- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Fwd: Larry Brown celebration of life
by Ray Soifer 22 Jan '19

22 Jan '19

Sorry to have to report this 73 W2RS -----Original Message----- From: Michael <1mrcasey(a)gmail.com> To: Michael <1mrcasey(a)gmail.com> Sent: Mon, Jan 21, 2019 10:30 am Subject: Larry Brow celebration of life  Fellow SADXA members, It is with great sadness that I report the death of long time SADXA member Larry Brown, W7LB. Larry was also our the Secretary / Treasurer for many years. There will be a celebration and Larry‘s life for family and friends at his house. It will be held, Tuesday January 22nd between 4:00PM and 7:00PM. The address is: 10580 E Pinal VistaTucson, AZ 85730 Here is a URL for a map. I think the best way to get there is to start off E. Old Spanish Trail and then turn South on S. Avenida Los Reyes and then turn West on E. Pinal Vista. Much of the road is dirt as is the driveway. https://www.google.com/search?q=google+map+10580+Pinal+vista%2C+tucson&rlz=… 73,Mike -

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Fox Delta ST-2 orders and delivery?
by Bob Hammond 21 Jan '19

21 Jan '19

Anyone have experience with delivery time for a Fox Delta ST-2 satellite antenna controller? I ordered mine on Dec 28 and still haven't received it yet.

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TS Systems - Model 4450G 180w 440 MHz Amp
by Paul Andrews 21 Jan '19

21 Jan '19

Satellite OPs: I have a 440 MHz amp available: TE Systems - Model 4450G Input: 5-10w / Output: 180w DC Power: +13.8vdc / Amps: 30 amps max Connectors: N-type (in/out) RF Sense Switching Integrated Preamp Astron SS-50 Power Supply 73 - Paul - W2HRO

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Illegal downlink in the 70 cm band
by Nico Janssen 21 Jan '19

21 Jan '19

A Chinese CZ-4B rocket booster or, more likely, some payload attached to it, appears to have a telemetry downlink on 432.0836 MHz. It is object 43656, 2018-081B. 73, Nico PA0DLO

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TE Systems - 436 MHz - 180w
by Paul Andrews 20 Jan '19

20 Jan '19

TE Systems - 436 MHz - 180w SSPA with internal preamp. RF sensing T/R switching. For Sale $425. 73 - Paul - W2HRO

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CORRECTION to the earlier press release for Ashbury College Junior School, Ottawa, ON, Canada
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 20 Jan '19

20 Jan '19

Please note a mistake in the event date listing in the ARISS contact press release issued earlier today for Ashbury College Junior School, Ottawa, ON, Canada. The correct scheduled contact date is this Wednesday, January 23 and not February 23 as previously posted. I apologize for this oversight. Dave, AA4KN ARISS PR --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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rotor question
by mikflathead＠aol.com 20 Jan '19

20 Jan '19

My elevation rotor has the tapped holes on both sides. Not sure if this is a 5400 or 5500. Mike

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Ashbury College Junior School, Ottawa, ON, Canada
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 20 Jan '19

20 Jan '19

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Ashbury College Junior School, Ottawa, ON, Canada on 23 Feb. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 19:51 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 VK5ZAI. The contact should be audible over Australia 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. The Ashbury College Junior School is a co-ed independent school with 180 students from grades 4-8 in Ottawa. Our school's motto, Honesty, Courage and Kindness, is lived every day by our students. Our students work hard in their academic courses and also participate in a wide variety of co-curricular programs and trips at the local, national and international levels. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. When you launched into space and during flight did the sound from the launch hurt your ears? 2. Sound travels to your ear on Earth by vibrating air molecules. Would you be able to communicate with another astronaut outside of the ISS without the use of a two-way radio? 3. Does light and sound travel at the same rate in space as it does on Earth? 4. What mental and physical training do you have to go through to prepare for life on the ISS? 5. How thick are the walls on the ISS? 6. How are the materials that are used to build structures in space changing? 7. How do you monitor space junk and meteors aboard the ISS to avoid collisions? 8. Every astronaut describes lift-off as having so much pressure on the body. Why don't you suffer from the bends as the pressure is relieved once you are in space, as divers do? 9. What experiments are you currently doing in space? And how will they affect us on Earth? 10. How does the ISS maintain its temperature? What type of insulation does it use? 11. What temperature is it up in space, what is the coldest temperature you have witnessed? 12. Does the heat in space change dramatically when the ISS is near the sun? 13. Is space just really cold or does it have no temperature? 14. Does the lack of gravity on the ISS cause astronauts any pain? 15. How did the ISS get up to space and what is it made of? 16. How does your blood flow in space? Does your heart pump blood differently in space? 17. How do you maintain the carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the ISS? 18. What happens when fluids collide aboard the ISS? 19. Can you see hurricanes or tsunamis from space? 20. How do you recycle the water? How long would you have, without water filtration, before you would need to be rescued? 21. How do you clean up floating liquids if they spill? 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): TDB 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) 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 informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.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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Yaesu rotor parts needed
by mikflathead＠aol.com 20 Jan '19

