- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

AMSAT-UK FUNcube TLM Antenna
by Graham Shirville 16 Mar '20

16 Mar '20

Hi All, Sorry for the advert but if you are interested in obtaining one of our FUNcube Telemetry antenna assemblies, see here for details https://shop.amsat-uk.org/FUNCube_TLM_Receive_Antenna/p3815740_15628535.aspx Now may be the right time...we have plenty in stock but our "distribution manager" for this item may shortly be confined to barracks and not permitted to go down to the post office.:-) 73 Graham G3VZV

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Ni-Cd Batteries on Satellites
by Pedro Converso 16 Mar '20

16 Mar '20

LO-19 (aka LUSAT) after 30 years in space is emitting day and night a strong carrier. What is amazing that after over 2 millions charge/discharge cycles its vintage NI-CD batteries are still able to receive and hold charge. It is known that Lithium based batteries usually halve charge capacity after +/- 400 cycles, probably you noticed that on your portable device. https://batteryuniversity.com/_img/content/lithium2.jpg This is just a comment for future satellite plans if long duration is part of the objective. 73, lu7abf, Pedro

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 15, Issue 82
by Dwayne Sinclair 16 Mar '20

16 Mar '20

I also have the D72 and D74. Full duplex in the context of these radios means while PTT is enabled and you are speaking into the mic, receive on the second band is also enabled and ideally you can also hear yourself on the downlink simultaneously. D74 does not have this. Regards Dwayne NA6US > > I have logged well over a 2000 satellite QSOs all full duplex using a > TH-D74a on RX, both FM and SSB satellites. > > So what is your question?

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Next Rocket Lab launch
by Wendy and Terry Osborne 15 Mar '20

15 Mar '20

Next Launch window 27th March see: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/missions/next-mission/ They should be streaming it from their web site as usual. 73, Terry Osborne ZL2BAC

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Re: [amsat-bb] High Power and Rudeness
by Zach Metzinger 15 Mar '20

15 Mar '20

On 03/15/20 13:48, Jeff Johns via AMSAT-BB wrote: > The general public seems to want more FM satellites, but organizations don’t seem to be building them and getting them into orbit fast enough to keep up with demand. The single-channel, repeater-in-the-sky model was always destined for this sort of abuse (or simple ignorance). I've seen this happen on a local repeater, with a footprint of less than 50 miles. Why wouldn't it be expected on something with a footprint 100-1000 times as large? Hams clamor for FM satellites because it reduces the cost of user equipment. Beofeng hasn't yet come out with a $30 2m/440 all-mode HT. Linear satellites would work better for capacity, and better utilize the amount of bandwidth "lifted" to orbit by a launch vehicle. However, AMSAT can't alienate the $30 FM users, so it is a delicate balance. Adding a linear transponder right alongside the FM card might work, but that incurs additional solar/power requirements which drives up system complexity, cost, testing, etc. There are many variables, and it is impossible to optimize for them all. That's the engineering trade-off that I imagine AMSAT must face. Here are a few of my thoughts: Some enterprising soul should design, using common, off-the-shelf ICs, a simple PCB that is a SSB/CW 2m/440 duplex radio. Make the plans available freely on the WWW, etc. Get a groundswell behind it, and then watch the Asian clone makers swoop in and commercialize it (while also optimizing every last penny spent). Presto, lots of 2m/440 linear operators. Worked for nanoVNA, mikrocontroller's transistortester, etc. Should work for our crowd. Also, donate early, donate often to AMSAT. Building, testing, and launching satellites isn't cheap, and your donations help put more birds into space. "Cheap, fast, good. Pick any two." --- Zach N0ZGO

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High Power and Rudeness
by Brad Smith 15 Mar '20

15 Mar '20

I have been working satellites since 2013. Today, I was roving on a grid line and worked the two East birds, AO-91 and 92. After I gave out my call and said "grid line" and gave the grids, guys tried to call me but no one would let them in on either bird, nor let me take them. The power was so high that my portable rig didn't have a chance. The entire pass, was this way. I have never seen such rudeness and greed on the birds. One particular guy dominated both passes. There was not one break at all. Is this what we have become? A free for all? Anybody who heard me and needs the grids, pleas email me. Brad KC9UQR grid line EN54/64.

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KENWOOD TH-D74A
by Gerald Witalec 15 Mar '20

15 Mar '20

JoAnne,I believe the TH-D74A is NOT duplex receive so how is that working out for you contacting the SATS? Jerry...W8RQM

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adding pics and nicads in space
by Mr B r a d 15 Mar '20

15 Mar '20

3rd party pics Imgur test and perhaps nicads in space don't get the gunk build up on the vent that we see on failed units on earth? has anyone seen the gunk on a failed nicad from space ? | | | | | | | | | | | Imgur Imgur working LEO Ham Sats with a 5 watt H/T | | | photo from a 20m sstv qso ko6kL

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ANS-075 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-075 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: * 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Announced * Update from the AMSAT President * ARISS Video of SpaceX CRS-20 Launch Carrying IORS * Minor Update to FoxTelem Released * Use the NO-84 PSK31 Transponder Now! * ARISS News * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-075.01 ANS-075 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 075.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 15, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-075.01 38th Annual AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting Announced AMSAT is pleased to announce that the 38th Annual AMSAT Space Sym- posium and Annual General Meeting will be held on Friday, October 16th - Sunday, October 18th at the Crowne Plaza Suites: MSP Airport - Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Crowne Plaza Suites is conveniently located adjacent to the Amer- ican Blvd station on the Metro Blue Line, providing easy access to the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, downtown Minneapolis, and the Mall of America. The AMSAT Board of Directors will meet on Wednesday, October 14th and Thursday, October 15th at the hotel. Further details, including hotel reservation information, tours, and other events will be shared in the coming months. [ANS thanks the 2020 AMSAT Symposium Committee for the above infor- mation] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Update from the AMSAT President The past six weeks since becoming AMSAT President has flown by with great speed. Thankfully I’m not travelling at 27,000 km/hour like our popular satellite AO-91. Speaking with many of our volunteers and members, I’ve felt the level of excitement and enthusiasm for the great launch opportunities ahead. As mentioned in ANS-047, one of my tasks was to speak with the Directors and convene a meeting to conduct AMSAT corporate business. Tuesday, March 3, AMSAT held an informal working session for the Board of Directors. We are moving forward with a called Board of Directors meeting scheduled on Tuesday, March 17. The next meeting will allow Directors to put forward motions for new business, hear a status update from our officers, and set future trajectory. The amateur radio community has felt the impact of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) with the cancellation of some regional events. Even as this health emergency has been raised to World Health Organization (WHO)’s highest level, its Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus remains hopeful that COVID-19 can be curtailed. AMSAT is closely monitoring the upcoming 2020 Hamvention being held over 60 days away in Xenia, Ohio. The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) has publicly stated they are following guidance from the State of Ohio and Greene County. Barring further information from DARA, AMSAT will continue to make plans for our representation at the 2020 Hamvention. AMSAT officers are also working on contingency plans if Hamvention is canceled. These plans include virtual presentations and other real- time online activities during Hamvention weekend. Our next edition of the AMSAT Journal will be going through the editing review process soon. It will contain more detailed information about the health of AMSAT, its mission status, and share exciting news for 2020. If you’re not a member receiving the Journal, please consider joining at our website www.amsat.org. 73, Clayton W5PFG AMSAT President [ANS thanks AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, for the above in- formation] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS Video of SpaceX CRS-20 Launch Carrying IORS On Friday, March 6, 2020 at 11:50 EST, SpaceX CRS-20 was successfully launched from Pad 40 at Kennedy Space Center. This was also a signif- icant launch for ARISS since this cargo mission was carrying our Interoperable Radio System to the International Space Station. This system will greatly enhance our capabilities on board Station involving our school contacts with the crew and both our current and planned future educational experiments. A special thanks to all who have donated and continue to donate to our ARISS Next-Generation Hard- ware Upgrade Fundrazr at our website www.ariss.org. You are making it all happen!! I was able to attend the launch along with several other ARISS volun- teers and have created a short video of the experience from our view- ing location at the Banana Creek ViewPoint. Please note that you will hear two moderators on the video. One is actually at our site, announcing the launch. Another audio feed is coming from the PA system there and is delayed 30 seconds from real time, so try not to get too confused as you listen in. Hope you enjoy the video. Dave, AA4KN, ARISS PR The video can be found at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-075-ARISS [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS Public Relations for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Minor Update to FoxTelem Released FoxTelem has been updated to version 1.08z5 and the latest version is here: http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/windows/ http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/linux/ http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/mac/ This is not a mandatory upgrade. It fixes some minor bugs that caused crashes and corrects the calculation of the bit SNR for the Dot Pro- duct BPSK detector. If you use the Dot Product detector and you care about the measured bit signal to noise ratio, then you want to upgrade. Note that if you use Find Signal in IQ mode then the bit SNR level is used to determine if the signal is found. Because the level has changed you will need to adjust the threshold value. Email Chris Thompson at g0kla at arrl.net if you need more information. Please let me know if you see any issues, or log them on GitHub here: https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem/issues [ANS thanks Chris Thompson, AC2CZ/G0KLA, AMSAT FoxTelem Developer for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Use the NO-84 PSK31 Transponder Now! Amid reports that NO-84's battery is weakening, Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, shared the following message: Before PSAT (NO-84) dies, don’t miss out on trying out its HF 28.120 PSK31 uplink transponder (435.350 MHz FM downlink). Apparently its battery is weakening and cannot make it through some eclipses. And the orbit only has 2 years left (Battery probably wont last that long). But in the sun, it should work fine. PSK31 Xponder is always enabled, all it needs is to see PSK31 on the Ten-meter uplink. It will also send down an SSTV image (in the same waterfall) once every 2 minutes if the sun power is good. [ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey, telebridge via W5RRR The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for Option #4: Thu 2020-03-19 08:59:54 UTC 37 deg The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, of the ARISS Operations Team, 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. Note: Due to the COVID-19 situation, please check these events' web- sites for up-to-date status information. Current schedule: March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ April 4, 2020 River Bend Wireless and Mechanical Society Presentation Faribault, MN April 18, 2020 Brainerd Area Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Brainerd, MN May 2, 2020 Arrowhead Radio Amateurs Club Hamfest, Superior, WI May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX The following events scheduled to have an AMSAT presence have been CANCELED: March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-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 - Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX and Doug N6UA will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx and https://twitter.com/dtabor - Red River Gorge, KY (EM87) March 19-24, 2020 Michael, N4DCW will be in Red River Gorge, Kentucy, March 19th through 24th. Watch Michael’s Twitter feed for more info https://twitter.com/MWimages - Midwinter Madness Rove: (EN24, EN25, EN34) March 20-21, 2020 Mitch, AD0HJ, will roving three central Minnesota grids just prior to the Midwinter Madness Hobby Electronics Show in Buffalo, MN on March 21st, 2020. Look for him to activate grids EN24/EN25/EN35 on the eve- ning of March 20th through the evening of March 21st, 2020. Check Mitch’s Twitter feed for updates on his planned satellite pass sche- dule: https://twitter.com/AD0HJ - River Bend Wireless Rove (EN22, EN33, EN34, EN42, EN43, EN44) April 2-4, 2020 Mitch AD0HJ is looking to add six more grids to his rover basket just before the April 4th AMSAT presentation/demonstration at the River Bend Wireless and Mechanical Society in Faribault, MN. Mitch will be activating the EN43/EN44 grid line on April 2nd, the EN32/EN42 grid line on April 3rd, and the EN33/EN34 grid line on April 4th, 2020. Watch Mitch’s Twitter feed as the dates approach for a detailed sche- dule. https://twitter.com/AD0HJ - From the Mountains to the Bay (CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10, 11,20,21) April 12-21, 2020 RJ, WY7AA, is hitting the asphalt again, roving from Wyoming to Vaca- ville, CA. He’s attending a class from April 15-19, so most of the roving will be outside of this time. Grids to be covered include: CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10,11,20,21. Specific pass details will be posted on WY7AA QRZ page and Twitter (https://twitter.com/WY7AA) as the trip approaches. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + A Doppler.sqf file posted on the AMSAT-UK website listed FM freq- uencies for several satellites carrying linear transponders. Operators are reminded that FM is not to be used on linear transponders. (ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for this information) + On March 10th, March 10, 2020, the AMSAT-SM group was formed in connection with the closure of the AMSAT-SM organization. The process of creating AMSAT-SM for the future began after the 2019 annual meet- ing and now we are ready to continue with AMSAT-SM in a new and simp- ler way. All activities that were part of the old AMSAT-SM are now transferred to the new group. The website will be updated in March with new steering guidelines and other relevant information. Welcome with us into the future. AMSAT-SM is Amateur Radio via Satellite! (ANS thanks SM0TGU from AMSAT-SM for this information) + ARRL has announced a new book entitled "Amateur Radio Satellites for Beginners" by Steve Ford, WB8IMY. It can be purchased at http://www.arrl.org/shop/Amateur-Radio-Satellites-for-Beginners/ (ANS thanks the ARRL for this information) + The CAS-4B beacon is again sending telemetry after sending only a continuous tone for the past few weeks. (ANS thanks John Papay, K8YSE, for this 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, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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Knwd TH-D74A question
by Steve Kristoff 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

I just got a Kenwood TH-D74A. I'm trying to enter my callsign so I can do APRS. I got the AI9IN part, but how do I enter the - (dash) that goes before the SSID? I can't find the instructions for that anywhere. (I admit to finding the programming of this radio to be a little overwhelming. I can't even get past entering my callsign.) Steve AI9IN

