometer/12… I am to receive them next week. 73 ________________________________________ De: Mike Wilhelm <af5at.radio(a)gmail.com> Enviado: viernes, 1 de mayo de 2020 03:48 p. m. Para: Joseph B. Fitzgerald CC: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org; Rafael Pena Asunto: Re: [amsat-bb] G-5500 AZ Potentiometer I found a US data sheet from the American Division of the company. Contact information is at the bottom of the US office of Tocos, but here it is too: 1177 East Tower Road, Schaumburg, IL 60173 Tel: 847-884-6664 Fax: 847-884-6665 E-mail: sales(a)tocos.com<mailto:[email protected]> www.tocos.com<http://www.tocos.com> -Good Luck! Mike AF5AT On Fri, May 1, 2020 at 2:36 PM Joseph B. Fitzgerald via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: I didn't find a supplier, but I did find a datasheet. You can probably find a replacement from a different manufacturer. Curiously it is only rated to -10C. https://www.tocos-j.co.jp/tocos-j-wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/RA25_Series… de KM1P ________________________________________ From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org<mailto:[email protected]>> on behalf of Rafael Pena via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org<mailto:[email protected]>> Sent: Friday, May 1, 2020 2:43 PM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org<mailto:[email protected]> Subject: [amsat-bb] G-5500 AZ Potentiometer Hello everyone. I am looking for a compatible, if not the same, potentiometer for Yaesu G-5500. The AZ is starting to do its dance queen. Flickers between 180-270 and stabilizes after matching SatPC32 target. But swings left at that area then settles. I have already place some de-oxit on top of it (or better say, bottom). It helped somewhat but I see the need for replacing it at some point soon. I placed a call to Yaesu Tech support and I am waiting on them to call me back. The person answering the live line though first told me that the part is not available. So I requested tech support. This system is still being sold new all over the place and the pot must be available. This same pot seems to be used in other similar Yaesu rotators, i.e., 5400. The pot has a number written RA25Y20S B501 083 321 which matches the number I saw someone who posted a Yaesu receipt of service performed. Yaesu part number is S8101823 I have seen some on the #Bay that were listed by purchasers as compatible. I missed the chance to buy the last two: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1pcs-COSMOS-RA25Y20S-B501-500-OHM-1-2W-Wirewound-P… Any help is appreciated. _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org<mailto:[email protected]>. 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<mailto:[email protected]>. 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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Re: [amsat-bb] G-5500 AZ Potentiometer
by Russ Kinner 01 May '20

01 May '20

Your issues remind me of a similar problem I had early in my career with feedback wire resistors in control valves. Same extreme conditions and quite valuable production loss of it fails. Eventually the feedback sensor was changed to a LVDT electronic sensor with magnetic position. It does cost more but you never have to touch it. Rusty. WA8ZID From: "Joseph B. Fitzgerald" <jfitzgerald(a)alum.wpi.edu> To: "amsat-bb(a)amsat.org" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org>, Rafael Pena <pinoleronica(a)hotmail.com> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] G-5500 AZ Potentiometer Message-ID: <BLAPR22MB21154EF2DF94D500F9FD719187AB0(a)BLAPR22MB2115.namprd22.prod.outlook.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" I didn't find a supplier, but I did find a datasheet. You can probably find a replacement from a different manufacturer. Curiously it is only rated to -10C. https://www.tocos-j.co.jp/tocos-j-wp/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/RA25_Series…

1 0

Subtones.sqf file
by alex weimer 01 May '20

01 May '20

Tom: If you go into satpc32 and click on the subtones.sqf file and scroll down through the notepad. you will see that the $3F is used for the FT847. So therefore PO-101,141.3,$3F,1 is the correct format .. I have the FT847 and this format works !! 73 JACK KC7MG

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YouTube Video :: replay of RS44 linear transponder pass on May 1st
by Scott 01 May '20

01 May '20

Greetings! If anyone would like to see the come & go fade being discussed on RS44, or perhaps has not had a chance yet to see activity on this surprise new satellite, here is a replay of this morning's pass over the Eastern U.S.: https://youtu.be/iK8RbBd5K-k ... I know it's frustrating to watch someone else tune a receiver - sorry! But I thought it might be interesting to share for anyone not setup for linear sats or who just hasn't had a chance to see the activity on this new satellite. -Scott, K4KDR