20 Jan '19

Would anyone have the bracket and hardware that allows the elevation rotor to mount to the azimuth rotor. There is an L bracket and some bolts. I could make one but would like to try this first. Thanks Mike

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EM14
by af5cc2 19 Jan '19

19 Jan '19

I am currently in EM14 for the 2230Z XW2D and XW2C passes 73 John AF5CC Sent from my U.S. Cellular® Smartphone

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Office Closed
by Martha 18 Jan '19

18 Jan '19

The AMSAT Office will be closed on Monday, January 21 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day. -- 73- Martha

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NEXUS over Brazil - By PT9KK
by Luciano Gasparini 18 Jan '19

18 Jan '19

Mr. Akira Kaneko, JA1OGZ, I just heard NEXUS satellite over Brazil. I'm located at GG29rm in western Brazil about 346Km from Paraguay and 411Km from Bolivia. An Yaesu FT-817ND with a dual band antenna attached to the front BNC jack were used. Signals were loud and clear along the whole pass (max. elev. was 14.3°) I'm uploading the video onto YouTube as I write this email. You might want to search for my PT9KK videos and watch it in few minutes. 73, Luciano Gasparini Nachif - PT9KK Rua Gardenia 224 - Casa 1-2-3 Chácara Cachoeira Campo Grande MS 79040-570 Brazil

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preliminary TLE data for NEXUS sat (jan-17)
by ok2gz 18 Jan '19

18 Jan '19

Nexus cubesat will be launched on January 17, 2019. In document <a href="http://sat.aero.cst.nihon-u.ac.jp/nexus/download/About_initial_operation_im…">About_initial_operation_immediately_after_separation_e.pdf</a> from ANS-006 AMSAT NEWS SERVICE are given the preliminary TLE data. NEXUS 1 99999U 99999A 19017.08394676 0.00000000 00000-0 00000-0 0 9991 2 99999 97.2400 80.2200 0010290 211.2310 184.0310 15.23623214 09 The TLE data depends on the exact positions of each item. Positions are compromised when copying documents. Such damaged TLE data are not in sat programs as GPredict) processed. The repair is simple. Just compare the positions of dots and dashes in TLE data and move items to the correct positions. Already for FOX-1D I wrote a TLEdoctor program that can display flawed positions and can easily be corrected by comparing with the template. After repair, GPredict data can be uploaded and we can take all advantages of our sat program during the first pass. TLE doctor: http://oscar.ok2gz.eu/fox1d.php Yet planned orbit params for NEXUS period: 94.515 min apogeum : 502.1 km perigeum: 489.0 km max qso length: 4904 km inclination: 97.24 degrees 73 jarda ok2gz --- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. https://www.avg.com

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Upcoming Satellite Operations
by Robert Bankston 18 Jan '19

18 Jan '19

Attention Grid Chasers: Our rovers aren't let Ol' Man Winter slow them down. There's a lot happening in the next couple of months. For all the latest news, check out the Upcoming Satellite Operations page on the AMSAT website. https://www.amsat.org/satellite-info/upcoming-satellite-operations/ 73 and Good Hunting, Robert Bankston, KE4AL AMSAT-NA VP of User Services Twitter: @KE4ALabama Website: KE4AL.wordpress.com

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AO-7
by Ray Soifer 17 Jan '19

17 Jan '19

An AO-7 pass went by here (DM41) a few minutes ago. It was in Mode A and the 29 MHz beacon was quite strong, an honest RST 579 on my Elecraft KX3 receiver and Hy-Gain AV620 elevated vertical antenna. So where was the activity? 73 Ray W2RS

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Epsilon launch procedure
by Masahiro Arai 17 Jan '19

17 Jan '19

Here is the 4th Epsilon Rocket launch procedure summary. Happy chasing!! Event T Altitude HH:MM:SS km -------------------------------------------------- liftoff 00:00:00 0 RAPIS-1 separation 00:51:55 514 RISESat separation 01:03:20 510 MicroDragon separation 01:05:00 511 OrigamiSat-1 separation 01:06:40 512 NEXUS, AOBA-VELOX-4 separation 01:08:20 514 ALE-1 separation 01:10:00 516 Source: Rocket Launch Plan by JAXA Nov 2018 Separation location of OrigamiSat-1, NEXUS and AOBA-VELOX-4 is over east of Florida to North Carolina.. 73 Masa JN1GKZ

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THINSAT projects?
by Robert Bruninga 16 Jan '19

16 Jan '19

Anyone on the AMSAT BB working on a THINSAT? Bob, WB4APR

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Orlando
by Jeff kb2m 16 Jan '19

16 Jan '19

Who's going to Orlando this year? 73 Jeff kb2m

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Does anyone have an email for VE5SWL?
by johnv＠frontier.com 16 Jan '19

16 Jan '19

Thank you John N7AME

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W5PFG/p in February: DM80, DM70-71, DL79, DL89
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 16 Jan '19