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AO-92 at 1900utc this morning local
by johnv＠frontier.com 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

Thank you both N6IA, Doug and WD9EWK, Patrick for the contacts this morning. I got a couple of new grids. But, (there always a But) I forgot to turn on the tape recorder and I mist the complete call of the young lady with the KJ7K??. Even with hearing aids I still need the back up. If someone has the callsign , please let me know. And I hope everyone and their families are well as you read this on the bulletin board. Thank you, John N7AME Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

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Fwd: Tracking SSB Birds
by Michael Walker 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

Hi Coy *** To the admins -- it would be incredibly helpful if we could include screen shots with emails. It would really help with explaining things. Can we get the overall size of the email payload increased? *** Make sure you have your IC-9700 set up correctly. SSB/CW in the CAT menua should be set to about 30 or so. Leave the speed a x1. (insert screen shot here -- oh, that doesn't work) LOL In the upper left of SatPC32, look for the window with all the single letters in it. Click on the C so it is C+ (not C-) Does the display brightness flip back and forth as the commands are set to the radio? If so, that is good. If not, that isn't good. First, test on the beacon. Make sure you can hear it and the pitch sounds about the same during the pass. If that works, then you have that part set correctly (at least to get going). Not all hams follow the same procedure and they will continue to slide across the passpand. They are not following the 'one true rule' :). I hope that helps some. Mike va3mw On Sat, Mar 14, 2020 at 10:09 AM Coy Johnson via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > Hello: My name is Coy, Call, K5BCN EM34 > I just got into Satellites about 5 weeks ago. > I have really been enjoying the FM Birds, but having Trouble Tracking the > SSB Birds. > I have A new Icom 9700 Radio. > The Birds seem to Just run off and leave me . My radio won’t Track fast > enough. > I open the Cat window and put the Speed on X10, and that helped some, but > still not fast enough. > As you can already see that I’m new to this, But would like to work the > SSB Birds. > I need to talk to someone who has an Icom 9700 , that can track the SSB > Birds. > I’m using SATPC32. > I would like any help I can get. > I do Belong to AMSAT > I’m having fun, but would be more fun If I could Track the SSB Birds. > Thanks 73’s Coy K5BCN EM34 > _______________________________________________ > 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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Tracking SSB Birds
by Coy Johnson 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

Hello: My name is Coy, Call, K5BCN EM34 I just got into Satellites about 5 weeks ago. I have really been enjoying the FM Birds, but having Trouble Tracking the SSB Birds. I have A new Icom 9700 Radio. The Birds seem to Just run off and leave me . My radio won’t Track fast enough. I open the Cat window and put the Speed on X10, and that helped some, but still not fast enough. As you can already see that I’m new to this, But would like to work the SSB Birds. I need to talk to someone who has an Icom 9700 , that can track the SSB Birds. I’m using SATPC32. I would like any help I can get. I do Belong to AMSAT I’m having fun, but would be more fun If I could Track the SSB Birds. Thanks 73’s Coy K5BCN EM34

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Thank you AMSAT from a beginner
by Isaac C 14 Mar '20

14 Mar '20

A short note to all those here who helped and advised me. I started from scratch 5 weeks ago with the goal of learning about LEO satellite communication. And after studying and listening for 4 weeks, I just recorded my first QSL through SO-50 using my 5w HT and handheld antenna. From here in NC to Missouri, through a satellite repeater is remarkable. >From my very first email to this BB, I have been graciously responded to by many of you, including very helpful members, several VP's, group leaders, and I even got to meet an AMSAT ambassador. Because of this warm welcome, I joined AMSAT. My future goal is to assist young people to learn about satellites, ISS and STEM, starting with my 11 yr old granddaughter who tests for her license next week. Thanks to all of you for a great AMSAT organization. Isaac W4ITC Wilmington, NC FM14

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NO-84 (PSAT) PSK Transponder - limited time left?
by Robert Bruninga 13 Mar '20

13 Mar '20

Before PSAT (NO-84) dies, don’t miss out on trying out its HF 28.120 PSK31 uplink transponder (435.350 MHz FM downlink). Apparently its battery is weakening and cannot make it through some eclipses. And the orbit only has 2 years left (Battery probably wont last that long). But in the sun, it should work fine. PSK31 Xponder is always enabled, all it needs is to see PSK31 on the Ten-meter uplink. It will also send down an SSTV image (in the same waterfall) once every 2 minutes if the sun power is good. WB4APR -----Original Message----- From: Tomáš Urbanec - Brno University (PSK31 xponder designer)... Subject: Re: FW: [amsat-bb] NO-84 (PSAT) PSK Transponder Sick? Yes, it looks like NO-84. The pass was during eclipse, but not even in the half of it. The first transmission is ok, but it states battery voltage 3.95V , next transmission probably gets TX on and then processor hangs up on low voltage. It does not have any undervoltage protection implemented so it fights and loses. This pass shows it working: https://network.satnogs.org/observations/1854205/ But the battery should be charged, it is just before eclipse and long time above the sea, nevertheless, first transmission shows battery voltage 7.6V, the next one just 5.34V so the battery capacity is practically nonexistent. It still has some lifetime as decay prediction shows to it some 2 years http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?page_id=43437 Tomas OK2PNQ > -----Original Message----- > From: Roy Dean via AMSAT-BB > Subject: [amsat-bb] NO-84 (PSAT) PSK Transponder Sick? > > https://network.satnogs.org/observations/1856207/ > > I started noticing observations on my home SatNogs station like this and > just figured it was local qrm. However after looking at observations > around the world, it appears that this type of signal is indeed coming > from the NO-84 PSK transponder. > > --Roy > K3RLD

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-13 16:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 13 Mar '20

13 Mar '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-13 16:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Australian Air League - South Australia Wing, Parafield, South Australia, Australia, telebridge via K6DUE The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact was successful: Fri 2020-03-13 08:56:53 UTC 32 deg (***) Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey, telebridge via W5RRR The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for Option #4: Thu 2020-03-19 08:59:54 UTC 37 deg 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) 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 2020-03-13 16:30 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 2020-03-13 16:30 UTC. (***) https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 1386. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1319. (***) 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. 60 on orbit Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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NO-84 (PSAT) PSK Transponder Sick?
by Roy Dean 13 Mar '20

13 Mar '20

https://network.satnogs.org/observations/1856207/ I started noticing observations on my home SatNogs station like this and just figured it was local qrm. However after looking at observations around the world, it appears that this type of signal is indeed coming from the NO-84 PSK transponder. --Roy K3RLD

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-12 22:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-12 22:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Australian Air League - South Australia Wing, Parafield, South Australia, Australia, telebridge via K6DUE The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Fri 2020-03-13 08:56:53 UTC 32 deg Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey, telebridge via W5RRR The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for Option #4: Thu 2020-03-19 08:59:54 UTC 37 deg 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) 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 2020-03-12 22:00 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 2020-03-03 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 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 1385. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1318. 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. 60 on orbit Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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AO-92 L band on the weekends
by Dwayne Sinclair 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

I travel with work during the week and have an arrow and d72 in my carryon luggage. The switch to L Band takes me off the air and limits satellite opportunities down to at worse, a single fm bird late in the evening. As a new satellite op, I was not even aware that adhoc changes to uplink band were being made. I have 23cm antennas ordered for home and I’m looking forward to “giving it a go” but much prefer the weekend for changing bands. There are not that many Fm satellites suitable for portable ops and making the change is a big impact availability... It’s tough QSO’ing at BL11. Regards Dwayne (310) 849-2036

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New ARRL book: Amateur Radio Satellites for Beginners
by John Brier 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

http://www.arrl.org/news/outer-space-is-your-next-radio-frontier http://www.arrl.org/shop/Amateur-Radio-Satellites-for-Beginners/ 73, John Brier KG4AKV

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Australian Air League - South Australia Wing, Parafield, South Australia, Australia
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Australian Air League - South Australia Wing, Parafield, South Australia, Australia on 13 March. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 08:56 UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10 minutes before this time. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and K6DUE. The contact should be audible over the east coast of the U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Story: The Australian Air League (AAL) is a volunteer youth organisation focused at supporting and encouraging young people's interest in aerospace. The Air League was formed on 18th July 1934 becoming known as the 'primary school of aviation'. The AAL provides a comprehensive educational program for its cadets which is based on theory instruction as well as practical experience. The AAL is a uniformed organisation and proud of its history and traditions. The AAL educational program is aerospace focused and extends to the Diploma level. Practical experience includes flying experience and training in gliders and powered aircraft. A number of former AAL cadets have progressed into the aerospace sector as pilots, technicians, scientists and academics. The AAL comprises approximately 1300 cadets in Australia. The SA Wing comprises approximately 100 cadets and arranged into three Squadrons. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. With all the training you did before going to space which part was most useful? 2. Would the space station be able to support marine life? 3. What would you like to achieve that you have not yet achieved? 4. What do you do in your spare time on the space station? 5. What jobs do you have to do on the space station? 6. Is it true that due to the lack of gravity, an astronaut's sleep pattern changes and you don't need as much sleep? 7. How long does it take to get to the space station? 8. Do your emotions change in space? 9. How do you entertain yourself on the space station? 10. If you could take any souvenir down from the station what would it be? 11. What is the coolest or weirdest thing you have seen while on the station? 12. What time zone do you use in space? 13. If you could have something delivered from earth what would it be? 14. Do your muscles stop working because you don't use them in zero gravity? 15. How do you find direction in space if the compass is based on north and south on earth? 16. What is the most interesting science experiment that you have done in space and what did you learn from it? 17. What inspired you to want to live on the space station? 18. How do obtain a straight flight path? 19. How does the underwater training in the pools compare with really living in space? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): 1. Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey, telebridge via W5RRR The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for Option #4: Thu 2020-03-19 08:59:54 UTC 37 deg 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 (STEM) 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. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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EM87 | 3/19-24
by Michael Whitman 12 Mar '20

12 Mar '20

Grid chasers, I’m making another multi-day trek to the Red River Gorge area of Eastern Kentucky (EM87) March 19-24, 2020. This trip will include a SOTA activation of W4K/EC-184 Pilot’s Knob. Please watch my Twitter feed for pass information: www.twitter.com/mwimages <http://www.twitter.com/mwimages> EU ops - this will be my first linear-ready trip to this grid and I’ll post specific AO-7 passes for you. Western US ops - While this is rugged terrain, I’ll have very good Western aspects, specifically in the afternoon passes of FM/SSB birds. 73, Michael, N4DCW -- Michael Whitman michael(a)n4dcw.com Home Grid: EM78

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 15, Issue 77
by Dwayne Sinclair 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

Sounds like we need to add an external pad to the transmit path on high power transceivers such as the 9700? to provide more granular power control. Maybe a software tweak needed? Dwayne NA6US > For those IC-9700 operators, I highly suggest that you? keep the Multi-Knob > focussed on RF power and adjust as required.? This will of course limit > your ability to use the RIT since it is hard to use both at the same time. > > It is unfortunate that I can't seem to use the waterfall on the IC-9700 to > also see the beacon in the panadapter.? It isn't a 'width' issue but a gain > issue.? ? I already have my REF set to +12db. > > I'm always open to suggestions. > > Mike va3mw

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Operating Instructions manual for PacComm PSK-1 Packet Satellite Modem
by niederwil1388＠gmail.com 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

I have one original "Operating Instructions" manual for the PacComm PSK-1 Packet Satellite Modem. It's in excellent condition. If you want it, please email me and you can have it for the cost of postage. 73, Ron VA7VW

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AO-92 L-Band Schedule Poll
by Paul Stoetzer 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

In September, weekly L-Band operation on AO-92 moved from Sunday UTC to Wednesday UTC. We have posted polls on our Twitter account and Facebook group to get a sense of the membership's opinion regarding the schedule preference. Along with command station availability, these polls will inform AMSAT Operations regarding the L-band schedule. The Twitter poll can be found at: https://twitter.com/AMSAT/status/1237806162197741570 The Facebook group poll can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AMSATNA/permalink/1230503697138239/ Results will be finalized on Friday. AMSAT Operations will advise on the future scheduling plans afterwards. 73, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM Executive Vice President Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-11 18:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-11 18:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Australian Air League - South Australia Wing, Parafield, South Australia, Australia. telebridge via K6DUE The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Fri 2020-03-13 08:56:53 UTC 32 deg Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey, telebridge via W5RRR The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for Option #4: Thu 2020-03-19 08:59:54 UTC 37 deg 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) 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 2020-03-11 18:00 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 2020-03-03 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 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 1385. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1318. 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. 60 on orbit Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

1 0

New operator on uplink power
by Michael Walker 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

I want to share something for those new operators. Old farts can jump in with 'I told you so!' LOL I know this has been stressed before, but I wanted to share an uplink power experience. I am using a 7 Element Quad on UHF. There are times that I have to dial down the UHF uplink power on the IC-9700 to 1% and even then I think that is too much signal. Case in point was this morning working CAS-4A. For those IC-9700 operators, I highly suggest that you keep the Multi-Knob focussed on RF power and adjust as required. This will of course limit your ability to use the RIT since it is hard to use both at the same time. It is unfortunate that I can't seem to use the waterfall on the IC-9700 to also see the beacon in the panadapter. It isn't a 'width' issue but a gain issue. I already have my REF set to +12db. I'm always open to suggestions. Mike va3mw

4 4

Operating Instructions manual for PacComm PSK-1 Packet Satellite Modem
by niederwil1388＠gmail.com 11 Mar '20