2 1

repair of G5400 el rotor
by Jim White 01 May '20

01 May '20

I have a G5400 elevation rotor that needs repair. It only moves 90 degrees and the pot, when hooked to a working control box, shows 90 to 180 degrees of travel. I just don't have time to work on it myself. I'd appreciate pointers to anyone who repairs these. Jim, WD0E

1 0

SubTone.SQF for PO-101
by tjschuessler＠verizon.net 01 May '20

01 May '20

I have an FT847 and want to update the SubTone.SQF file for the PO-101's 141.3 tone. What is the appropriate HEX $ value for that line in the file please. Thanks Tom Schuessler, N5HYP EM12ms

2 1

G-5500 AZ Potentiometer
by Rafael Pena 01 May '20

01 May '20

Hello everyone. I am looking for a compatible, if not the same, potentiometer for Yaesu G-5500. The AZ is starting to do its dance queen. Flickers between 180-270 and stabilizes after matching SatPC32 target. But swings left at that area then settles. I have already place some de-oxit on top of it (or better say, bottom). It helped somewhat but I see the need for replacing it at some point soon. I placed a call to Yaesu Tech support and I am waiting on them to call me back. The person answering the live line though first told me that the part is not available. So I requested tech support. This system is still being sold new all over the place and the pot must be available. This same pot seems to be used in other similar Yaesu rotators, i.e., 5400. The pot has a number written RA25Y20S B501 083 321 which matches the number I saw someone who posted a Yaesu receipt of service performed. Yaesu part number is S8101823 I have seen some on the #Bay that were listed by purchasers as compatible. I missed the chance to buy the last two: https://www.ebay.com/itm/1pcs-COSMOS-RA25Y20S-B501-500-OHM-1-2W-Wirewound-P… Any help is appreciated.

2 2

po-101 sub tone
by alex weimer 01 May '20

01 May '20

Tom: The sub tone is as follows PO-101,141.3,$3F,1 Hope that helps 73 JACK KC7MG

1 0

Sub Tone for P-101 Sat
by alex weimer 01 May '20

01 May '20

Tone is 141.3 Hz

1 0

DOSAAF-85 transponder activation
by Blinov Igor 01 May '20

01 May '20

Good day! Satellite DOSAAF-85 turn on transponder (linear, inverting) on for testing purposes. UPLink 145965KHz +/-30 KHz DOWNLink 435640KHz +/-30 KHz BEACON 435605KHz TLE: 1 44909U 19096E 20120.96346743 +.00000010 +00000-0 +00000-0 0 9999 2 44909 082.5239 027.5343 0217449 340.2089 019.0669 12.79706663015985 Try it! -- 73! Igor, RW3XL

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Call for Nominations, 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election
by Brennan Price 01 May '20

01 May '20

AMSAT solicits nominations for the 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors election, to be held in the third quarter of the year. The seats of the following three incumbent Directors expire in 2020 and will be filled by this year's election: Tom Clark, K3IO; Mark Hammond, N8MH; and Bruce Paige, KK5DO. Further, up to two Alternate Directors may be elected for one-year terms. A valid nomination for Director must be written and requires either one Member Society or five current individual members in good standing to nominate an AMSAT member. Written nominations, with the nominee’s name, call sign, and contact information, as well as the nominators' names, call signs, and contact information, should be sent to the AMSAT Secretary: Brennan Price, N4QX 300 Locust St SE, Unit E Vienna VA 22180-4869 brennanprice(a)verizon.net A copy should be sent to AMSAT Manager, Martha Saragovitz, at martha(a)amsat.org. The AMSAT bylaws require that the nomination be written and in the form specified by the Secretary. In light of the ongoing pandemic and the resulting closure of the physical office, the Secretary has elected to accept written nomination materials in electronic form, including e-mail or electronic image of a paper document. Fax transmissions cannot be accepted due to the closure of the office. No matter what means are used, petitions MUST be received by the Secretary no later than June 15th. The Secretary will verify the qualifications of candidates and nominating members or Member Societies as petitions are received, and will notify candidates whether their nominations are in order by the end of June. 73, Brennan Price, N4QX Secretary, AMSAT

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Address conflice SatPC32
by Jim White 01 May '20

01 May '20

Need a little IT help here.. I have a PC running WSJT-X full time in WSPR mode. When I start SatPC32 on that same computer it kills the uploading of spots from WSJT-X. It appears they both use 127.0.0.1. WSJT-X apparently uses that address for Internet connections. SatPC32 appears to use the same address between it and the rotor controller program (sort of guessing on that one). So the question is how to change one or the other. Perhaps it's easy to change SatPC32? To be clear, I need to run both programs at the same time full time. Thanks in advance. Jim jim(a)coloradosatellite.com wd0e(a)amsat.org