16 Jan '19

February 10-14, I'll be operating satellites daily in vacation-mode from grid DM80. I will operate a few passes from grids DM70, DM71, DL79, and DL89. Those specific passes will be advertised on Twitter @w5pfg. Remember, you don't need to be a Twitter user to see my feed. Just visit http://www.twitter.com/w5pfg to see my Tweets. 73 Clayton W5PFG

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DM41 and DM42 Rove
by Ruth Willet 16 Jan '19

16 Jan '19

Good evening, I will be traveling with my family to Arizona from January 17th to 21st, 2019! We will be staying in DM42, and I hope to be on various FM birds while we are there. I don’t know the exact passes I’ll be on, but I will try to post before passes if anyone needs the grid. On Friday, January 18th, we will have a Arizona satellite meet up at the Titan Missile Museum! My mom Sharon KM4TVU and me, Patrick WD9EWK, Fernando NP4JV, and possibly Chris K7TAB will be on this Titan Satellite Rove. We plan to operate on the 16:47z AO-92, 17:53z AO-91, and 18:20z AO-92 passes from DM41. We also hope to get on HF using the discone antenna onsite a little later in the day. For those of you who are chasing the AMSAT 50th anniversary awards, you can easily earn your AMSAT on HF 50th Anniversary Award by working us! http://www.titanmissilemuseum.org/ham-radio-operators Hope to hear you on the air! 73, Ruth KM4LAO

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Cross yagi question
by Hans BX2ABT 15 Jan '19

15 Jan '19

Should the elements of a RHCP cross yagi be centered at the boom, or should they be off center so that the middle of the H and V elements cross each other in the middle? My gut feeling says off center, but I'm not sure. I wonder how this influences the SWR. Cheers, Hans BX2ABT

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UWE-4 ?
by cchunter3＠mindspring.com 15 Jan '19

15 Jan '19

heard nothing this am in western US during: 1754 & 1932 passes. the 1932 pass I mon both freq. I was able to decode 3 previous passes with the new freq. using object 43880 seems to have been working. 73 Christy KB6LTY -------------- Hi Gustavo! I can confirm that - also nothing heard over Europe today (on both frequencies). 73 Mike DK3WN -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: AMSAT-BB [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces at amsat.org] Im Auftrag von Scott Gesendet: 15 January 2019 18:29 An: AMSAT BB Betreff: Re: [amsat-bb] UWE-4 ? Hi Gustavo! I believe that 9k6 telemetry has been reported several times since the frequency change. There are so many satellites clustered together right now that I don't monitor UWE-4 on every pass, so I can't give any first-hand report on its status today - I was tracking others in that group. Personally, I keep hoping to catch the 9k6 packet digipeater active on UWE-4! I already have 5 memory channels programmed "WD9EWK-style" with the appropriate TX & RX frequencies which I'll manually step through during a pass. My TM-V71A calls these "odd-split" channels; I would imagine other radios allow for similar programming. Hope to make some contacts via UWE-4's digipeater if/when it goes active! -Scott, K4KDR ======================= On Tue, Jan 15, 2019 at 11:51 AM Gustavo Carpignano via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote: > Hi, > Nothing heard of UWE-4 in 435.600 Mhz over South America. > Any news since the frecuency changed? > 73 Gustavo,LW2DTZ

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UWE-4 ?
by Gustavo Carpignano 15 Jan '19

15 Jan '19

Hi, Nothing heard of UWE-4 in 435.600 Mhz over South America. Any news since the frecuency changed? 73 Gustavo,LW2DTZ

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 14, Issue 2
by Mr B r a d 15 Jan '19

15 Jan '19

Dan FYIfound I needed to unplug and reconnect the USB cable to the rs232 quad converter after using wsjt-x to get it talking with satpc32 /ts2000 again.also found that one of the ports would never work correctly and after picking the next porteverything started working and many sat qso's 1. Re: Kenwood TS2000 control versus Icom IC9100 (Rolf Krogstad) 2. New Horizons reaches Ultima Thule tonight (Daniel Schultz)> I have been fighting with this TS 2000 keeping my connection with the pc > going. > I am about ready to deep six this thing. > I have gone to a true IO card for the serial connection, Not a USB > converter, changed the speeds to match in the settings in both radio and > pc. tried different ports and things like that and at times it will track > fair and then other times it does not do anything.program NOVA will do a special show about the Ultima Thule encounter on Wednesday evening on your local Public Broadcasting station (in the USA at least). Dan Schultz N8FGV ------------------------------

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Yaesu G-5500 Set
by Vincenzo Mone 15 Jan '19