11 Mar '20

I have one original "Operating Instructions" manual for the PacComm PSK-1 Packet Satellite Modem. It's in excellent condition. If you want it, please email me and you can have it for the cost of postage. 73, Ron VA7VW

1 0

AO-92 L/v at 0143 11 March 2020 for 24 hrs
by Mark L. Hammond 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

Happy L-band! 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

2 1

No Attachments
by Robert Bankston 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

Just a reminder that AMSAT-BB is a text-based mailing system. You cannot include pictures or any other attachments with your posts. When you attach an image, your post ends up in our spam/reject file. A moderator must then go in and manually reject your post, thus, delaying delivery of your message. Apologies for the inconvenience. 73, Robert Bankston, KE4ALVice-President, User ServicesRadio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)

1 0

Get SatPC32 back to center
by Tom Schaefer 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

If I turn the VFO manually (via VFO knob), is there an easy way to get SatPC32 back to the center of the passband? Is there a button that cancels the effects of the manual tuning? This would be for full Doppler tuning. Thanks Tom NY4I Principal Solutions Architect Better Software Solutions, Inc. 727-437-2771

1 0

FOX LEADERBOARD
by James Jipping 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

Good Morning! What do the headings "TOTAL" and "LAST 7 DAYS" mean on the FOX TELEM LEADERBOARD. "LAST 7 DAYS" is obvious. My numbers keep bouncing around, that's expected. But, NOW, my "TOTAL" number bounces around too. Shouldn't they be constantly increasing. Also at the end of February I had number about 12500 after several months of ever increasing numbers. But on March 3, I had only 8600 and they have been bouncing ever since. On March 10 I have 8533 after 1845 frames/payloads. In March, thanks to the kind and expert help of Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, I started using a FIAB setup. Does that have anything to do the drop and bounce ?? Thanks, I'm going back to bed. Jim JIpping, W8MRR

2 1

AO-92 L band on the weekends
by Jeff Johns 10 Mar '20

10 Mar '20

When can we expect to see AO-92 L band activations on the weekend again? When it was moved to Wednesdays, it was touted as temporary. How long is temporary? Usage of L band on Wednesdays is minimal at best. AO-92 (to the best of my knowledge) is the only amateur satellite with an L band uplink. I would think as more amateurs get Icom 9700s that they might like to give it a try. I understand not everyone can be pleased but a majority of people work during the week or have other family duties, such as childrens’ school nights that might limit their access to the satellite during the week. Can we expect the “temporary” Wednesday activations to return to the weekends any time soon? After all, all AMSAT members should have a fair chance at using the L band uplink to test/use their equipment. It can always go back to Wednesdays after a while. Jeff WE4B

1 0

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-09 21:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 09 Mar '20

09 Mar '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-09 21:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Australian Air League - South Australia Wing, Parafield, South Australia, Australia. telebridge via K6DUE The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Fri 2020-03-13 08:56:53 UTC 32 deg Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey, telebridge via W5RRR (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for Option #4: Thu 2020-03-19 08:59:54 UTC 37 deg (***) 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) 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 2020-03-09 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 2020-03-03 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 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 1385. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1318. 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. 60 on orbit Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

1 0

DM51/DM52 on Friday (13 March) is still on...
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 09 Mar '20

09 Mar '20

Hi! Although my planned trip to Tucson for the ScienceCity science fair next weekend has been cancelled, my plans to operate from the DM51/DM52 grid boundary in southeastern Arizona on Friday (13 March 2020) are unchanged. I still plan on making the drive to that grid boundary, as previously mentioned here on the AMSAT-BB list: https://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2020-March/076547.html 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

1 0

ARISS contact mentioned in article about W. VA radio quiet zone
by John Brier 09 Mar '20

09 Mar '20

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/06/us/green-bank-west-virginia-quiet-zone.h… I love it when I'm reading a random article and ARISS is mentioned. "The observatory has long worked to share its scientific and engineering expertise with local schools, a partnership that has paid off most recently with the announcement that the Green Bank Elementary-Middle School was one of 10 schools nationwide selected to host HAM radio contacts with International Space Station crew members later this year." The text in the article also links to an ARRL page about the selected schools: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/ariss-announces-hosts-for-space-station-ham-r… 73, John Brier KG4AKV

1 0

CANCELLED - AMSAT at ScienceCity in Tucson AZ (14-15 March 2020)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 09 Mar '20

09 Mar '20

Hi. Last week, I mentioned AMSAT would be supporting the K7UAZ radio club's presence at the ScienceCity science fair next weekend (Saturday and Sunday, 14-15 March 2020) on the campus of the University of Arizona in Tucson. I have just received a notice that ScienceCity has been cancelled, due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) situation. 73. Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

1 0

CP antenna feed
by Tim N8DEU 09 Mar '20

09 Mar '20

There was an article written several years about feeding the cable off the end of a CP antenna versus running the cable up the boom the center with the results. Does anybody recall what edition of the Amsat Journal this was published? I am looking to forward this is to new satellite operator to help with his decision. I spent 4 hours looking for that article and came up empty. Thanks in advance, Tim - N8DEU

1 0

HuskySat telemetry
by Jeff 09 Mar '20

09 Mar '20

I've been collecting HuskySat-1 telemetry for a while and recently my collected data isn't being accepted by the Fox Telemetry site. I see this 'Only real time data being processed' message the the Fox Telemetry site, but see 4 or 5 other stations getting their data uploaded. Does anyone know what's going on here? As my, others data isn't being accepted I see no reason to collect any more data. 73 Jeff kb2m

4 7

Minor bug fixes for FoxTelem
by Chris Thompson 08 Mar '20

08 Mar '20

I have updated FoxTelem and the latest version is here: http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/windows/ http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/linux/ http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/mac/ This is not a mandatory upgrade. It fixes some minor bugs that caused crashes and corrects the calculation of the bit SNR for the Dot Product BPSK detector. If you use the Dot Product detector and you care about the measured bit signal to noise ratio, then you want to upgrade. Note that if you use Find Signal in IQ mode then the bit SNR level is used to determine if the signal is found. Because the level has changed you will need to adjust the threshold value. Email me if you need more information. Please let me know if you see any issues, or log them on github here: https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem/issues 73 Chris -- Chris E. Thompson chrisethompson(a)gmail.com g0kla(a)arrl.net

1 0

Ham radio on CSLI missions
by Scott Richardson 08 Mar '20

08 Mar '20

The 11th round of candidate selections has been made for the CubeSat Launch Initiative. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-announces-next-round-of-candidates-for-cu… The brief descriptions shared in the NASA release don't include specific mention of any amateur radio applications. Does this mean that none of these cubesats will carry a repeater/transponder, or that *if* they will (or might) that fact is not mentioned? Or, to ask another way, if a CSLI applicant decides it wants to incorporate an amateur repeater or transponder, is it "too late" if that mission element is not included in the original application? 73, Scott N1AIA

2 1

AO-92 L Band Schedule
by Jeff Johns 08 Mar '20

08 Mar '20

When will the L band activation of AO-92 be moving from Wednesdays and back to the weekends? It was my understanding that Wednesday activations were temporary but it seems that it has become permanent. It seems that usage of the L band uplink has waned since it was moved to Wednesdays. Just curious... Jeff WE4B

1 0

Sequencer advice needed
by Hans BX2ABT 07 Mar '20

07 Mar '20

I haven't worked with sequencers before as all my LNAs and SDRs have been used for receive only. But now that I have a Airspy HF+ I want to get going with APRS on 145.825 and use this on HF as well. So receiving with the SDR, transmitting with a transceiver. I also want to experiment with LNAs, so another reason to use a sequencer. I did a lot of googling, learned some, but still not sure what I need to look out for when buying one. I prefer a kit or assembled product as a first try. Below is a list of what I found on line. From a distance the VHF Design is cheap and has detailed information, so I am leaning towards purchasing that. Later, for a DIY project, I like the OZ1BXM design because it uses an Arduino for control, which brings some flexiblity. Can you all please give me some input on what to look for in sequencers or comment on the choices below? Any other kits/assemblies I have missed and should be considered? Cheers, Hans BX2ABT Minikits from Austalia's EME166: AU$45 (=US$27.75) https://www.minikits.com.au/Sequencer?search=Sequencer This is the only one that indicates a frequency range: 28 to 500 MHz, so this will cover the 2m band, but not HF. Also RF input is 4 Watts maximum, which seems low, so how is this usable? W6PQL's sequencer (US$20 for kit, US$37.50 assembled) http://www.w6pql.com/relay_sequencer.htm No info on frequency range or input power. Not much info on the website. VHF Design (US$20 assembled) https://vhfdesign.com/other/sequencer-pcb.html Website has good information, diagrams and PCB layouts. Again no info on frequency range, etc. Downeast Microwave (US$25~80) https://www.downeastmicrowave.com/searchresults.asp?Search=sequencer&Submit= 3 and 4 step sequencers both in solid state and with relays based on a design by W5LUA. Which better: solid state or relays? Little indept info. G3SEK - (DIY) http://www.ifwtech.co.uk/g3sek/dx-book/sequencer/ Basically only a schematic, so need to build it from the ground up. OZ1BXM (DIY) http://oz1bxm.dk/seq/sequencer.html Another DIY project based on the W6PLQ design. This uses an Arduino as MCU, so should be flexible. No kits and no PCB designs. SM2CEW (DIY) http://sm2cew.com/sequencer/sequencer.html This one looks very simple to make with very few components. It was designed for HF, so will it work on VHF?

4 3

ANS-068 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by KI7UNJ Tucker 07 Mar '20