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Online Space Workshop #OSW2020 this weekend
by M5AKA 01 May '20

01 May '20

The Online Space Workshop #OSW2020 takes place this weekend May 2-3 https://amsat-uk.org/2020/05/01/online-space-workshop-may-2-3/ First Guatemalan satellite deployed from the ISS https://amsat-uk.org/2020/04/30/guatemala-quetzal-1-cubesat/ DOSAAF-85 (RS-44) amateur radio transponder activated https://amsat-uk.org/2020/04/30/dosaaf-85-rs-44-amateur-radio-transponder-a… Trevor M5AKA---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ----

1 0

VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 2020
by Ronald Parsons 01 May '20

01 May '20

VUCC Awards-Endorsements for April 2020 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period April 1, 2020 through May 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL Apr May KO4MA 1750 1753 K7TAB 531 600 AE5B 442 450 ND0C 301 346 N4DCW 201 300 KC9UQR 252 275 WA9JBQ 225 250 W4DTA 217 240 WI6K New 200 S57NML 126 179 DL4ZAB 150 172 KS1G 134 170 YO2CMI 100 168 KE0WPA 108 152 ZS5LEE New 105 VE3CGA New 100 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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ANS-122 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of The AMSAT Journal Now Available
by Paul Stoetzer 01 May '20

01 May '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-122 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: * New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of The AMSAT Journal Now Available SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-122 ANS-122 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 122.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE May 1, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-122.01 New AMSAT Membership Portal Launched, March/April 2020 Edition of The AMSAT Journal Now Available Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of the AMSAT office, the March/April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal will not be printed and mailed to members. Instead, a full-color PDF is being made available on the AMSAT website. The issue can be downloaded below: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-MarAprJournal This issue includes detailed information about AMSAT's new online membership portal, now active at https://launch.amsat.org. AMSAT members are encouraged to review this article, which includes detailed instructions on accessing your membership account. Stay tuned for more features, including members-only content coming soon. Articles in the March/April 2020 edition of The AMSAT Journal: * Apogee View - Clayton Coleman, W5PFG * Engineering Update - Jerry Buxton, N0JY * Treasurer's Report - Robert Bankston, KE4AL * AMSAT's New Member and Event Portal - Robert Bankston, KE4AL * amsatLink — Proposed Wireless Communications Network - Robert Bankston, KE4AL * Educational Relations Update - Alan Johnston, KU2Y * A New Design for the AMSAT CubeSat Simulator - Alan Johnston, KU2Y; Jim McLaughlin, KI6ZUM; David White, WD6DRI; Pat Kilroy, N8PK * For Beginners — Amateur Radio Satellite Primer IV - Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF * PSAT 1U — A Low-Cost, EasyBuild 1U CubeSat - George Downey, Robert Bruninga, WB4APR * Gridmaster Heat Map - Paul Overn, KE0PBR [ANS thanks the AMSAT office 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. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 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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Re: [amsat-bb] S100 bus, history
by Gregory Beat 01 May '20

01 May '20

S-100 bus , new designs, and restorations are alive and well. Over the past two years, a number of 1970s microcomputer pioneers have passed — including Paul Allen (cancer) and Bill Godbout (Paradise/Camp Fire). John Monahan hosts the S100 Computers web site. http://www.s100computers.com/ On April 29, John released the newest S100computers board, FPGA 80286 SBC http://www.s100computers.com/My%20System%20Pages/FPGA%2080286%20SBC/80286%2… Orders are currently being taken for this board (show interest immediately, if you desire to participate). Google Groups has the discussion forum: S100Computers greg, w9gb == Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 20:44:01 -0700 From: "Doug Faunt N6TQS +1-510-717-1197" <dougfaunt(a)gmail.com> To: Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] S100 bus, history Thanks. That's actually far more than I recall. I was doing LSI-11 stuff at the time, and wasn't impressed by the S100 bus. 73, doug On Thu, Apr 30, 2020 at 8:16 PM Paul Stoetzer <n8hm(a)arrl.net> wrote: > > That?s the link to the whole issue. Here?s a direct link to the article. > https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1979-09/page/n183 > > 73, > Paul, N8HM