15 Jan '19

Hello, today I was trying to set the full scale of the Elevation and Azimuth of my Yaesu G-5500 Control box.. For mistake instead to turn the FULL SCALE ADJ pot I have Turned the OUT VOLTAGE ADJ one. Now I am not sure if I have reset it to the right position. Please anybody can tell me how to see if it is positioned in the right position? If I need to re set it again can I do it from the shack also with the antennas mounted Or I need to do it without antennas? If I can do it also with the antenna mounted, Which is the right procedure or is there a tutorial? Thanks Also I do not know if it is normal that when I go to move the elevation from 0°, I see that the needle does not move strait away but after a couple of seconds that I am pressing The elevation button. Is that normal? Thanks once more 73 de Enzo IK8OZV EasyLog 5 BetaTester EasyLog PDA BetaTester WinBollet BetaTester D.C.I. CheckPoint Regione Campania Skype: ik8ozv8520 ********************************* ****** GSM +39 328 7110193 ****** ***** SMS +39 328 7110193 ***** *********************************

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-01-15 07:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 15 Jan '19

15 Jan '19

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-01-15 07:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Ashbury College Junior School, Ottawa, ON, Canada, telebridge via VK5ZAI (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***) The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI Contact is go for: Wed 2019-01-23 19:51:36 UTC 22 deg (***) ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS-US program’s education proposal window open Oct. 1 - Nov. 30, 2018 has now closed. The next window should go open in the spring of 2019. The ARISS webpage is at http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. 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, click here. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) ****************************************************************************** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 135 Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 108 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2019-01-15 07:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1286. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1229. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2019-01-09 23:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 58 on orbit Oleg Konenenko David St-Jacques KG5FYI Anne McClain **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Re: [amsat-bb] Home Satellite Station - Antenna Mounting Question
by Ronald G. Parsons 14 Jan '19

14 Jan '19

Some time ago, when I was in this situation, I put one of the Glen Martin roof top towers on the floor of my attic and had a roofing company put a roof jack in the roof just above the tower. I mounted the azimuth part of a Yaesu 5400 rotor on the shelf of the tower, ran the mast up through the thrust bearing and out through the roof jack, and put the elevation part of the rotor near the top of the mast. The mast was long enough so the antennas cleared the roof sufficiently. Around the mast just above the roof jack I placed an upside-down funnel-like shape of metal to divert any rain water away from the roof jack. Ron W5RKN

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Home Satellite Station - Antenna Mounting Question
by Paul Overn 14 Jan '19

14 Jan '19

Hello, I will be moving to a new QTH, and have the opportunity to set up a nice satellite home station, but I'm running into some issues in finding information: So far I know I want the "M2 Leo Pack antenna system", with a Yaesu 5500 Elv / Az Rotator. This setup will be mounted directly on the roof of my house. At this time a tower install is out. The issue is: What is the best system for mounting this on the roof? Is there a tripod? or will I need to custom make something? Any help would be appreciated. I have contacted M2 and DX engineering, but each tell me to talk to the other, so not much help there. Also, I still need to buy the rotator and antenna system, so if someone know of these for sale, let me know. Thanks!!!! Paul Overn KE0PBR Twitter: @KE0PBR `·.¸¸.·´¯`·.. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

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Sdrplay setup
by James Brown 14 Jan '19

14 Jan '19

Just bought a sdr1.what setting to I need on Sat32 for downlink receiver? Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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Just got a rsp1a what settings should I use as downlink receiver for sat32?plan to use ft827 for uplink next week at quartzfest and arrow for antenna.
by James Brown 14 Jan '19

14 Jan '19

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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Home satellite station
by WCP 14 Jan '19

14 Jan '19

Paul I just sent you email......You might be interested ? KA9ERV

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Office closed today
by Martha Saragovitza 14 Jan '19

14 Jan '19

Sent from my iPad Due to a foot of snow, the AMSAT Office is closed today. 73 Martha

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OrigamiSat-1 5.8Ghz CubeSat
by Hiroki Nakanishi 13 Jan '19

13 Jan '19

Hello, OrigamiSat-1 (3U CubeSat, JS1YAX) developed by Tokyo Institute of Technology will be launched from the JAXA Uchinoura Space Center on January 17, 2019 with NEXUS and AOBA-Velox-IV into a 500 km sun synchronous orbit. The main purposes of this satellite are: ----- 1. Technology acquisition of high-speed data downlink in 5.8GHz band from a satellite to ground stations 2. On orbit demonstration for deployment of a membrane with SMA (Shape Memory Alloy) antenna. ----- Downlink band: -437.505MHz (20K0F2D (1200bps) and 500HA1A) (Constant use) -5.840GHz (420KF1D (115kbps)) (Emission will be scheduled) Expected TLE will be almost same as NEXUS. OrigamiSat-1 is deployed from rocket 100sec earlier than NEXUS. The detail of the mission and telemetry format are released on our web page. Please visit Origami Project HP http://www.origami.titech.ac.jp/ Thank you. Hiroki Nakanishi (JQ1YCZ) Tokyo Institute of Technology

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IC-9700 manual available
by Alan 13 Jan '19

13 Jan '19

The manual is available in Japanese. http://www.icom.co.jp/support/download/manual/pdf/IC-9700_JPN_IM_0.pdf Thanks to Phil, VK6ADF there is a _rough_ English version. http://www.vklogger.com/forum/IC-9700-ENG-Translated.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0Op6wzZL N1pIGR73SUrF_AnPTGjO6Uz8z4UduVjDmqoNcHnHv4s8VcqJA 73, Alan WA4SCA