07 Mar '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-068 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: * Welcome Back XW-2D * PSAT3 Launch CANCELED * AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention * The 23cm Satellite Band is Under Scrutiny in Europe * Replacing the International Space Station? * FO-29 Operational Schedule * ARISS News * AMSAT Will be at ScienceCity in Tucson, March 14-15 * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-068.01 ANS-068 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 068.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Mar 08 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-068.01 Welcome Back XW-2D XW-2D has come back from its apparent issues and is back in action. No official report for the satellite owner, but reports from operators all over the world have shown the satellite is back in operation: Frequency: UPLINK LSB 435.210 MHz to 435.230 MHZ DOWNLINK USB 145.860 MHz to 145.880 MHZ Make sure to post your reception reports for all satellites at https://www.amsat.org/status/ [ANS thanks Hasan Schiers, N0AN, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- PSAT3 Launch CANCELED Four days from Shipping PSAT3 to Kodiak for launch, the launch has been canceled. The launch was part of the DARPA LAUNCH CHALLENGE: https://darpalaunchchallenge.org/index.html The challenge (and $10m prize) was for any launch provider to deliver a rocket with only 30 days notice of what payloads they would have and where they would launch from. And then to do it again only 30 days later. We were on the second launch. But on 2 March the third attempt by the launch provider was scrubbed at T-9 minutes and was not resolved until the launch window (and DARPA challenge deadline) had passed. Therefore the CHALLENGE is over, there was no winner, and we lost the launch. So, if anyone hears of a rocket that needs a CUBESAT PPOD backup replacement, we have one: http://aprs.org/psat3.html [ANS thanks Bob, WB4APR for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention Come join us the day before Hamvention, for AMSAT® Academy – a unique opportunity to learn all about amateur radio in space and working FM, linear transponder, and digital satellites currently in orbit. AMSAT® Academy will be held Thursday, May 14, 2020, from 9:00am to 5:00pm, at the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) Clubhouse, loc- ated at 6619 Bellefontaine Rd, Dayton, Ohio. The $85 registration fee includes: • Full day of instruction, designed for both beginners and advanced amateur radio satellite operators, and taught by some of the most accomplished AMSAT operators. • Digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites, 2020 Edi- tion ($15 value) • One-Year, AMSAT® Basic Membership ($44 value) • Pizza Buffet Lunch • Invitation to the Thursday night AMSAT® get together at Ticket Pub and Eatery in Fairborn. Registration closes May 8, 2020. No sign ups at the door. No refunds, no cancellations. Registrations may be purchased on the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/product/2020-amsat-academy-registration/ [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Vice President - User Services for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- The 23cm Satellite Band is Under Scrutiny in Europe The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 1 committee is al- ready actively participating in the regulatory work taking place in the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administra- tions (CEPT) to consider coexistence between the secondary amateur and amateur satellite services and the primary radio navigation satellite service, in the 1.2 GHz band. The principal issue is Europe's Galileo system of global navigation satellites. The Galileo services are delivered in a number of bands and one occu- pies the 1260-1300 MHz band. The Galileo team has witnessed interfer- ence from amateur TV transmissions which resulted in station shut down and has experienced interference from high power EME operations too. Work is at an early stage and the IARU will continue to try tp mini- mise the impact on amateur operations however it is likely that some changes will be necessary to the way we use the band. The topic is closely related to the agenda of the next World Radio- communication Conference coming up in 2013 (WRC-23) at which represen- tatives of the United Nations countries who are members of the Inter- national Telecommunication Union will agree on coordinated radio regu- lations. For more information, see https://tinyurl.com/tcrdm4j [ANS thanks Jacques Verleijen, ON4AVJ, and the IARU Region 1 Newsletter for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Replacing the International Space Station? Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), humanity has managed to maintain an uninterrupted foothold in low Earth orbit for just shy of 20 years. But as the saying goes, what goes up must eventually come down. The ISS is at too low of an altitude to remain in orbit indef- initely, and core modules of the structure are already operating years beyond their original design lifetimes. As difficult a decision as it might be for the countries involved, in the not too distant future the $150 billion orbiting outpost will have to be abandoned. Naturally there’s some debate as to how far off that day is. NASA of- ficially plans to support the Station until at least 2024, and an ex- tension to 2028 or 2030 is considered very likely. However, one commer- cial partner is betting on a longer-term future. Axiom has been select- ed by NASA to develop a new habitable module for the U.S. side of the Station by 2024. While the agreement technically only covers a single module, Axiom hasn’t been shy about their plans going forward. Once that first module is installed and operational, they plan on getting NASA approval to launch several new modules branching off of it. Ultimately, they hope that their “wing” of the ISS can be detached and become its own inde- pendent commercial station by the end of the decade. Read the full article at https://bit.ly/39tsc6V [ANS thanks Hackaday 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ FO-29 Operational Schedule The operation of Fuji 3 (FO-29) has been unstable, but the transmitter will be turned on in the next pass. Since the date and time are in UTC, add 9 hours to convert to Japan time. The operation is until the UVC (lower limit voltage control) operates. [Scheduled time to turn on the analog transmitter of Fuji 3 (UTC)] March 8 04:30- 06:15- 14:40 March 14 04:15- 06:00- 14:25 March 15 03:25- 05:10- 15:15 March 21 03:10- 04:55- 15:00 March 22 04:00- 05:45- 14:05 March 28 03:45- 05:30- 13:50 March 29 04:35- 06:20- 14:40 Because of data acquisition, besides this operation plan, the transmitter may be turned on for a short time. [ANS thanks JARL for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News An International Space Station (ISS) school contact with an Australian school on 13 March will be audible in USA! The ISS will be over North America at the time, and the Australians will link to it by land line "Telebridge" via a U.S. amateur radio station. The contact will be with the Australian Air League - South Australia Wing, Parafield, South Australia, but via Telebridge Station K6DUE in Greenbelt, Maryland, USA. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS and the scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan, KI5AAA. The contact is scheduled at 08:56 UTC with downlink signals from ISS heard above Maryland and nearby areas on 145.800 MHz narrowband FM. [ANS thanks Rudy Parisio, IW2BSF, and Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, of the ARISS Operation Team, 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT Will be at ScienceCity in Tucson, March 14-15 AMSAT will be supporting the University of Arizona's K7UAZ radio club during the ScienceCity science fair on 14-15 March 2020 (a Saturday and Sunday). ScienceCity will be on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Arizona. This science fair is supported by several organizations at the university, and runs in conjunction with the Tucson Festival of Books that will also take place that weekend. More information about ScienceCity is available at: http://sciencecity.arizona.edu/ Information about the K7UAZ radio club is available at: http://k7uaz.com/ The K7UAZ radio club will have a booth in the "Science of Everyday Life" area at ScienceCity. This booth will showcase different facets of amateur radio, including amateur satellites. WD9EWK, and possibly other call signs, should be heard during demonstrations of satellite operating taking place at ScienceCity. If you hear us, please call and be a part of the demonstrations. The University of Arizona campus is in grid DM42, in Arizona's Pima County. QSLing will be determined by the call sign used for QSOs. WD9EWK will upload to Logbook of the World, and will be happy to send QSL cards on request (please e-mail Patrick the QSO details - no card or SASE is required to get a card). K7UAZ will confirm QSOs by QSL card, following instructions posted on QRZ.com. During the weekend, the @WD9EWK Twitter account will be used to post updates from ScienceCity. If you do not use Twitter, you can view these updates in a web browser without having a Twitter account at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK [ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, AMSAT Board Member, for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Current schedule: March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ (see above) March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-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 - Shorts Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) - K7U ROVE March 7-8, 2020 Casey KI7UNJ and Kel KI7UXT will be operating as K7U from CN93, CN94, DN03, DN04 a CN92. Details are posted on QRZ https://www.qrz.com/db/k7u Updates from the road on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ and https://twitter.com/KI7UXT - Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 - #NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020 David, AD7DB, will venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically activate grid DM19 on Saturday March 21. This is actually down a ide road from "The Loneliest Road in America." Hardly any hams even live in that grid. It's for sure that few ever activate it. On the way there, Friday March 20, he will try to also activate some or all of: DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18. Going home Sunday, March 22, he will try to visit them again. This will be on FM satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) has completed frequency coordination HSU-SAT1, a 1U CubeSat to be released from the ISS sometime in the coming year. The satellite will include capability of a camera image dowlinked by Slow Scan Television (SSTV). The camera will take a photograph of the Earth at image pixel size 320x240. The photograph taken will then be converted into analog SSTV signal, and sent by FM-SSTV downlink on 437.280 MHz. This be part of the satellite's main mission, test of a three-axis attitude control system. More info at shorturl.at/dizP0 and shorturl.at/puNW7 (ANS thanks IARU and AMSAT-UK for the above information) + The Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) reports that a number of ama- teur radio events planned for March have been cancelled as a result of coronavirus warnings. JARL, in line with government policy, has requested that all events scheduled for the next two weeks be can- celed or postponed for the time being. Also, Dayton Hamvention offi- cials say they are closely following the coronavirus (COVID-19) sit- uation. Show organizers will post updates as the May 15 – 17 event nears, but they’re optimistic that coronavirus will not be an issue. (ANS thanks Southgate ARC and ARRL for the above information) + SpaceX-20, a Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station launched at 0449 GMT Saturday from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. The mission carrying, as a primary payload, the Interoperable Radio System (IORS). The IORS is the foundational element of the ARISS next-generation radio system on ISS. If all goes according to plan, the Dragon cargo capsule will dock with the space station on Monday, 9 March. (ANS thanks SpaceflightNow 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, Casey Tucker, KI7UNJ ki7unj at amsat dot org

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Lower your power!!!
by Joe KD2NFC 07 Mar '20

07 Mar '20

I was just on AO-7 and was told to lower my power from more then one person. Sorry about that folks, just getting adjusted here, please be patient with a satellite beginner. Now that we are here I was curious what a lot of power in does to the linear birds, does it ruin the passband for others? Also how much is a good amount of power to start with or one shouldn’t exceed? FM birds probably have similar operating rules as well right. I’m here to learn :) Joe KD2NFC Sent from my iPhone

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email address
by James Brown 07 Mar '20

07 Mar '20

To moderator. I have previously tried to change my email address.Please change from ki6wj(a)att.net to ki6wj(a)yahoo.com ThanksJim KI6WJ

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Fwd: [Nouvel article] Rencontre Spatial Radioamateur 7 et 8 mars 2020 – Diffusion des conférences sur Internet & sur le satellite géostationnaire QO 100
by christophe.mcr 07 Mar '20

07 Mar '20

Xtophe a publié :" Les conférences seront diffusées en directe sur internet et sur le satellite Géostationnaire QO100 Diffusion sur des conférences sur internet : https://www.youtube.com/user/ElectrolabFr Diffusion des conférences sur QO100 " Nouvel article sur *AMSAT Francophone* <http://site.amsat-f.org/?author=2> Rencontre Spatial Radioamateur 7 et 8 mars 2020 – Diffusion des conférences sur Internet & sur le satellite géostationnaire QO 100 <http://site.amsat-f.org/2020/03/07/rencontre-spatial-radioamateur-7-et-8-ma…> par Xtophe <http://site.amsat-f.org/?author=2> <http://site.amsat-f.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/RSRtitre.jpg> Les conférences seront diffusées en directe sur internet et sur le satellite Géostationnaire QO100 Diffusion sur des conférences sur internet : - https://www.youtube.com/user/ElectrolabFr Diffusion des conférences sur QO100 - *Mode de transmission : DVB S2,* - *Modulation : QPSK* - *Débit : 1M symboles/seconde,* - *FEC : 1/2* - *Format 720 p * *Xtophe <http://site.amsat-f.org/?author=2>* | 7 mars 2020 à 7 h 30 min | Catégories : 2020 - Troisième rencontre spatial radioamateur <http://site.amsat-f.org/?taxonomy=category&term=2020-troisieme-rencontre-sp…> | URL : https://wp.me/p7txgd-uqS Commentaire <http://site.amsat-f.org/2020/03/07/rencontre-spatial-radioamateur-7-et-8-ma…> Voir tous les commentaires <http://site.amsat-f.org/2020/03/07/rencontre-spatial-radioamateur-7-et-8-ma…> Résilier l'abonnement <https://public-api.wordpress.com/bar/?stat=groovemails-events&bin=wpcom_ema…>

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Re: [amsat-bb] Lower your power!!!
by Zach Metzinger 06 Mar '20

06 Mar '20

On 2020-03-06 15:23, Michael Walker via AMSAT-BB wrote: > Once you hear yourself start dialling down your power until you don’t hear yourself. > > then, increase it slightly. > > Make sure you were wearing headphones. This seems wrong. 1. Listen for the beacon, which is warbly, but audible. If you can't hear that, don't transmit. Listen for others on the bird, as that can also give you a sense of what you expect to hear. 2. Make sure you use the one true rule for Doppler correction (stationary frequency at satellite transponder input). Computer correction is probably the best bet here, as it can tune as you do other things. 3. Start at your rig's lowest power, and increase gradually until you can hear yourself. As others have said, if you exceed 5W into a yagi, there's probably something wrong with your setup. 4. Even a cheap SDR on the down-link, gives you ultimate situational awareness. You can see the beacon, other people's signals, and your own. You can then judge your relative power to the beacon. Also see: https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/how-to-work-ssb-satellites/ and N0AN just posted his recording (working XW-2D) a few days on this list. Here is his video URL: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lKYvARp4SyHUraAX9u6HQRbmnCiamJAM Grain of salt: I haven't worked linear birds in more than two decades. However, time is freeing up now and I'm getting my own Az/El setup going. Perhaps we'll make a contact on AO-7 soon! --- Zach N0ZGO

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Center of the rotator
by Thomas Schaefer 06 Mar '20

06 Mar '20

Hello all. Please forgive the novice question but I am new to dealing with Az/El rotator systems for satellites (always been the Armstrong method). I am finishing up the planning for my rotators. On my bench, I have my Az rotator and my elevations rotator (separate units—both AlfaSpids). I am using a Green Heron RT21 AzEl controller. I have PSTRotator in between SatPC32 and the Green Heron since SatPC32 does not control the GH AzEl directly. When I was testing, I went though a pass and when the Azimuth direction was 0, the rotator spun all away around since 0 was the bottom. That is no doubt a configuration point but it brings me to my question. When I have used various rotor controllers for HF beams, 180 degrees is always the bottom which works for us in the northern Hemisphere. But with the current fleet of workable satellites, is there a direction that makes more sense to use at the “bottom” of the rotator? I can rotate the AlfaSpid more than 360 degrees allowing for the coax loop. Is that the generally preferred way for maximum flexibility if one’s rotor supports it? Put another way, if I pick 180 as the “bottom”, will I have as many passes that the rotator will have to turn all the way around to get from 179 degrees to 181 degrees as I would have to go from 359 degrees to 1 degree? I am also using the Az rotator for a 6m beam so the usual sweep of 180 to 180 in a continuous arc is desirable but I was curious if I should allow an extra 90 degrees (to 470) for flexibility. The Green Heron will take care of not going too far from where it is programmed even though the AlfaSpid does not have limit switches in the Az rotator (but does in the elevation rotator). I hope that makes sense. Thanks, Tom NY4I Tom Schaefer, NY4I Blog: www.ny4i.com Madeira Beach, FL (Grid: EL87ot)

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WD9EWK @ DM51/DM52 next Friday (13 March 2020)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 06 Mar '20

06 Mar '20

Hi! I will head to the DM51/DM52 grid boundary in southeastern Arizona next Friday (13 March 2020), where I plan to spend a few hours working various satellite passes. I hope to be on the air from DM51/DM52 for the AO-92 pass just after 1700 UTC, but might be on earlier passes if traffic through Phoenix and Tucson - and the weather - cooperates. I will park at a spot I have visited many times over the years, west of US-191 and south of I-10, near the town of Sunsites in Arizona's Cochise County. During my time out at DM51/DM52, I will post updates on my @WD9EWK Twitter account. These updates are visible in a web browser without a Twitter account at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK In addition, I will run APRS as WD9EWK-9 during that day. My travels should show up online at sites like: http://aprs.fi/WD9EWK-9 All QSOs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World. If anyone wishes to receive a QSL card confirming a QSO with WD9EWK at DM51/DM52, please e-mail me directly with the QSO details. No need to first send me a card or an SASE. If you're in the log, I will send a QSL card. This is not the only time I might be in this area over the next couple of months. I have two other trips between late March and early May which may allow me to visit other grid boundaries in southeastern Arizona or even southwestern New Mexico. Stay tuned... :-) 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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Where best to purchase LMR-240UF in the US?
by Hans BX2ABT 06 Mar '20

06 Mar '20

As in title. Need some 200 feet. Mail order is fine, delivery in Houston. Will be hand delivered to me in Taiwan, because I can't get the stuff locally. Cheers --Hans

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Re: [amsat-bb] sequencer
by MICHAEL WILLIAMS 06 Mar '20

06 Mar '20

Check out W1GHZ's "A Simple, Yet Fool-Resistant Sequencer" at http://www.w1ghz.org/small_proj/Simple_yet_Fool-Resistant_Sequencer_Rev_B.p… GL, K9QHO

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ANS-065 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention
by Paul Stoetzer 05 Mar '20