1 0

S100 bus, history
by Doug Faunt N6TQS +1-510-717-1197 01 May '20

01 May '20

Back in the day, there was an Amsat project to make a ham oriented S100 bus board. I think it had a RTTY interface, and some other things. Does anyone recall more details? 73, Doug

2 3

RS-33 SQF
by 73 Bob W7LRD 30 Apr '20

30 Apr '20

Where can find SQF file for RS-44? 73 Bob W7LRD

6 10

Anybody Hear RS-44?
by Mike Lucas 30 Apr '20

30 Apr '20

Listened for the Beacon & Transp freqs this last pass, heard nothing. Anybody else hear anything yet? Mike N7ASZ

2 1

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-04-30 17:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 30 Apr '20

30 Apr '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-04-30 17:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Northern Virginia Schools Group, Woodbridge VA, Multi-point telebridge via AB1OC The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact was successful: Thu 2020-04-30 13:35:00 UTC 62 deg (***) Watch for live stream at: https://youtu.be/Cu8I9ose4Vo A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. ************************************************* Looking for some stay at home activities related to science and for when you are not playing on your radio? Check out these links: >From ARISS Vice Chair Oliver Amend DG6BCE: ESA Astronauts to offer inspiration during isolation in #SpaceConnectsUs https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Astronauts_to_offer_inspiration_during_isolati… Celestron, the telescope, microscope, and sports optics folks, now has something called #STEMINYOURBACKYARD that you can find on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. By the way, I don't work for Celestron or have any business dealings with them and this is just something I saw. Apparently there are 10 free STEM activities covering Astronomy, Nature and Wildlife, and The Microscopic World. Check out: https://www.celestron.com/blogs/news/discover-stem-in-your-backyard NASA has a STEM page with fun activities to do at home. Check out https://www.nasa.gov/stem ************************************************* 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 additional schools (***) Cancelled: No additional 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 2020-04-30 17:30 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 2020-04-30 17:30 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 133 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 1388. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1321. (***) 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 Welcome aboard! Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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DOSAAF in HRD?
by Peter 30 Apr '20

30 Apr '20

Can't track RS 44 because its no in the keplerian elements yet.No way to manually load the TLE into HRD either.Is their a way to get it into HRD so I can use it to track or at least is their a way I can find out when it will be in my area and alt az data?ThanksPeterW2PP

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 15, Issue 133
by Brennan Price 30 Apr '20