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ANS-013 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 12 Jan '19

12 Jan '19

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-013 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. In this edition: * AMSAT 50th Anniversary Awards Program * Fox-1 CubeSat Model Kits Available * CubeSat Airborne Science Payload Standard * UWE-4 CubeSat frequency change request approved * HamSCI 2019 Workshop Set for March in Cleveland, Call for Papers Issued * Nominations Solicited for Six ARRL Awards * AMSAT Argentina Special Event * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-013.01 ANS-013 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 013.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. January 13, 2019 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-013.01 AMSAT 50th Anniversary Awards Program The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (as AMSAT is officially known) was formed March 3, 1969 as a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered in the District of Columbia. Since its founding, AMSAT has designed, constructed, and, with the added assistance of international government and commercial agencies, successfully launched, 20 Amateur Radio satellites into Earth orbit. To help celebrate 50 years of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space, AMSAT is proud to announce the AMSAT 50th Anniversary Awards Program. Throughout 2019, your satellite and HF QSOs can help you achieve one of these special awards: + 50th Anniversary AMSAT OSCAR Satellite Communications Achievement Award + 50th Anniversary AMSAT Satellite Friends of 50 Award + AMSAT on HF 50th Anniversary Award 50th Anniversary AMSAT OSCAR Satellite Communications Achievement Award (Limited Edition) Unlike the AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement Award, the 50th Anniversary AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement Award will be issued on one of the original goldenrod paper stock certificates and signed by AMSAT's founding President, Perry Klein, K3TJE (now W3PK). With only 20 original certificates available, this award will certainly become a collector's item. The first 20 applicants to successfully submit 20 confirmed, qualifying contacts on any satellite will receive this award. A qualifying contact is defined as the establishment of two-way communication on any amateur radio satellite, with another station in a U.S. state, Canadian call area, or DXCC entity, no two of which may be the same. + All contacts must be made between March 03, 2019 00:00 UTC and December 31, 2019 23:59 UTC. + A U.S. state shall mean any state of the United States and the District of Columbia. + The 14 Canadian call areas are VE1 - Nova Scotia, VE2 - Quebec, VE3 - Ontario, VE4 - Manitoba, VE5 - Saskatchewan, VE6 - Alberta, VE7 - British Columbia, VE8 - Northwest Territories, VE9 - New Brunswick, VO1 - Newfoundland, VO2 - Labrador, VY0 - Nunavut, VY1 - Yukon, VY2 - Prince Edward Island. + Only one qualifying contact is allowed for each U.S. state, Canadian call area, and DXCC entity. + Qualifying contacts may not be counted for multiple types of entities. As an example, a QSO with Alaska counts as an additional state or DXCC entity, not both. + Contacts must be made from same location, or from locations, no two of which are more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) apart. + Previous recipients of the AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement Award, may apply for the 50th Anniversary AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement Award. The cost for this award is $25, plus postage. Certificates will be mailed upon receipt of payment. Certificates will be sequentially numbered. To apply for an 50th Anniversary AMSAT OSCAR Satellite Communications Achievement Award, you must email the AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards [kk5do (at) amsat (dot) org]. This email must include: + The name of the award you are applying for as the subject line. + Your name as you wish is to appear on your issued certificate + Your AMSAT member number. If you are not an AMSAT member, then state so. + Attachment(s) providing proof of your qualifying contacts. Acceptable proof of each qualifying contacts is limited to scanned copies of a QSL card or a screen capture/printout of your LoTW confirmation. Acceptable email file attachments include .jpg and .png. You may also paste the images in a Word or Adobe PDF document. After your email application has been accepted and approved, you will receive a reply email instructing you how to make your payment on the AMSAT Online Store. Your certificate will then be sent to you, using the shipping address you used with your online payment. 50th Anniversary AMSAT Satellite Friends of 50 Award To achieve this award, you must work 50 amateur radio operators on any satellite (limit of 1 contact per day) during 2019. There is no requirement for operating at the same location for all contacts, as long as your home call sign is used somewhere in the operating call sign (e.g. KK5DO/MM, KK5DO/VE5, etc.). The cost for this award is $15, plus postage. Certificates will be mailed upon receipt of payment. There will be no sequence number on the certificate. To apply for this award, visit the AMSAT 50th Anniversary Award section in the AMSAT Online Store and select the 50th Anniversary AMSAT Satellite Friends of 50 Award. In the comment section, enter or copy and paste the required log information, which must include: (1) Date, (2) UTC time, (3) Satellite name, and (4) Station worked. EXAMPLE: 20190115 1835 AO-91 VE3ABC Once you are satisfied with your entry, select