05 Mar '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-065 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT Academy to be Held Prior to Dayton Hamvention SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-065 ANS-065 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 065.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE March 5, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-065.01 Come join us the day before Hamvention, for AMSAT® Academy – a unique opportunity to learn all about amateur radio in space and working FM, linear transponder, and digital satellites currently in orbit. AMSAT® Academy will be held Thursday, May 14, 2020, from 9:00am to 5:00pm, at the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) Clubhouse, loc- ated at 6619 Bellefontaine Rd, Dayton, Ohio. The $85 registration fee includes: • Full day of instruction, designed for both beginners and advanced amateur radio satellite operators, and taught by some of the most accomplished AMSAT operators. • Digital copy of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites, 2020 Edi- tion ($15 value) • One-Year, AMSAT® Basic Membership ($44 value) • Pizza Buffet Lunch • Invitation to the Thursday night AMSAT® get together at Ticket Pub and Eatery in Fairborn. Registration closes May 8, 2020. No sign ups at the door. No refunds, no cancellations. Registrations may be purchased on the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/product/2020-amsat-academy-registration/ [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Vice President - User Services 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] XW-2D Returns to Life!
by Hasan al-Basri 05 Mar '20

05 Mar '20

Hi George, (and anyone else who is interested in an easy way to evaluate your satellite rx performance) These remarks are with respective to linear birds, not FM Some of the satellite ops I work with run various SDRs (software defined radios like the FunCube Pro+). The software we use with them is called SDR Console v3 (Google SDR Radio or look at this group: main(a)sdr-radio.groups.io) What we do so we can compare apples to apples is the following: The software is designed to be able to measure relative signal levels at high accuracy (-dBM) 1. Connect a 50 ohm resistor to the antenna or preamp input. 2. Set the rx for maximum sensitivity (RF Gain) 3. Adjust IF Gain so that the 50 Ohm resistor produces a signal level of -95 dBM 4. This creates a common noise floor level calibration point so that we can compare local noise (environmental) as well as satellite signal levels. 5. Now disconnect 50 ohm resistor and change to "real" satellite antenna. Observe the increase in noise floor. If there isn't one, you have poor rx sensitivity. If there is an increase and it is 6 dB or more, you have local noise problems (environmental). If there is a small increase in noise, you likely have relatively low noise, and at least it exceeds the internally generated noise of your radio/preamp combo. Now, when we observe signals from the satellites, we can directly compare peak signal strength in dBm between our satellite setups. This includes, antenna polarity, antenna gain, feedline losses, differences in uplink power, differences in receiver noise figure, and locally generated noise like power line, WiFi hash, etc. All...easily and accurately done by having software that works correctly and a simple SDR Dongle using Simon's (G3ELI) software (which is free). For example: If KB7IJ has a noise floor of -76 and I have a noise floor of -90 (dBm), and he has a peak BEACON signal strength of -53 and I have a peak strength of --60, we can see two things; (these are real and typical measurements, btw) 1. His ambient noise is 14 dB higher than mine. He lives south of Dallas, Tx, and has to shoot thru the city to see sats. Lots of environmental noise! I live in rural Iowa. Much quieter. 2. His rx system has 7 dB greater gain than mine (antennas). That makes sense as he has 2x7 EL yagis and I have a single 5 EL Yagi. So all else being equal (and it almost never is), he should always see the birds 7 dB louder than I do (actual signal level, not SNR) Now look at SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio):...a much different story. How well do we hear the birds? His SNR (best): -76 dBm noise floor - (-53) signal = 23 dB SNR (signal is 23 above noise, loud!) My SNR (best ): -90 dBm noise floor - (-60) signal = 30 dB SNR So when we are both getting a satellite at our best signal level, I am hearing the bird 7 dB better than he is, even though his rx antennas are much better. Look what happens when the ssb signal is much weaker: If I am seeing the SSB signal at an SNR of 10 dB (the lowest signal strength that an SSB signal can be understood at): He is seeing it at only 3 dB SNR which is unreadable. In general, I nearly always hear both him and myself way better than he does, because my noise floor is so much better than his. Keep in mind, these are all RELATIVE measurements not ABSOLUTE. They are not meant to be lab grade, they are meant to be able to understand and measure reasonably well, how a satellite station is performing in the real world. Common calibration between stations allows us to compare how our systems are working. It's not perfect, but it is useful. (There are other factors, like the practical limit of SNR from any bird based on passband noise). If you can consistently see/hear passband noise, you are good. If you only hear it now and then, your rx system needs work) p.s. The software from Simon, also allows us to make MP4 recording (video and audio) of our satellite qsos, which can demonstrate some of the very dramatic ways to improve or ruin your ability to use satellites efficiently. That is to say, receive properly and not overdrive the satellite with excessive uplink power, because you can't hear worth a darn and don't know it. (Just continue to increase transmit power so you can hear yourself, taking more than your share of what is available, because it is a shared resource). I have hours or recordings of assorted stations doing exactly this (running excessive uplink power and thus producing downlink signals 6 dB or more louder than the CW beacon) and therefore stealing the available downlink power of others, driving them down into the noise floor. It's embarrassing. *The rule is simple: you should NEVER be louder than the CW beacon, period.* 73, N0AN Hasan On Wed, Mar 4, 2020 at 7:48 PM George Sakai <grsakai5120(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Thanks for the info Hasan. What do you use to measure signal levels in > dBm? > > George N3GS > > On Wednesday, March 4, 2020, 03:43:43 PM CST, Hasan al-Basri via AMSAT-BB < > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > > K7VNE reported to me this morning that he had been on XW-2D (long since > non-operational) and sigs were very good, but no one else was on. > > Signals were of good quality, no FM'ing of my SSB signal. > > I just checked it and had a pass of Max EL 2 deg to my East. It is there, > it is loud. *The CW beacon is raspy*. > > The passband was normal level and my signal was typical: > > Max Sig: -64 dBm > Noise Floor: -81 dBM > > I made an mp4 recording of the pass, with me calling CQ and announcing > Elevation and signal levels. > > https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lKYvARp4SyHUraAX9u6HQRbmnCiamJAM > > Download this mp4 file and play it back on any device (even a phone) and > you will see and hear what I did. > > I have seen no announcement about not using the satellite, but will watch > for same. > 73, N0AN > Hasan > _______________________________________________ > 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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APRSdroid
by Steve Kristoff 05 Mar '20

05 Mar '20

Those of you who said that APRSdroid works were right. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I got it working without much fuss. I just confirmed on AISAT-1 that it works on my phone hooked up to my HT. So, I agree, don't believe all the bad reviews you see on the app Play Store. Steve AI9IN

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Wide or Narrow?
by Steve Kristoff 05 Mar '20

05 Mar '20

When aiming at the APRS satellites (ISS, AISat, any others?) should I use Wide or Narrow FM? I vaguely recall reading that narrow is good, but I can't find the reference. Your assistance is appreciated! Steve AI9IN

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Fwd: [Nouvel article] Rencontre Spatial Radioamateur 7 & 8 mars 2020 – Dernier jour pour vous inscrire !
by christophe.mcr 05 Mar '20

05 Mar '20

Nouvel article sur *AMSAT Francophone* <http://site.amsat-f.org/?author=2> Rencontre Spatial Radioamateur 7 & 8 mars 2020 – Dernier jour pour vous inscrire ! <http://site.amsat-f.org/2020/03/04/rencontre-spatial-radioamateur-7-8-mars-…> par Xtophe <http://site.amsat-f.org/?author=2> <http://site.amsat-f.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/RSRtitre.jpg> La cloture des inscriptions aux journées sera faite le *5 mars 2020 à 14h*. Elle nous permettra de mettre en place la logistique nécessaire notamment pour les Il ne reste que quelques places disponibles. La capacité du lieu ou se situe l'événement est limitée. *Pour réserver vos places, utilisez le lien ci dessous : * https://www.billetweb.fr/troisieme-rencontre-spatial-radioamateur *Xtophe <http://site.amsat-f.org/?author=2>* | 4 mars 2020 à 10 h 33 min | U

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XW-2D Returns to Life!
by Hasan al-Basri 05 Mar '20

05 Mar '20

K7VNE reported to me this morning that he had been on XW-2D (long since non-operational) and sigs were very good, but no one else was on. Signals were of good quality, no FM'ing of my SSB signal. I just checked it and had a pass of Max EL 2 deg to my East. It is there, it is loud. *The CW beacon is raspy*. The passband was normal level and my signal was typical: Max Sig: -64 dBm Noise Floor: -81 dBM I made an mp4 recording of the pass, with me calling CQ and announcing Elevation and signal levels. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lKYvARp4SyHUraAX9u6HQRbmnCiamJAM Download this mp4 file and play it back on any device (even a phone) and you will see and hear what I did. I have seen no announcement about not using the satellite, but will watch for same. 73, N0AN Hasan

3 3

VJB Cheap Yagis
by Joe 04 Mar '20

04 Mar '20

The awesome little "Cheap Yagis" https://www.wa5vjb.com/yagi-pdf/cheapyagi.pdf Has anyone modified the 144 Mhz one up higher in the band for Sat work, AND has anyone taken the VHF and the UHF versions and put them on a single hand held boom? Elements in line or at right angles? Joe WB9SBD

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AMSAT @ ScienceCity in Tucson AZ (14-15 March 2020)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 03 Mar '20

03 Mar '20

Hi! AMSAT will be supporting the University of Arizona's K7UAZ radio club during the ScienceCity science fair on 14-15 March 2020 (a Saturday and Sunday). ScienceCity will be on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson, Arizona. This science fair is supported by several organizations at the university, and runs in conjunction with the Tucson Festival of Books that will also take place that weekend. More information about ScienceCity is available at: http://sciencecity.arizona.edu/ Information about the K7UAZ radio club is available at: http://k7uaz.com/ The K7UAZ radio club will have a booth in the "Science of Everyday Life" area at ScienceCity. This booth will showcase different facets of amateur radio, including amateur satellites. WD9EWK, and possibly other call signs, should be heard during demonstrations of satellite operating taking place at ScienceCity. If you hear us, please call and be a part of the demonstrations. The University of Arizona campus is in grid DM42, in Arizona's Pima County. QSLing will be determined by the call sign used for QSOs. For WD9EWK, I will upload my log to Logbook of the World, and will be happy to send QSL cards on request (please e-mail me the QSO details - no card or SASE is required to get my card). K7UAZ will confirm QSOs by QSL card, following instructions posted on QRZ.com. During the weekend, I will use my @WD9EWK Twitter account to post updates from ScienceCity. If you do not use Twitter, you can view these updates in a web browser without having a Twitter account at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK Thanks, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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PSAT3 Launch CANCELED
by Robert Bruninga 03 Mar '20

03 Mar '20

Well, 4 days from Shipping PSAT3 to Kodiak for launch, the launch has been canceled. The launch was part of the DARPA LAUNCH CHALLENGE: https://darpalaunchchallenge.org/index.html The challenege (and $10m prize) was for any launch provider to deliver a rocket with only 30 days notice of what payloads they would have and where they would launch from. And then to do it again only 30 days later. We were on the second launch. But on 2 March the third attempt by the launch provider was scrubbed at T-9 minutes and was not resolved until the launch window (and DARPA challenge deadline) had passed. Therefore the CHALLENGE is over, there was no winner, and we lost the launch. So, if anyone hears of a rocket that needs a CUBESAT PPOD backup replacement, we have one: http://aprs.org/psat3.html And I get my life (nights and weekends) back! Bob, WB4APR

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APRS test using LoRa via QO-100 (geo bird over Europe)
by Robert Bruninga 03 Mar '20

03 Mar '20

*Subject:* APRS test using LoRa via QO-100 (geo bird over Europe) Andy, OE3DMB reports his APRS experiments using the geostationary AMSAT, QO-100 (Es’hail 2) over Europe. It is not visible from the USA, but is a nice experiment for the Eastern Hemisphere. He uses a rooftop mobile omni antenna and 20W uplink on 2.4 GHz. I have added it to the APRS Satellite page: http://aprs.org/sats.html Bob, WB4APR

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-03 17:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 03 Mar '20

03 Mar '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-03 17:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: River Ridge High School, New Port Richey, FL, direct via WA3YFQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact was successful: Tue 2020-03-03 15:17:44 UTC 51 deg (***) Australian Air League - South Australia Wing, Parafield, South Australia, Australia. telebridge via K6DUE (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Fri 2020-03-13 08:56:53 UTC 32 deg (***) 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) 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 2020-03-03 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 2020-03-03 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 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 1385. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1318. (***) 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. 60 on orbit Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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SSTV Sat + 23cm band
by M5AKA 03 Mar '20

03 Mar '20

HSU-SAT1 CubeSat will have a Slow Scan Television (SSTV) downlink http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=719 Ham radio QFH satellite antennas built at workshop https://amsat-uk.org/2020/03/01/qfh-satellite-antenna-workshop/ AMSAT-India participated in Somaiya Space Conclave 2020 https://amsat-uk.org/2020/03/02/amsat-india-somaiya-space-conclave/ Project for school QO-100 amateur radio stations https://amsat-uk.org/2020/03/01/school-qo100-project/ UK Ofcom consultation on EMF compliance https://amsat-uk.org/2020/02/24/ofcom-consultation-on-emf-compliance/ "The 23cm band is under scrutiny" - the IARU-R1 VHF-UHF-uW newsletter notes that the Galileo GNSS constellation team "has witnessed interference from amateur TV transmissions which resulted in station shut down and has experienced interference from high power EME operations too." https://www.iaru-r1.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Newsletter85.pdf 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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K7U - ROVE - DN07, DN06, CN96, CN95, CN93, CN94, CN92, DN03 and DN04.
by KI7UNJ Tucker 03 Mar '20