30 Apr '20

It's apparently inverting (yay!). >From AMSAT-BB: Message: 8 Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 11:08:25 +0300 From: Blinov Igor <rw3xl(a)yandex.ru> To: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] DOSAAF-85 transponder activation Message-ID: <468221588233298(a)mail.yandex.ru> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Good day! Satellite DOSAAF-85 turn on transponder (linear, inverting) on for testing purposes. UPLink 145965KHz +/-30 KHz DOWNLink 435640KHz +/-30 KHz BEACON 435605KHz TLE: 1 44909U 19096E 20120.96346743 +.00000010 +00000-0 +00000-0 0 9999 2 44909 082.5239 027.5343 0217449 340.2089 019.0669 12.79706663015985 Try it! --? 73! Igor, RW3XL ---------------- On Thursday, April 30, 2020, 09:50:29 AM EDT, amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org <amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org> wrote: Send AMSAT-BB mailing list submissions to amsat-bb(a)amsat.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org You can reach the person managing the list at amsat-bb-owner(a)amsat.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of AMSAT-BB digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions (Loren M. Lang) 2. Re: AO-92 camera mode more info plse (Leffke, Zachary) 3. Re: AO-92 camera mode more info plse (Andrew Glasbrenner) 4. Re: AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions (Andrew Glasbrenner) 5. amsat-bb reader? (Douglas Tabor) 6. Re: AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions (Jerry Buxton) 7. Re: AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions (Ben Cook) 8. DOSAAF-85 transponder activation (Blinov Igor) 9. Re: D-Star One Sparrow (Don KB2YSI) 10. Re: DOSAAF-85 transponder activation (Nico Janssen) 11. Re: D-Star One Sparrow (Peter Goodhall (2M0SQL)) 12. D-Star One Sparrow (Roy Dean) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 06:53:56 -0700 From: "Loren M. Lang" <penguin359(a)gmail.com> To: Glenn Miller - AA5PK <aa5pk(a)suddenlink.net> Cc: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions Message-ID: <CACymvmeW40RsVnNaxFhht-VowTZUnCcf3_6YaPfhiW=vehSdEQ(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Ok, that makes sense. So the repeated signal I heard was simply repeated attempts at getting the command through and were being interfered with by the existing FM transmissions. All of the frames I collected would have actually been DUV and not the same as the sounds I heard. Did camera mode ever get activated during that third pass? On Wed, Apr 29, 2020, 02:31 Glenn Miller - AA5PK <aa5pk(a)suddenlink.net> wrote: > What you heard was the command station attempting to send the command to > AO-92 to activate the camera. > > Unfortunately, there were several stations trying to use the repeater at > the time and blocking the commands being sent to > AO-92. > > When the camera is active, the repeater is not available. > > Glenn > AA5PK > > -----Original Message----- > From: Loren M. Lang via AMSAT-BB > Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2020 1:13 AM > To: AMSAT BB > Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions > > I tried capturing some of the high-speed data from AO-92 today from the > final 1750Z pass today when the camera was activated. I believe I had some > success, but I am a little confused about what I captured. I did it in two > stages using my phone to capture the raw IQ from my SDR during the pass and > then playing it back on my computer right after into Foxtelem 108z5. The > pass was only 16 degrees at it's peak, but I was able to hear the satellite > down to as little as 6 degrees and Foxtelem reported 24 frames successfully > decoded. > > ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 14:18:37 +0000 From: "Leffke, Zachary" <zleffke(a)vt.edu> To: "AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org" <AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-92 camera mode more info plse Message-ID: <MN2PR05MB7037F081F130BFC4F397AFD0DFAD0(a)MN2PR05MB7037.namprd05.prod.outlook.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hi Rob, When in camera mode the VT camera follows the following basic sequence: Snap a picture, check how much 'earth' is in the frame, if it meets the 'earth detection' threshold, compress it with JPEG algorithms, break up the result into smaller data frames (8 pixel lines) and send the frame to the flight computer. If the 'earth detection' threshold is not met, the image is discarded and another one is taken, check if there is earth, rinse repeat. There is no long term storage of any given image and the earth detection step is part of the NOAA license. If an image is received by a station, it's a shot from roughly 'overhead', and the AMSAT page has a nifty feature that shows the subsatellite point based off timestamp information from each image downloaded. I believe there is a 45 minute timer (roughly half of one orbit, the command folks can double check my number there) for the general 'camera mode' of the spacecraft (which is both 'high speed mode' and 'camera on'), with the command stations that start that process in NA. After the timeout the spacecraft goes back into transponder mode (or safe mode, again command stations can correct me there). So it might be tricky to pick up in New Zealand. I know early on in the life of AO-92 there were some experiments to trigger camera mode right as the spacecraft set over the horizon (I believe on ascending passes) by command stations at higher latitudes so that the camera would be active and received by Japanese hams. A similar experiment might work for descending passes and southerly command stations, but it would be smart to look at the footprint/ground track to see which pass might put New Zealand in the footprint within the timer window. -Zach, KJ4QLP -- Research Associate Aerospace & Ocean Systems Lab Ted & Karyn Hume Center for National