PURCHASE and complete your payment method. AMSAT on HF 50th Anniversary Award To achieve this award, you must work at least one AMSAT Member on any HF band, in any mode. In addition, there are additional level of this award, based on the number of AMSAT Members you contact on the HF bands: + One AMSAT member contacted earns the basic OSCAR-1 award + Seven AMSAT members contacted earns the AO-7 endorsement + Twenty-Nine AMSAT members contacted earns the FO-29 endorsement + Fifty AMSAT members contacted earns the SO-50 endorsement + Ninety-Two AMSAT members contacted earns the AO-92 endorsement + Two Hundred AMSAT members contacted earns the ISS endorsement AMSAT member members are encouraged to call "CQ AMSAT 50" on any HF band/mode. The minimum exchange is your call, signal report, and your membership number. Life members use LM and your number. Cost is $15, plus postage. Certificates will be mailed in early 2020. There will be no sequence number on the certificate. To apply for this award, visit the AMSAT 50th Anniversary Award section in the AMSAT Online Store and select the 50th Anniversary AMSAT Satellite Friends of 50 Award. In the comment section, enter or copy and paste the required log information, which must include: (1) Date, (2) UTC time, (3) Band, (4) Mode, (5) Station Worked, and (6) their AMSAT number. EXAMPLE: 20190115 1835 20 CW W1ABC 1234 Once you are satisfied with your entry, select PURCHASE and complete your payment method. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT-NA VP of User Services for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Fox-1 CubeSat Model Kits Available Through the dedicated work of John Kludt, K4SQC, and Stefan Wagener, VE4NSA, AMSAT can again offer a 1:1 scale cardboard model of the Fox-1 CubeSat. It is life size, and based on the latest Fox-1 engineering drawings for highest fidelity in design and appearance. The model is printed in color on heavy stock paper, includes all components, and the instructions are carefully prepared to allow for easy assembly requiring scissors, glue etc. Depending on experience, assembly will take approximately 10+ hours. The complete model will be a perfect addition to any satellite operator's shack, and a chance to show visitors what is being done by AMSAT today. All proceeds will go to supporting AMSAT's satellite projects. Price is $40 + shipping. https://www.amsat.org/product/fox-1-cubesat-model/ [ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CubeSat Airborne Science Payload Standard As part of a new initiative, the Cal Poly CubeSat Lab is working with NASA Ames Research Center to prototype a standardized mounting system for testing CubeSat-based systems on aircraft (incl. UAVs) and balloons. We are seeking collaborators interested in airborne testing payloads, components, or complete systems, that could provide use- cases and assist in defining interface requirements. This Project has the potential to allow for expanded opportunities for payload development and testing. We would like your input as we design and develop this system and have put together a google form with a ten short questions that would help us derive our system requirements in the coming weeks. For more information visit: https://tinyurl.com/ANS013-AirborneScience [ANS thanks Cal Poly CubeSat Lab via Dave Pignatelli for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- UWE-4 CubeSat frequency change request approved After two weeks in orbit, UWE-4 is in very good shape. The batteries are fully charged, the temperatures of the batteries, the outside panels and the MCU are all lying in the expected range. It has been observed that the battery temperatures are slightly rising around 8:45 am, when the downlink of this measurement took place. After the early orbit phase, we are looking forward to some interesting experiments with the attitude determination sensors and the propulsion system. Unfortunately, our uplink success rate is very poor, which currently prevents these experiments. In the precursor mission UWE-3, it was found that the reason for this is very likely a substantial noise floor at the used frequency range. For this reason, we filed a request for the change of our radio frequency to 435.600 MHz with IARU, which has already been approved. January 10, we will started the procedure to change the frequency of UWE-4. So if you want to track UWE-4, please adjust your center frequency accordingly. We already started the procedure to change the frequency on UWE-4, so during the next days it may happen that you can also still receive a signal on our old frequency. Additionally, we have been assigned NORAD ID 43880 in the meantime. A tool in order to upload the received UWE-4 telemetry directly into our groundstation database is a work in progress and will be shared with you as soon as we have tested it thoroughly. Until then, we would be very grateful, if you'd forward your UWE-4 telemetry files to uwe4(a)informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de. [ANS thanks the The UWE-4 Team via Trevor M5AKA for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- HamSCI 2019 Workshop Set for March in Cleveland, Call for Papers Issued The 2019 HamSCI Workshop will take place March 22 - 23 at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) in Cleveland, Ohio, in association with the CWRU Amateur Radio Club (W8EDU). Registration is now open, and papers are invited. "We are especially looking for speakers with presentations showing analysis of ionospheric observations, ideas and proposals for the design of the Personal Space Weather Station and instrumentation for the 2024 eclipse," HamSCI's Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, said. "We