03 Mar '20

KI7UNJ and KI7UXT will be roving DN07, DN06, CN96, CN95, CN93, CN94, CN92, DN03, and DN04. To add to the fun we will be operating as a 1x1 Call *"K7U"* Saturday and Sunday You may hear KI7UXT and KI7UNJ use own calls but this is being done for rover credit and needed grids, please use* K7U *call as that is what all logging will use. ***K7U will be logging via LoTW*** KI7UXT will use his own call for passes on Friday On Linear, we will be fixed RX -5 from the center and if we both get on a pass the 2nd op will be at +5 from center AO-7 938 +/- unless we tweet different Track us via APRS K7U-9, KI7UNJ-IOS, and KI7UXT-i APRS (KI7UNJ-IOS and KI7UXT-i) map with Grid Lines https://aprs.fi/#!mt=roadmap&z=13&kml=http%3A%2F%2Fbadgerflix.duckdns.org%2… Updates from the rove will be on twitter: https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ https://twitter.com/KI7UXT *Friday 2020-03-06 2000Z to 2020-03-07 0600Z* KI7UXT (will be using own call for this part of trip) DN07, DN06, CN96, CN95 FM/LINEAR as passes come in route to CN94 *Saturday 2020-03-07 (UTC)* DN03 CAS-4B 1552Z CAS-4A 1615Z XW-2A 1630Z *Saturday 2020-03-07 (UTC)* DN04 **AO-92 1740Z **CAS-4A 1755Z AO-91 1828Z SO-50 1847Z CAS-4B 1912Z AO-92 1913Z AO-07 1923Z CAS-4A 1936Z AO-91 2004Z SO-50 2025Z CAS-4B 2052Z AO-07 2110Z **IN ROUTE TO DN04 depends on if we have horizon on side of road *Sunday 2020-03-08 (UTC) (saturday night)* CN94 AO-92 0419Z XW-2A 0433Z SO-50 0455Z CN93 AO-92 0551Z AO-91 0615Z *Sunday 2020-03-08 (UTC)* CN92 XW-2B 1533Z CAS-4B 1541Z XW-2A 1553Z CAS-4A 1605Z AO-92 1719Z CAS-4B 1721Z XW-2A 1724Z CAS-4A 1745Z AO-91 1848Z AO-92 1852Z CAS-4B 1901Z SO-50 1910Z CAS-4A 1925Z -- *Casey Tucker KI7UNJ* AMSAT Ambassador https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ https://www.qrz.com/db/KI7UNJ http://bit.do/ki7unj <https://www.google.com/url?q=http://bit.do/ki7unj&sa=D&source=hangouts&ust=…>

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VUCC Awards-Endorsements for March 2020
by Ronald Parsons 01 Mar '20

01 Mar '20

There was an error in this months VUCC Standings. N1PEB at 138 grids was omitted. Activity this month was low. Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period February 1, 2020 through March 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL Feb Mar W5RKN 702 708 W5CBF 533 564 K9UO 528 550 MI6GTY 360 459 KE8FZT 375 400 K4RGK 157 175 WA9JBQ 150 175 DL4ZAB 101 150 W4ZXT 100 150 WD9EWK (DM31) 110 127 W2ZF New 101 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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Husky-1 Xmit Power
by Mike Lucas 01 Mar '20

01 Mar '20

I've been struggling to get telem downloads the past couple of days.I was hoping to get at least a frame or two to see what the Xmit Power is at. Is it back to low power level again? Mike N7ASZ

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Report Démonstration QO-100 devant des collégiens
by christophe.mcr 01 Mar '20

01 Mar '20

*For information / pour information* *FRANCAIS* *Bonjour à tous,* *Suite aux mauvaises prédictions météorologiques du lundi 2 mars (pluie), nous sommes obligés de reporter la QSO de démonstration QO-100 devant les collégiens à une date ultérieure en mars.* *Nous sommes toujours à la recherche d’OM/YL en FY/FR/FT/FH pour faire la démonstration en français en dehors de la métropole.* *Nous espérons pouvoir vous communiquer une date prochainement.* *73* *Geoffrey F4FVI* *———————————————————————————* *ENGLISH* *Hello everybody,* *Because of the bad weather condition prediction of the 2nd of march (rain), we have to delay the QSO exhibition of QO-100 in front of pupils to a later date.* *We are still looking for OM/YL in FY/FR/FT/FH to make a demonstration in french language outside of France.* *We hope to comunicate you another date soon.* *73* *Geoffrey F4FVI* *———————————————————————————* *ESPAÑOL* *Buenos días a todos,* *A causa de las malas condiciones meteorológicas previstas para el lunes 2 de marzo (lluvia), tenemos que aplazar el QSO de demostración con el satélite QO-100 delante de los alumnos del colegio posteriormente.* *Todavía estamos buscando OM/YL en FY/FR/FT/FH para hacer la demostración en francés fuera de Francia.* *Esperamos comunicaros otra fecha próximamente. * *73* *Geoffrey F4FVI* <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> Garanti sans virus. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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ANS-061 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin
by Frank Karnauskas 29 Feb '20

29 Feb '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-061 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information 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://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 dot org. In this edition: * Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch * FO-29 Operational Schedule * Georgia Institute of Technology GT-1 To Feature Amateur Radio Robot Operation * K7UAZ Radio Club Helps Prepare Satellite Radio Station for Space Camp at Biosphere 2 * New QO-100 Band Plan Announced * ARISS News * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-061.01 ANS-061 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 061.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. March 01, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-061.01 Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch The spouse of ARISS Hardware team member Ed Krome, K9EK, pointed out that the ARISS next generation radio system, the InterOperable Radio System (IORS) is prominently described as a primary payload, not secondary, on the SpaceX CRS-20 mission which will be launched no earlier than March 6, 2020 (ET). The ARISS Team wants to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone that has contributed to helping ARISS realize this major milestone It should be noted that the ARISS hardware team is still very busy on IORS development and final certification. While certified for launch and stowage on ISS, the team is still in deep into the final certification of the IORS for flight operations. Also, the build of the second flight unit is in progress in Florida and in San Diego. While CRS-20 represents the launch of SN 1001, the first flight unit, it also represents the beginning of the "ARISS factory build" and certification of all ten units. The ARISS team also notes that November 13, 2020 will represent the 20th year of ARISS continuous amateur radio operation on ISS! [ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO AMSAT Vice President, Human Space Flight for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- FO-29 Operational Schedule The operation of Fuji 3 (FO-29) has been unstable, but the transmitter will be turned on in the next pass. Since the date and time are in UTC, add 9 hours to convert to Japan time. The operation is until the UVC (lower limit voltage control) operates. [Scheduled time to turn on the analog transmitter of Fuji 3 (UTC)] March 1 04:00- 14:05 March 2 04:45- 14:55 March 7 03:40- 05:25- 13:50 March 8 04:30- 06:15- 14:40 March 14 04:15- 06:00- 14:25 March 15 03:25- 05:10- 15:15 March 21 03:10- 04:55- 15:00 March 22 04:00- 05:45- 14:05 March 28 03:45- 05:30- 13:50 March 29 04:35- 06:20- 14:40 Because of data acquisition, besides this operation plan, the transmitter may be turned on for a short time. [ANS thanks JARL 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 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Georgia Institute of Technology GT-1 To Feature Amateur Radio Robot Operation The Glenn Lightsey Research Group, Space Systems Design Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology is sponsoring a 1U CubeSat mission. The primary function of GT-1 is to be an educational proof of concept and satellite bus demonstrator. It will use this mission as an opportunity for undergraduates to get involved in all parts of a space mission, from design to implementation and sustainment. It will test a prototype deployable antenna and solar panels, which can be used for future missions derived from the same baseline design, and with inclusion of additional experimental equipment. It will operate with AX.25 protocol to collect telemetry data. In partnership with the W4AQL Georgia Tech Amateur Radio Club, the satellite will also host a digital contact ROBOT payload, inspired by the Russian ham satellites RS-12 and RS-13. It will collect QSO information from individuals who contact the ROBOT as it orbits. The satellite will also function as a standard digipeater. Proposing a 9k6 UHF downlink using G3RUH FSK modulation. Planning a JAXA deployment from the ISS in October 2020. A downlink on 437.175 MHz has been coordinated. [ANS thanks IARU for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- K7UAZ Radio Club Helps Prepare Satellite Radio Station for Space Camp at Biosphere 2 In preparation for the upcoming Space Camp at Biosphere 2 , members of the University of Arizona K7UAZ Amateur Radio Club are helping with the placement of an Amateur Radio satellite ground station. The first step was to mount the Yaesu G-5500 el-az rotor system to a Rohn 45 tower. The complete station will include circularly polarized M2 beam antennas for 2m and 70cm, an Icom IC-9700, computers and tracking software. Curt Laumann, K7ZOO, Station Manager for the K7UAZ club reports that Space Camp management is enthusiastic about having UAZ students help with the installation and setup of the station. Student involvement will also include calibrating the rotator system, mapping the artificial horizon for the tracking software and integration and testing the tracking software with the radio. Now in its third year, Space Camp at Biosphere 2 will be held August 3-8, 2020. Space Camp at Biosphere 2 is a joint effort with the University of Arizona Biosphere 2, the Arizona NASA Space Grant Consortium, and the University of Kyoto, Japan. Students attending the camp will experience college-level curriculum and activities focusing on the biological/environmental facets of space travel. More information on Space Camp at Biosphere 2 is available at https://spacegrant.arizona.edu/research/spacecamp [ANS thanks Curt Laumann, K7ZOO 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ New QO-100 Band Plan Announced Just in time for the 1-year anniversary of the successful commissioning of the two transponders of Qatar-OSCAR 100, an encore is pending: The capacity of the NB transponder will be expanded from about 250 KHz to almost 500 KHz. In addition to extended areas for the various operating modes, more space is also being created in particular for "mixed mode" and other special operating cases. In addition to frequencies reserved for emergency radio operations, more experiments are to be made possible here. But all this only with a maximum bandwidth of 2.7 kHz. Automatic operation requires a special licence from the local licensing authorities and must be coordinated with the operator beforehand; this task is performed by AMSAT-DL on behalf of QARS and Es'hailSat. To take account of user behavior, AMSAT-DL has almost doubled the SSB range in particular. Detailed information is available at https://amsat-dl.org/en/neuer-qo-100-bandplan/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News * Upcoming Contacts River Ridge High School, New Port Richey, FL. Direct via WA3YFQ. The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA. The contact is a go for Tuesday, March 3, 2020, 15:17:44 UTC. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Current schedule: March 6, 2020, Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX March 14-15, 2020, Science City on University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ March 21, 2020, Midwinter Madness Hamfest, Buffalo, MN March 21, 2020, Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Hamfest, Scottsdale, AZ March 28, 2020, Tucson Spring Hamfest, Tucson, AZ March 29, 2020, Vienna Wireless Winterfest, Annandale, VA May 2, 2020, Cochise Amateur Radio Assoc. Hamfest, Sierra Vista, AZ May 8-9, 2020 Prescott Hamfest, Prescott, AZ May 15-17, Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020, Ham-Con, Plano, TX [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL 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 - Shorts Mar 14-15 DN26/36 KC7JPC Linears (and possibly FM) - Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 - #NevadaMayhem part 1: Central Nevada (DM19) March 21, 2020 David, AD7DB, will venture deep into Central Nevada to specifically activate grid DM19 on Saturday March 21. This is actually down a side road from "The Loneliest Road in America." Hardly any hams even live in that grid. It's for sure that few ever activate it. On the way there, Friday March 20, he will try to also activate some or all of: DM06, DM16, DM07, DM08, DM17 and DM18. Going home Sunday, March 22, he will try to visit them again. This will be on FM satellites only. Internet and cell coverage may be very poor up there but for updates check Twitter: https:/twitter.com/ad7db [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts from All Over AMSAT SA Space Symposium Announced * The AMSAT SA Space Symposium will be held on July 11, 2020. Prospective authors are invited to propose papers by submitting a brief synopsis to admin(a)amsatsa.org.za before Friday, February 28, 2020. While the call for papers is ongoing till the end of February, AMSAT SA is pleased to announce that Burns Fisher WB1FJ, of AMSAT NA will delivery two papers at the symposium: Fox-in-a-box, Fox telemetry reception using an inexpensive Raspberry Pi and a J-pole antenna including a discussion on the optimal positioning for a J-pole antenna for satellite reception and an overview of what is in orbit currently and expected in the near future and their features. More information available at http://www.sarl.org.za/ [ANS thanks SARL for the above information.] * MEMESat-1 Proposed Let's Go to Space, Inc.'s first satellite mission is the Mission for Education and Multimedia Engagement, better known as MEMESat-1. This spacecraft will be a 1U amateur radio CubeSat. It's primary mission is to serve as an FM Repeater and to downlink donor submitted memes via UHF SSTV protocol. MEMESat is also being created to engage people through the sharing of memes from space and help fund small satellite focused research. More information available at https://letsgo2space.com/memesat-1-3/ [ANS thanks Michael Frazier, KJ5Z for the above information.] * Two Commercial Satellites Link Up for First Time A Northrop Grumman robotic servicing spacecraft has hooked up with an aging Intelsat communications satellite more than 22,000 miles over the Pacific Ocean, accomplishing the first link-up between two commercial satellites in space, and the first docking with a satellite that was never designed to receive a visitor. Northrop Grumman's first commercial Mission Extension Vehicle, or MEV 1, will take over propulsion responsibilities for Intelsat 901, which is running low on fuel after more than 18 years in service relaying data and television signals. MEV 1 is the first spacecraft of its kind, and officials say the successful link-up with Intelsat 901 is a harbinger for a new era of commercial satellite servicing. The automated docking early Tuesday also marked the first connection of two satellites in geosynchronous orbit, a region high above the equator where spacecraft move at speeds that match the rate of Earth's rotation. Complete information at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-061-Grumman [ANS thanks SpaceFlightNow.com for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office. 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 student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot org 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! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: [amsat-bb] Gulf Alpha Antenna Manual
by Gary 29 Feb '20