Security & Technology Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University Work Phone: 540-231-4174 Cell Phone: 540-808-6305 -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org> On Behalf Of Rob Ramsey via AMSAT-BB Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2020 12:39 AM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-92 camera mode more info plse A little more info please on the camera mode of AO-92 , Is this just a real time transmission as the satellite is overhead or close by? is it stored and sent continuously for a predetermined time? I had my station on remote all day got nothing here in New Zealand ZL3TCM _______________________________________________ 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 ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 10:25:49 -0400 From: "Andrew Glasbrenner" <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> To: "'Rob Ramsey'" <ramsey4(a)xtra.co.nz> Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-92 camera mode more info plse Message-ID: <042501d61e32$14c744d0$3e55ce70$(a)mindspring.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Sorry, the images are real time and the camera is on a 45 minute timer to satisfy one of our original NOAA imaging license requirements. We did get some partial pics from Chile yesterday, but VK/ZL is likely too far for it to remain on long enough to hear. 73, Drew KO4MA -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org> On Behalf Of Rob Ramsey via AMSAT-BB Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2020 12:39 AM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] AO-92 camera mode more info plse A little more info please on the camera mode of AO-92 , Is this just a real time transmission as the satellite is overhead or close by? is it stored and sent continuously for a predetermined time? I had my station on remote all day got nothing here in New Zealand ZL3TCM _______________________________________________ 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 ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 10:27:48 -0400 From: "Andrew Glasbrenner" <glasbrenner(a)mindspring.com> To: "'Loren M. Lang'" <penguin359(a)gmail.com>, <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions Message-ID: <042601d61e32$5b915ea0$12b41be0$(a)mindspring.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" No, it didn't get activated the third pass. 73, Drew KO4MA -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org> On Behalf Of Loren M. Lang via AMSAT-BB Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2020 9:54 AM To: Glenn Miller - AA5PK <aa5pk(a)suddenlink.net> Cc: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions Ok, that makes sense. So the repeated signal I heard was simply repeated attempts at getting the command through and were being interfered with by the existing FM transmissions. All of the frames I collected would have actually been DUV and not the same as the sounds I heard. Did camera mode ever get activated during that third pass? ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 08:33:23 -0600 From: Douglas Tabor <dtabor52(a)gmail.com> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] amsat-bb reader? Message-ID: <4932CC24-506A-4295-880A-734436FDA649(a)gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Does anyone know of an -bb ?reader? application that can be used with amsat-bb? Back in the usenet days, there were reader clients that could parse entries to make them more human readable. Don?t really care if it?s Linux or MacOS based. I browsed the amsat.org ?mailing lists and services? area and didn?t see any mention -or- is this another one of those things that are well known to those that know them well? Many thanks. N6UA, Douglas Tabor dtabor52(a)gmail.com ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 10:56:25 -0500 From: Jerry Buxton <n0jy(a)amsat.org> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions Message-ID: <4124a772-5c91-e2a0-2290-4c9f1c5d37e4(a)amsat.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Loren, It is true that the DUV telemetry would continue uninterrupted, as long as AO-92 was still in Transponder Mode.? As Drew confirmed the sat never made it to Data Mode (the mode that enables the camera and high speed data downlink) and if it had, the same DUV telemetry frames also come down in the high speed data so you would continue to see them on FoxTelem. Jerry Buxton, N?JY On 4/29/2020 08:53, Loren M. Lang via AMSAT-BB wrote: > All of the frames I collected would have > actually been DUV and not the same as the sounds I heard. Did camera mode > ever get activated during that third pass? ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Wed, 29 Apr 2020 19:58:04 -0500 From: "Ben Cook" <n6elf(a)nanoloop.io> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions Message-ID: <21464113-FE29-4A5C-9C69-6FD27FD1445C(a)nanoloop.io> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"; format=flowed As someone new to satellite operations, I?m finding out that it?s extremely helpful to not only check the AMSAT status page before an upcoming pass, but also check reports from AMSAT and others on twitter. That helps to cut down on the confusion around schedule or mode changes. For example, helps to know that AO-92 was put into L mode an hour before the next pass you?re planning to work. Just thoughts to myself this first week or so on the air. 73, Ben - N6ELF ------------------------------ Message: 8 Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 11:08:25 +0300 From: Blinov Igor <rw3xl(a)yandex.ru> To: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] DOSAAF-85 transponder activation Message-ID: <468221588233298(a)mail.yandex.ru> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Good day! Satellite DOSAAF-85 turn on transponder (linear, inverting) on for testing purposes. UPLink 145965KHz +/-30 KHz DOWNLink 435640KHz +/-30 KHz BEACON 435605KHz TLE: 1 44909U 19096E 20120.96346743 +.00000010 +00000-0 +00000-0 0 9999 2 44909 082.5239 027.5343 0217449 340.2089 019.0669 12.79706663015985 Try it! --? 