will also accept other presentations related to Amateur Radio and science." If you would like to present, email your abstract to hamsci(a)hamsci.org by February 10, 2019. The theme for this year's conference will be "Ionospheric Effects and Sensing," including the use of Amateur Radio techniques to characterize and study ionospheric phenomena such as traveling ionospheric disturbances, sporadic E, response to solar flares, geomagnetic storms, the 2024 total solar eclipse, and other space weather events. Discussion will include continued development of the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station and integration of Amateur Radio into the collegiate curriculum. Featured speakers will include well-known Amateur Radio author Ward Silver, N0AX, propagation specialist Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, and Larisa Goncharenko, who will talk on Space Science for Ham Radio Operators. The workshop is hosted by CWRU in collaboration with New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Nominations Solicited for Six ARRL Awards The ARRL invites nominations for awards that recognize educational and technological pursuits in Amateur Radio. Nominations are also open for ARRL's premier award to honor a young licensee - the Hiram Percy Maxim Award. The Hiram Percy Maxim Award recognizes a radio amateur and ARRL member under age 21 whose accomplishments and contributions are of the most exemplary nature within the framework of Amateur Radio activities. Nominations for this award need to be made through your ARRL Section Manager, who will then forward the nomination to ARRL Headquarters by March 31, 2019. The ARRL Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award honors an ARRL volunteer Amateur Radio instructor or an ARRL professional classroom teacher who uses creative instructional approaches and reflects the highest values of the Amateur Radio community. The award highlights quality of - and commitment to - licensing instruction. Nominations are due by March 15, 2019. The ARRL Microwave Development Award pays tribute to a radio amateur or group of radio amateurs who contribute to the development of the Amateur Radio microwave bands. The nomination deadline is March 31, 2019. The ARRL Technical Service Award recognizes a radio amateur or group of radio amateurs who provide Amateur Radio technical assistance or training to others. The nomination deadline is March 31, 2019. The ARRL Technical Innovation Award is granted to a radio amateur or group of radio amateurs who develop and apply new technical ideas or techniques in Amateur Radio. The nomination deadline is March 31, 2019. The Knight Distinguished Service Award was established to recognize exceptionally notable contributions by a Section Manager to the health and vitality of ARRL. The nomination deadline is April 30, 2019. The ARRL Board of Directors selects recipients for these awards. Winners are typically announced following the Board's July meeting. More information about these awards is on the ARRL website, or contact Steve Ewald, WV1X, telephone (860) 594-0265, at ARRL Headquarters. [ANS thanks ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Argentina Special Event During 'the weekend of the lussat', from Saturday-19 to Sunday-January 20, 2019 (2 days), Amsat-Lu, several radio clubs and collaborators will deliver to a contact commemorative contact The 29th anniversary of the lussat-1, 1St Argentine satellite. It will operate in 80/40/6 m / 2 M / 23 cm in FM, SSB, CW, j3e, psk31, ft-8, packet, Sstv-R36 and via active amateur satellites. It will be called 'Lux Collaborating Station of amsat Argentina, awarded qsl commemorative for the 29th anniversary of the lussat'. Celebrating His stay in space our lussat continues to broadcast after 29 years a strong pressed carrier, recibible in 437.125 Khz. + /- Doppler. See schedules of steps at http://amsat.org.ar/pass?satx=LUSAT [ANS thanks Ricardo LU4ARU for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Super Road Trip (Wyoming to Tennessee to Florida to Wyoming) - January 9, 2019 until he gets back home Starting Jan. 9th, RJ, WY7AA, will be traveling from Wyoming to Tennessee to Florida, to New York and back to Wyoming, staying approximately 10 days in each place and activating grids whenever he can. First stop Tennessee - EM86, and will try to rove to EM85, EL87, and EL96. Next on to Florida - EL98, and will try to rove to EL88, EL89, and EL99. And then on to New York - FN02, and try to rove to FN01, FN03, FN11, FN12, and FN13 Traveling between each place, RJ will try to stop and work as he can, but putting down miles will take priority most often. In addition, RJ will be trying to operate mobile from time to time. FM birds for sure, but will be trying to learn linears while on the trip. Specific pass announcements will be posted to his Twitter feed (https://twitter.com/WY7AA) and to the AMSAT-bb reflector. Oregon (DN04) - January 11, 2019 Casey, KI7UNJ, will make a quick trip to DN04 on January 11th. Passes will be FM only: 17:36z AO-92; 18:34z AO-91; 19:09z AO-92; 20:09 AO-91; and 20:24z SO-50. Keep an eye on Casey's Twitter feed for further announcements https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ Central California (CM95, CM96, DM05, DM06) - January 12, 2019 David, AD7DB, will be in the area of Kettleman City CA near a convergence of four grids, operating on FM satellites. Grids (maybe gridlines) will depend on the satellite passes. Operation expected from 1700 UTC through 2300 UTC. Updates will be on Twitter as the time approaches: https://twitter.com/ad7db Quartzfest Arizona (DM23) - January 19-27, 2019 John, N7JY, will be operating FM