29 Feb '20

Congrats on the Gulf-Alpha. I had one and loved it. Built battleship strong, computer optimized, using a Tee-match. Nothing flimsy about it! The only thing I did stupid was sell it when I had to move. If anyone wants to part with one, let me know! 73, Joe kk0sd -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org> On Behalf Of Gregory Beat via AMSAT-BB Sent: Saturday, February 29, 2020 9:47 AM To: AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org; nachif(a)terra.com.br Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Gulf Alpha Antenna Manual In November 2015, Tim Chapman, KB7MDF owner of Arrow Antennas purchased the VHF, UHF and Satellite product lines from Pete, owner of Gulf Alpha Antennas. http://www.arrowantennas.com/ga.html Arrow Antennas may have kept (or posted) documentation for those earlier Gulf Alpha Antennas. http://www.arrowantennas.com/ greg, w9gb == Assembly and Tuning Procedures for 2 meter – 70 Cm Dual band Circular Polarized Satellite Yagi 1. Unpack and separate all parts, UHF, VHF element rods, retaining nuts for the element rods, T matches etc. 2. Assemble the two boom sections, be certain to match up the V half’s which are on the ends of each boom section. Usually this is the only way they can go together. Sections are marked VHF, UHF. 3. Mount the T matches this way: on the 2-meter end the feed point connectors go towards the front of the antenna. On the UHF part, the forward T match is mounted with the feedpoint connectors towards the front of the antenna, the rear T match has its feed point connector towards the rear of the antenna (see pics on our website) 4. Mount the element rods. The longest rod is the reflector, the Driven Element is the ¼" dia. The element rods mount in descending order of length with the reflector being the longest, Install the nuts as you go. Just snug them, do not apply a lot of torque as it is not necessary. Use wrenches if necessary but just snug them only. 5. Slide the shorting bars onto the T match rods and driven elements. Set the distances as follows for lowest SWR: 2 Meter part: 3 ¼" 70CM part: All the way out (this is the setting for other brands of UHF antennas as well) The above distances are measured from the inside face of the shorting bars to the end of the T matchbox, not the end of the black bushing. 6. Install the boom to mast plate just behind the last 2-meter element and in front of the second 2-meter T match. Can hold the antenna at a 15 degree angle (recommended if you do not have and elevation rotor). The V clamps V parts butt against the mast. 7. Install the phasing cables. We recommend looking at the pictures on our website to see how they install. Be certain to deep any cables away from element rods, as that will detune the antennas. Never allow a cable to run parallel to an element rod. == Date: Fri, 28 Feb 20 21:32:01 +0000 From: Luciano Gasparini <nachif(a)terra.com.br> To: AMSAT-NA BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Gulf Alpha Antenna Manual Some years ago I bought a Gulf Alpha 2m/70cm antenna from the factory. I never had the proper location to assemble it until recently. Unfortunately, I cannot find the manual for the above. Could someone help me, please? 73, Luciano PT9KK _______________________________________________ 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 difficultly switching to CW
by Tom Schaefer 29 Feb '20

29 Feb '20

I am using SatPC32 on my 9700 with version 12.8d. When I click on the CW- option on screen to switch to CW, the radio does not change. Instead, the title of the window changes to 1524 1504. I thought I saw mention of a patch after revision d but the website indicates no patches. I do have a CW entry in the DOPPLER.SQF file. This happened for different satellites all with a CW entry. Thanks Tom NY4I Principal Solutions Architect Better Software Solutions, Inc. 727-437-2771

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APRS for Android?
by Steve Kristoff 29 Feb '20

29 Feb '20

Does anyone know of an up-to-date APRS app for Android? The original APRSdroid doesn't have very good reviews in the Google app store and apparently hasn't been supported for a couple of years. Steve AI9IN

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FS: Diamond Diplexer for TS2000, FT847, FT736 and other sat rigs
by John Geiger 29 Feb '20

29 Feb '20

I have for sale a Diamond MX-72N which has 1 input (SO239) and splits it into 160-2m on one lead (PL259 plug) and 70cm on the other lead (N male connector). Great for using the Kenwood TS2000, FT847, FT736, Icom 910, etc with 1 dualband antenna. These sell new for $50 plus shipping. I am asking $30 shipped and can take paypal/check/MO.

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Gulf Alpha Antenna Manual
by Luciano Gasparini 29 Feb '20

29 Feb '20

Some years ago I bought a Gulf Alpha 2m/70cm antenna from the factory. I never had the proper location to assemble it until recently. Unfortunately, I cannot find the manual for the above. Could someone help me, please? 73, Luciano PT9KK

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1.2/430 duplexer
by Bob Cutter 28 Feb '20

28 Feb '20

Anyone using one with Alinco handi? 72, Bob KI0G Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

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DL88 K5Z March 16/17 - Rove Update
by Ron Bondy 28 Feb '20

28 Feb '20

I've updated the K5Z page at QRZ.COM with information on the grids we are planning to activate as part of the DL88 rove. If everything works out we will activate 27 grids in total. Doug N6UA will be activating a lot of grids on the drive to and from Cheyenne WY to Big Bend National Park DL88. Josh W3ARD and I will be activating grids on the drive from San Antonio to DL88 on Sunday March 16th. Details can be found here: K5Z Callsign Page | | | | | | | | | | | K5Z Callsign Page K5Z personal biography | | | Thanks to everyone for all of the support, we really appreciate it. Special thanks to Casey KI7UNJ over at @hambadges for making us up a nice graphic for the expedition. Thanks Casey! 73 Josh W3ARD, Doug N6UA, Ron AD0DX

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Upcoming ARISS contact with River Ridge High School, New Port Richey, FL
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 28 Feb '20

28 Feb '20

REISSUE OF THE CONTACT PRESS RELEASE FOR RIVER RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL, NEW PORT RICHEY, FL. Please note that the contact date of March 3 was left out of the text on the original press release. This copy replaces the previous release. An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at River Ridge High School, New Port Richey, FL. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:17 UTC on 03 March. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and WA3YFQ. The contact should be audible over the state of Florida and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Story: River Ridge High School's sprawling 120 acre campus is located Pasco County, Florida. River Ridge strives to provide their 1700 students with the highest degree of instructional excellence while recognizing the unique needs and developing the abilities of every student. Through the cooperative efforts of family, school, and community, students are prepared to be responsible, productive citizens and life-long learners. River Ridge is the home to five career academies, including the New Teaching, New Media and Communications, Engineering, Business, and Fine Arts and Musical Entertainment, each of which is designed to prepare students for future careers. Many of the academy students earn valuable industry certifications before graduating. Students also have the opportunity to earn college credit or an AA degree through their extensive Advanced Placement program and dual-enrollment opportunities both on campus and at Pasco Hernando State College. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Are any effects of climate change visible from the ISS? 2. What goes through your mind on the launch pad? 3. How do you protect yourself against harmful radiation? 4. When on the ISS, what is your favorite free time activity? 5. Why do you periodically have to adjust the orbit of the ISS? 6. What new perspective about planet earth have you gained after being on the ISS? 7. Does space really smell like gun powder? 8. If something could be invented tomorrow that would help you on the ISS, what would it be? 9. Our experiment will be arriving on the ISS on mission 14 and we'd like to know if astronauts receive any medications for diseases they are susceptible to on the ISS? 10. What was most challenging obstacle for you during training? 11. What happens if there is a medical emergency that involves a surgery? 12. Do you have a reaction wheel on the ISS? 13. What is most interesting conspiracy theory you've heard about space? 14. After being on the ISS, would you want to go to Mars? 15. How do you water the plants in Veggie? 16. Are you limited to a maximum weight of personal stuff you can take? 17. Do you ever get motion sickness? 18. Does anyone play an instrument while on the ISS? 19. What advice would you give a student wanting to be an astronaut? 20. What was most challenging about your first day? 21. What is the one food you dream about? 22. Do you think we need to clean up space debris? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): TBD 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 (STEM) 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. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN

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Upcoming ARISS contact with River Ridge High School, New Port Richey, FL
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 28 Feb '20

28 Feb '20

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at River Ridge High School, New Port Richey, FL. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:17 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and WA3YFQ. The contact should be audible over the state of Florida and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Story: River Ridge High School's sprawling 120 acre campus is located Pasco County, Florida. River Ridge strives to provide their 1700 students with the highest degree of instructional excellence while recognizing the unique needs and developing the abilities of every student. Through the cooperative efforts of family, school, and community, students are prepared to be responsible, productive citizens and life-long learners. River Ridge is the home to five career academies, including the New Teaching, New Media and Communications, Engineering, Business, and Fine Arts and Musical Entertainment, each of which is designed to prepare students for future careers. Many of the academy students earn valuable industry certifications before graduating. Students also have the opportunity to earn college credit or an AA degree through their extensive Advanced Placement program and dual-enrollment opportunities both on campus and at Pasco Hernando State College. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Are any effects of climate change visible from the ISS? 2. What goes through your mind on the launch pad? 3. How do you protect yourself against harmful radiation? 4. When on the ISS, what is your favorite free time activity? 5. Why do you periodically have to adjust the orbit of the ISS? 6. What new perspective about planet earth have you gained after being on the ISS? 7. Does space really smell like gun powder? 8. If something could be invented tomorrow that would help you on the ISS, what would it be? 9. Our experiment will be arriving on the ISS on mission 14 and we'd like to know if astronauts receive any medications for diseases they are susceptible to on the ISS? 10. What was most challenging obstacle for you during training? 11. What happens if there is a medical emergency that involves a surgery? 12. Do you have a reaction wheel on the ISS? 13. What is most interesting conspiracy theory you've heard about space? 14. After being on the ISS, would you want to go to Mars? 15. How do you water the plants in Veggie? 16. Are you limited to a maximum weight of personal stuff you can take? 17. Do you ever get motion sickness? 18. Does anyone play an instrument while on the ISS? 19. What advice would you give a student wanting to be an astronaut? 20. What was most challenging about your first day? 21. What is the one food you dream about? 22. Do you think we need to clean up space debris? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): TBD 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 (STEM) 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. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN

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Icom 9700 1.2gig (23cm) Mode
by Sloan Davis 28 Feb '20

28 Feb '20

Has anyone experienced any malfunction in transmitting on their Icom 9700 on the 1.2 gig (L-Band Mode)? My SWR’s are registering 3+ and I’ve changed antennas twice with direct connection/ connectors using N adapters. I’m using LMR 400 coaxial (50 foot) run. The power coming out of the radio is 8 watts via dummy load/meter. The antenna is from M2 and requires no tuning. Not sure what else I can do? Sloan (KN4GQB

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SATpc32 and IC-9700 operational question
by Michael Walker 27 Feb '20

27 Feb '20

Question on operational methods as I am a new to Linear Satellite QSO's. I have an IC-9700 with a tracking antenna using SATpc32. All work just fine. As soon as I am able to access the bird, I 'net' my frequency so I can hear myself naturally by tuning in the SATpc32 CAT menu as outlined in the manual. I have made a number of qso's and some it is clear they are SATpc32 to adjust both the the both VFO's so that the frequency at the satellite remains the same. However, in other QSO's I have let SATpc32 do its thing, adjusting the VFO's while using the RIT of the radio to chase the other station. That results in our QSO taking up more and more of the bird's bandwidth. My ask to the seasoned group here is am I doing it the right way or is there different schools of thought on this? It seems like you'd want both parties on the same frequency at the satellite at the same time. Thanks in advance and I appreciate any Elmering Mike va3mw

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APRS sats with the TH-D74A?
by Steve Kristoff 27 Feb '20

27 Feb '20

Is anyone using the Kenwood TH-D74A, say with an Arrow antenna, to work the APRS sats (ISS, AISAT, etc.)? If so, what are your thoughts? Is it worth a try? Steve AI9IN

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Possible amateur radio restrictions at White Sands National Park
by Dan Eggert 27 Feb '20

27 Feb '20

Thanks James KK6MC and Brook N8OCX for the heads up on the possible amateur radio restrictions at White Sands National Park. I have been operating on the amateur satellites for over 2 years now and I am within 15 miles from White Sands National Park, Holloman AFB and the missile range. Based on the information you have brought to my attention I should not have any problems. I will look for any posted signs and see if the Park rangers have any information on the subject. 73 Dan - AC9E Sent from my iPad

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Possible UHF restrictions at White Sands National Park
by Dan Eggert 27 Feb '20

27 Feb '20

Thanks James KK6MC and Brook N8OCX for the heads up on the possible Amateur radio frequency restrictions at the White Sands National Park. I have been operating on the satellites for over 2 years now and I am within 15 miles of White Sands, Holloman AFB and the missile range. Based on the information you have provided I should not have a problem. I have been there several times in the past 20 years and I don’t recall seeing any signs on frequency restrictions. I will look for any signs and take pictures if I see one. I will see if the Park Rangers can give me any info on this subject. 73 Dan - AC9E Sent from my iPad

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Re: [amsat-bb] Restrictions to UHF operation at White Sands National Park
by cbs045＠charter.net 27 Feb '20