73! Igor, RW3XL ------------------------------ Message: 9 Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 07:28:12 -0400 From: Don KB2YSI <kb2ysi(a)gmail.com> To: kd4iz(a)frawg.org Cc: AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] D-Star One Sparrow Message-ID: <CAAJiE8Poeb5wwUSsNBDELs6TQDsfWbx8yvc2Hqonu1eX5KLkRA(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" The last I heard was that it was being launched and then no further information was released afterwards. I take that as the bird is non-operational. On Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 18:07 Jack Spitznagel via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > Out of curiosity - what is the status of this bird? It shows up in the NASA > orbital info, but not in the Amateur in the SatPC32 tracking selections. > > The German Orbital Systems site does not elaborate on some of the details. > particularly if one wished to configure a D-Star rig and try it. With > IC-9700's proliferating I would expect some noise if it is accessible. > > > > Any info or help would be appreciated. > > > > Jack Spitznagel - KD4IZ > > Trustee for NR3DT > > The Museum Ship USCGC Taney WHEC-37 Amateur Radio Group > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > ------------------------------ Message: 10 Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 14:06:01 +0200 From: Nico Janssen <hamsat(a)xs4all.nl> To: Blinov Igor <rw3xl(a)yandex.ru>, AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] DOSAAF-85 transponder activation Message-ID: <d66462f9-424b-1252-0043-aa12023aabad(a)xs4all.nl> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed The new amateur payload DOSAAF 85 appears to work very well. Doppler measurements confirm that it is indeed object 44909, 2019-096E. The satellite identifies itself as "RS44" (i.e. Radio Sputnik 44) on its CW beacon on 435.6043 kHz. The passband is about 63 kHz wide. It may also have a downlink between 2400 and 2485 MHz. The frequencies of RS44/DOSAAF 85 have not been IARU coordinated. The satellite is in an elliptical orbit with a perigee of 1175 km, an apogee of 1511 km and an inclination of 82.5 degrees. The payload is apparently attached to the Breeze-KM upper stage of a Rokot launch vehicle that launched three Gonets satellites on December 26, 2019. It was originally expected to launch in 2015. It is based on the Yubileiniy platform. For details, see https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/dosaaf-85.htm <https://t.co/CCuN4HN8KI?amp=1>and http://spaceflight101.com/rockot-blasts-off-from-plesetsk-with-military-sat… 73, Nico PA0DLO On 30-04-2020 10:08, Blinov Igor via AMSAT-BB wrote: > Good day! > Satellite DOSAAF-85 turn on transponder (linear, inverting) on for testing purposes. > UPLink 145965KHz +/-30 KHz > DOWNLink 435640KHz +/-30 KHz > BEACON 435605KHz > TLE: > 1 44909U 19096E 20120.96346743 +.00000010 +00000-0 +00000-0 0 9999 > 2 44909 082.5239 027.5343 0217449 340.2089 019.0669 12.79706663015985 > Try it! > -- > 73! Igor, RW3XL > > _______________________________________________ > 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 ------------------------------ Message: 11 Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 13:17:24 +0100 From: "Peter Goodhall (2M0SQL)" <peter(a)magicbug.co.uk> To: Don KB2YSI <kb2ysi(a)gmail.com> Cc: Amsat <AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] D-Star One Sparrow Message-ID: <CAFvUaiqqg0e0=QW_Dxqj-OboxT9Q7cU+qpdWBXWw6Z=hPfueCQ(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Yeah asked for further details on DSTAR One group of satellites but the operator doesn't reply to emails and no updates so guessing failed mission. Peter, 2M0SQL On Thu, 30 Apr 2020 at 12:30, Don KB2YSI via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > The last I heard was that it was being launched and then no further > information was released afterwards. I take that as the bird is > non-operational. > > On Sun, Apr 26, 2020, 18:07 Jack Spitznagel via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > wrote: > > > Out of curiosity - what is the status of this bird? It shows up in the NASA > > orbital info, but not in the Amateur in the SatPC32 tracking selections. > > > > The German Orbital Systems site does not elaborate on some of the details. > > particularly if one wished to configure a D-Star rig and try it. With > > IC-9700's proliferating I would expect some noise if it is accessible. > > > > > > > > Any info or help would be appreciated. > > > > > > > > Jack Spitznagel - KD4IZ > > > > Trustee for NR3DT > > > > The Museum Ship USCGC Taney WHEC-37 Amateur Radio Group > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 ------------------------------ Message: 12 Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2020 09:43:25 -0400 From: Roy Dean <royldean(a)gmail.com> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] D-Star One Sparrow Message-ID: <CADGPg2toHCoB2e0vGi_NGz5uoy0hoBMU3qJY=kA9NLsrmHVOEg(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" > > Yeah asked for further details on DSTAR One group of satellites but > the operator doesn't reply to emails and no updates so guessing failed > mission. Peter, 2M0SQL There was ONE report of a successful D-Star qso not long after commissioning. Then the story faded into history...... --Roy K3RLD ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer _______________________________________________ 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 member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb ------------------------------ End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 15, Issue 133 *****************************************