27 Feb '20

Hi James, Great information. I remember seeing the signs around White Sands back in the late 80's when I lived in ABQ and liked working AO-27 mobile. Last time I worked in the area a couple years ago I remember seeing the signs again and being surprised they are still there. I think they are located near the beginning and end of Route 70 near White Sands and Alamagordo. Thanks for the reply. Regards, N8OCX -----------------------------------------From: "JamesDuffey" To: cbs045(a)charter.net Cc: "Dan Eggert", "amsat-bb(a)amsat.org" Sent: Thursday February 27 2020 8:15:48AM Subject: Restrictions to UHF operation at White Sands National Park One can legally operate at 50 Watts output or less on 70cm at the White Sands National Park and in the vicinity of White Sands Missile Range, but not on the range itself. So, you should be OK for satellite operation from the park if you stay under 50 Watts. Output EIRP, that is the the type of antenna used, does not matter. Yes, I know that doesn’t make sense. The only outright prohibition on amateur operation in that area is on 902MHz. These restrictions are specified in “ FCC ONLINE TABLE OF FREQUENCY ALLOCATIONS 47 C.F.R. § 2.106” footnotes US270 and US275, available on-line at < [1]https://transition.fcc.gov/oet/spectrum/table/fcctable.pdf [2] > If there are posted signs indicating otherwise in the public access area of White Sands National Park, or public right of way near the White Sands MissIle Range, but not on the range itself, indicating otherwise, I would like to see a photograph of such a sign with its location clearly identified. Of course, on the base proper they can limit your operation as they see fit, as you are subject to military oversight there, but for the public access to the areas around the range, including the park, the restrictions in the table apply. If you are not on the base proper and you stick to Links: ------ [1] https://transition.fcc.gov/oet/spectrum/table/fcctable.pdf [2] https://transition.fcc.gov/oet/spectrum/table/fcctable.pdf [3] http://www.nmvhf.org/restrictions.pdf [4] http://www.nmvhf.org/restrictions.pdf [5] https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: [amsat-bb] Rove to White Sands National Park in DM62
by cbs045＠charter.net 27 Feb '20

27 Feb '20

Thanks Jackie for the correction. I was looking at the wrong satellite on the frequency guide. That said, for Dan and working AO-91 anywhere near White Sands, beware of the frequency use restrictions. I'm sure others know more about this. 73 de N8OCX -----------------------------------------From: "Jackie Dander" To: "cbs045(a)charter.net" Cc: Sent: Thursday February 27 2020 7:29:11AM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Rove to White Sands National Park in DM62 AMSAT site declares U or L is only uplink available for AO-92 and not AO-91. Plus, it says AI-92 is command selectable for U or L but not both at same time for uplink. How can you know in advance which uplink frequency AO-92 is using for next pass?IsaacW4ITC On Thursday, February 27, 2020, Brook Smith via AMSAT-BB wrote: Hello Dan, The entire area around White Sands and the Holloman AFB have posted signs restricting use of UHF transmissions including frequencies used for amateur satellite uplinks. If you are planning to uplink on L mode, 1267.359, you should have no problem. Just trying to help you avoid an unexpected visit from Military Police. Good Luck and have fun. Brook Smith - N8OCX -----------------------------------------From: "Dan Eggert via AMSAT-BB" To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org [2] Cc: Sent: Wednesday February 26 2020 8:36:39PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Rove to White Sands National Park in DM62 Hi all, On Friday the 28th I will be at White Sands National Park in Grid DM62. You will hear me on the AO-91 passes at 17:13 and 1847 UTC, and the AO-92 passes at 17:26 and 19:02 UTC. Dan Eggert - AC9E Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org [3]. 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: _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org [4]. 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: [5]https://www.amsat.org/mailman/ [6]listinfo/amsat-bb Links: ------ [1] mailto:[email protected] [2] mailto:[email protected] [3] mailto:[email protected] [4] mailto:[email protected] [5] https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb [6] https://www.amsat.org/mailman/

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Re: [amsat-bb] Rove to White Sands National Park in DM62
by cbs045＠charter.net 27 Feb '20

27 Feb '20

Hello Dan, The entire area around White Sands and the Holloman AFB have posted signs restricting use of UHF transmissions including frequencies used for amateur satellite uplinks. If you are planning to uplink on L mode, 1267.359, you should have no problem. Just trying to help you avoid an unexpected visit from Military Police. Good Luck and have fun. Brook Smith - N8OCX -----------------------------------------From: "Dan Eggert via AMSAT-BB" To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Cc: Sent: Wednesday February 26 2020 8:36:39PM Subject: [amsat-bb] Rove to White Sands National Park in DM62 Hi all, On Friday the 28th I will be at White Sands National Park in Grid DM62. You will hear me on the AO-91 passes at 17:13 and 1847 UTC, and the AO-92 passes at 17:26 and 19:02 UTC. Dan Eggert - AC9E Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ 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:

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Re: [amsat-bb] Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch
by Gregory Beat 27 Feb '20

27 Feb '20

The addition of the ARISS IORS payload entry and it’s prominence in Wikipedia’s CRS-20 page was my editing work, that I just finished last week. I serve as a “WikiGnome”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiGnome A WikiGnome is a wiki user who makes useful incremental edits without clamouring for attention. WikiGnomes work behind the scenes of a wiki, tying up little loose ends and making things run more smoothly. — greg, w9gb AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-UK == Date: Wed, 26 Feb 2020 06:13:44 -0500 From: <ka3hdo(a)gmail.com> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch All, The spouse of ARISS Hardware team member Ed Krome, K9EK, pointed out that the ARISS next generation radio system (InterOperable Radio System--IORS) is prominently described as a primary payload (note: not secondary) on the SpaceX CRS-20 mission which will be launched no earlier than March 6 (ET). See the Wikipedia URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_CRS-20. The ARISS Team wants to express our heartfelt thanks to all of you that have contributed to helping us realize this major milestone. It should be noted that the ARISS hardware team is still very busy on IORS development and final certification. While certified for launch and stowage on ISS, are still in deep into the final certification of the IORS forflight operations. Also, our build of the second flight unit is in progress in Florida and San Diego. So while CRS-20 represents the launch of SN 1001-our first flight unit--it also represents the beginning of the "ARISS factory build" and certification of all 10 units. ARISS-helping AMSAT and all our partners keep Amateur Radio in Space! Note: November 13, 2020 will represent the 20th year of ARISS continuous amateur radio operation on ISS!! 73, Frank KA3HDO

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Rove to White Sands National Park in DM62
by Dan Eggert 27 Feb '20

27 Feb '20

Hi all, On Friday the 28th I will be at White Sands National Park in Grid DM62. You will hear me on the AO-91 passes at 17:13 and 1847 UTC, and the AO-92 passes at 17:26 and 19:02 UTC. Dan Eggert - AC9E Sent from my iPad

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Re: [amsat-bb] PSAT3 launch coming in Mid March
by Roy Dean 26 Feb '20

26 Feb '20

> > See: http://aprs.org/psat3.html This is my last, as I will retire in > June. Bob, WB4APR Bob, I'm hoping for good things, and very much look forward to this launch. Hope you are feeling well, too. --Roy K3RLD

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Re: [amsat-bb] Northrop Grumman Successfully Completes Historic First Docking of Mission Extension Vehicle with Intelsat 901 Satellite
by Roy Dean 26 Feb '20

26 Feb '20

> > The pictures are amazing: > https://news.northropgrumman.com/multimedia/photo/Space/space-systems/space… > 73, John Brier KG4AKV There are some off-color jokes to be made about that docking method. Ahem. Nice work by Northrup Grumman, though. That's an amazing achievement. --Roy K3RLD

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Northrop Grumman Successfully Completes Historic First Docking of Mission Extension Vehicle with Intelsat 901 Satellite
by John Brier 26 Feb '20

26 Feb '20

https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/releases/northrop-grumman-successfull… The pictures are amazing: https://news.northropgrumman.com/multimedia/photo/Space/space-systems/space… 73, John Brier KG4AKV

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Fwd: What happened to mode L/v on AO-92?
by Mark L. Hammond 26 Feb '20

26 Feb '20

Looks like a reset! So it goes back to U/v...blame the space particles ;) Mark N8MH On Wed, Feb 26, 2020 at 2:13 PM Ronald Parsons via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > Ron W5RKN > > > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions > expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of > AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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What happened to mode L/v on AO-92?
by Ronald Parsons 26 Feb '20

26 Feb '20

Ron W5RKN

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Othernet North America frequency change.
by KC9SGV 26 Feb '20

26 Feb '20

Hi All, If you are experimenting with GEOsatellite ops on Othernet in an effort to gain skills towards GEOX4, then be aware of the new frequency change. 12.1032 GHz, (also try 12.1028 GHz, as this works better for my Octagon 3 Green LNB), - as opposed to the old 11.904 GHz. Beam type now 164. Make the manual changes in the Custom tab, then go back to the Satellite tab, change the area to Custom, as opposed to North America. Then hit Apply. Reboot Skylark and the DreamCatcher receiver board. Othernet: https://othernet.is Bernard, KC9SGV Sent from my iPad

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Raspberry pi help
by James Brown 26 Feb '20

26 Feb '20

Hey Guys I want to convert my station to raspberry PI 3B computer configured as follows: Gpredict software IC-9700 transceiver G5500 rotorERC-M rotor control interface. Can anyone provide insight on a successful installation. Problem 1. ERC-M only supported by windows. 2. have not found a IC9700 config. for Gpredict.Any suggestions including a workable rotor interface. Jim KI6WJPS all works fine on windows but i want to switch to Raspberry!

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Upcoming SpaceX CRS-20 Launch
by ka3hdo＠gmail.com 26 Feb '20

26 Feb '20

All, The spouse of ARISS Hardware team member Ed Krome, K9EK, pointed out that the ARISS next generation radio system (InterOperable Radio System--IORS) is prominently described as a primary payload (note: not secondary) on the SpaceX CRS-20 mission which will be launched no earlier than March 6 (ET). See the Wikipedia URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_CRS-20. The ARISS Team wants to express our heartfelt thanks to all of you that have contributed to helping us realize this major milestone. It should be noted that the ARISS hardware team is still very busy on IORS development and final certification. While certified for launch and stowage on ISS, are still in deep into the final certification of the IORS for flight operations. Also, our build of the second flight unit is in progress in Florida and San Diego. So while CRS-20 represents the launch of SN 1001-our first flight unit--it also represents the beginning of the "ARISS factory build" and certification of all 10 units. ARISS-helping AMSAT and all our partners keep Amateur Radio in Space! Note: November 13, 2020 will represent the 20th year of ARISS continuous amateur radio operation on ISS!! 73, Frank KA3HDO -------------------------------------------- Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO ISS Ham Radio Program Manager & PI ARISS International Chair AMSAT V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-02-26 02:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 25 Feb '20

25 Feb '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-02-26 02:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: River Ridge High School, New Port Richey, FL, direct via WA3YFQ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is a go for Option #4: Tue 2020-03-03 15:17:44 UTC 51 deg (***) 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) 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 2020-02-26 02:00 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 2020-02-25 19:00 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 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 1384. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1317. (***) 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. 60 on orbit Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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PSAT3 launch coming in Mid March
by Robert Bruninga 25 Feb '20

25 Feb '20

PSAT3 launch coming in Mid March. Delvery due next week! It will be in a 98 degree 450 km orbit with access times at most nominal latitudes of a pair of passes twice a day separated by about 12 hours. It is nearly identical to PSAT2 but without the PSK31 transponder and without the stupid voltage error on the VHF xmtr that killed VHF on PSAT2. Functions are DTMF-to-VOICE/APRS downlink, (DTMF for grids and special messages) so any radio with a DTMF memory can be used. It will also have an SSTV camera (also on VHF). It can also Speak APRS uplinked messages. It will last less than a year as it remains attached to the rocket body and is not deployed. It is built into a PPOD shaped box and bolted to the front of the rocket body. Attitude is uncontrolled (as weill be temepratures... fingers crossed). See: http://aprs.org/psat3.html This is my last, as I will retire in June. Bob, WB4APR

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Rencontre Spatial Radioamateur 7 et 8 mars 2020
by christophe.mcr 25 Feb '20

25 Feb '20

Dear all This message is mainly for french speaking people. On the weekend of March 7 & March 2020, AMSAT-Francophone organizes the third edition of the event : "Rencontre Spatial Radioamateur" This event takes place at Electrolab in Nanterre (France) near Paris. During these days will take place : - more than 20 conferences - more than 23 contributors - 12 free subjects (Grid) - 2 workshops If you wish to participate, book your places via the following link: http://site.amsat-f.org/2020/02/23/rencontre-spatial-radioamateur-7-et-8-ma… <http://site.amsat-f.org/2020/02/23/rencontre-spatial-radioamateur-7-et-8-ma….> The event will be broadcast on the internet and on QO100. 73 Christophe AMSAT-F President

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Re: [amsat-bb] New FM repeater satellite planned: MEMESat-1
by Dwayne Sinclair 25 Feb '20

25 Feb '20

In my humble opinion, image capabilities in general will be a nice addition, but the new bird all by itself won’t be any more accessible to students than any of the existing birds available today. To help the hobby, we need to be developing and publishing projects/lesson plans that teachers can use as a foundation for activities for a school club at various grade levels. When I setup and run portable, I have all people young and old asking about what I am doing because it “looks cool”. Standing around with a pair of headphones on waiving an antenna around is not that appealing to anyone - its difficult and tiring. Regards Dwayne NA6US Redondo Beach, California

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