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D-Star One Sparrow
by Roy Dean 30 Apr '20

30 Apr '20

> > Yeah asked for further details on DSTAR One group of satellites but > the operator doesn't reply to emails and no updates so guessing failed > mission. Peter, 2M0SQL There was ONE report of a successful D-Star qso not long after commissioning. Then the story faded into history...... --Roy K3RLD

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D-Star One Sparrow
by kd4iz＠frawg.org 30 Apr '20

30 Apr '20

Out of curiosity - what is the status of this bird? It shows up in the NASA orbital info, but not in the Amateur in the SatPC32 tracking selections. The German Orbital Systems site does not elaborate on some of the details. particularly if one wished to configure a D-Star rig and try it. With IC-9700's proliferating I would expect some noise if it is accessible. Any info or help would be appreciated. Jack Spitznagel - KD4IZ Trustee for NR3DT The Museum Ship USCGC Taney WHEC-37 Amateur Radio Group

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions
by Ben Cook 29 Apr '20

29 Apr '20

As someone new to satellite operations, I’m finding out that it’s extremely helpful to not only check the AMSAT status page before an upcoming pass, but also check reports from AMSAT and others on twitter. That helps to cut down on the confusion around schedule or mode changes. For example, helps to know that AO-92 was put into L mode an hour before the next pass you’re planning to work. Just thoughts to myself this first week or so on the air. 73, Ben - N6ELF

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AO-92 High Speed Data decode questions
by Loren M. Lang 29 Apr '20

29 Apr '20

I tried capturing some of the high-speed data from AO-92 today from the final 1750Z pass today when the camera was activated. I believe I had some success, but I am a little confused about what I captured. I did it in two stages using my phone to capture the raw IQ from my SDR during the pass and then playing it back on my computer right after into Foxtelem 108z5. The pass was only 16 degrees at it's peak, but I was able to hear the satellite down to as little as 6 degrees and Foxtelem reported 24 frames successfully decoded. My first point of confusion is I heard QSO what sounded like modem sounds over the FM downlink intermixed with amateur calls coming through. I assume that was the high-speed 9600 data mode I was hearing, but this was starting a few minutes before 1750Z so was the camera mode able to be activated a little early? Second, is the repeater still active while HS mode is running? I thought that repeater operation would be disabled to avoid having voice interfering with the data downlink or is this not an issue? Last question is, why do I not having anything under the Camera (1D) tab for AO-92? That tab is completely blank and doesn't seem to have any data collected. It appears that all frames received are under either the Health tab or HERCI HK (1D). The recent telemetry for HERCI HK is also all zeros it seems. It definitely sounded like there was some high-speed data transfer happening, something besides the 200 bps DUV signal, but it doesn't look like I collected anything particular to the Camera operation. Was it not active during that time or did I just not collect enough frames to assemble anything? I still have the original raw IQ capture from the event today. - Loren K7IW

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amsat-bb reader?
by Douglas Tabor 29 Apr '20

29 Apr '20

Does anyone know of an -bb ‘reader’ application that can be used with amsat-bb? Back in the usenet days, there were reader clients that could parse entries to make them more human readable. Don’t really care if it’s Linux or MacOS based. I browsed the amsat.org “mailing lists and services” area and didn’t see any mention -or- is this another one of those things that are well known to those that know them well? Many thanks. N6UA, Douglas Tabor dtabor52(a)gmail.com

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AO-92 camera mode more info plse
by Rob Ramsey 29 Apr '20

29 Apr '20

A little more info please on the camera mode of AO-92 , Is this just a real time transmission as the satellite is overhead or close by? is it stored and sent continuously for a predetermined time? I had my station on remote all day got nothing here in New Zealand ZL3TCM

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Re: [amsat-bb] Repeater interference on AO-92
by Stephen DeVience 29 Apr '20

29 Apr '20

*Not to get too far off topic, but this is the kind of thing that an SDR in orbit could help hunt down. Imagine one of the GOLFs, with is SDR capability.....* Yes, with its very own NROL-37, AMSAT could make enough money to put a lot of satellites in orbit! Speaking of which, I'm sure there's a recording of the interfering stations *somewhere* already. KV1J, that would be awesome to test. Even just recording the repeater output if someone is talking during the pass might allow it to be correlated with a satellite recording. I was going to try on echolink, but it looks like the nodes are down. Maybe leave a radio on the input frequency sometime as well to see if anyone on baofengs shows up. -Stephen, N8URE

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TLE for QUETZAL-1?
by Mike Lucas 29 Apr '20

29 Apr '20

Anybody have or have a link to element set for the new satellite yet? Thanks! Mike N7ASZ

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