satellites on a holiday schedule. He may also visit some adjoining grids. There will likely be other hams operating from the event, located a few miles south of Quartzsite AZ. QSL via LOTW, or you can send your card with SASE Las Vegas NV and Northwest AZ (DM25, DM26, DM36) - January 20-22, 2019 David, AD7DB, will be in Las Vegas at DM25/26 line, operating on FM satellites on a holiday schedule. In addition, weather permitting, sometime on Monday 01/21/19 he will make a side trip to Beaver Dam AZ to activate from DM36aw. Updates will be on Twitter as the time approaches: https://twitter.com/ad7db Labrador (GO11) - January 20-22, 2019 VE3FU, VO1HP, and VE9CB will be participating in the CQ160 CW Contest from the Point Amour Lighthouse in Labrador (GO11), which will be held 2200Z January 25 - 2200Z January 27, 2019. This is important, because, if time permits they will be active on AO-85, AO- 91, and AO-92 passes before the contest. Call signs are expected to be VO2AC and VO2AAA. Note: this is just preliminary information. Keep your eye on https://twitter.com/chrisve3fu and https://www.qrz.com/db/vo2ac for possible updates. Nevada (DM15, DM16, DM17, DM18, DM25, DM26, DM27, DM28, DM37, DM36) - February 8-11, 2019 Casey KI7UNJ and Jonathan KI5BEX are planning a joint roving trip to Nevada, February 8-11, 2019. Planned activations include the DM15/16/25/26 grid corner Friday morning, the DM16/26 gridline Friday afternoon, DM17/18 gridline Saturday morning, DM27/28 gridline Saturday evening, DM27/37 gridline Sunday morning, and DM36/37 gridline Sunday evening. This will be FM only. All contacts uploaded to LoTW upon return. Check out @KI7UNJ Twitter feed for specific passes https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ and follow them on aprs.fi KI7UNJ-7. Turks and Caicos Islands (FL31) - February 28 - March 9, 2019 Adrian, AA5UK, will be heading to Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands from Feb 28th through March 9th, 2019. He will be operating holiday style on HF and Satellites as VP5/AA5UK from grid FL31UU14. Focus will be on the linear satellites, with some FM activity depending on pile-up civility. Hope to work some European stations as location favors the East. Pass announcements will be made via Twitter: https://twitter.com/AA5UK and periodically via amsat-bb. Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org Updated January 9, 2019 See https://www.amsat.org/satellite-info/upcoming-satellite-operations/ [ANS thanks Robert KE4AL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + 2019-01-08 15:28 UTC between Astronaut David St-Jacques KG5FYI using ISS callsign NA1SS and Pembroke Junior Senior High School, Corfu, NY, USA. Contact was telebridge via LU8YY. ARISS Mentor was Steve W2AKK. Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule There are no contacts scheduled for the upcoming week. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Shorts From All Over + SatNOGS Dashboard The SatNOGS Dashboard project makes crowd-sourced dashboards which visualize data that has been collected and decoded through the Sat- NOGS Network and SatNOGS DB. Links to production dashboards already created can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/SatNogs-Telemetry SatNOGS is using InfluxDB and Grafana for their telemetry dashboards. InfluxDB is a time-series database designed to be efficient for time-series data like the telemetry collected in SatNOGS. Additional documentation is provided on the SatNOGS Wiki pages: https://wiki.satnogs.org/Telemetry_Dashboards [ANS thanks LibreSpace Community/SatNOGS] + Satellite DXPedition News for AMSAT Philippe, EA4NF will be active from MONACO as 3A/EA4NF during February 15-18,2019 on FM and SSB satellites. QSL via LoTW [ANS thanks Philippe EA4NF for the above information.] + All About Ham Satellites Feature at Hackaday Al Williams has put together togetherbab series on Hackaday All About Ham Satellites. Visit: https://hackaday.com/2019/01/07/all-about-ham-satellites/ [ANS thanks Hackaday.com for the above information] + SmallSat Symposium 2019 Highlights SmallSat Symposium 2019 promises something for everyone, including 19 Sessions, 3 Keynotes, 3 Technology Briefs and many networking opportunities. For details visit https://mailchi.mp/satnews/smallsat19_1-200613?e=e3b56a3ebc [ANS thanks Simon Payne for the above information] + US Islands Awards Program Now Accepting Sat QSOs Sean Kutzo KX9X recently tweeted that "...the Us Islands portable #hamradio awards program has modified their rules to allow satellite contacts, effective January 1, 2019! More units to activate on satellite. Check out http://usislands.org for details!" [ANS thanks Sean KX9X for the above information.] + PicSat Cubesat Mission The PicSat team has made available to all a paper about their cubesat and the mission. Access the full paper here: https://arxiv.org/abs/1901.02677 (PicSat via Twitter) [ANS thanks PicSat via Twitter 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, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, AA8EM aa8em at amsat dot org

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Satellite ground station build project - video 1
by John Brier 12 Jan '19

12 Jan '19

HI folks, I am building a Yaesu G-5500, M2 LEO pack, Icom IC-910H based ground station. Nothing exotic at all but I thought it would be cool to make simple videos/livestreams as I progress through the process. Here is the first video that gives background on this process that started one year ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hz4bWVByDw I'll be adding all the videos to the following playlist. In there there is also an older video I did when I first bought some of the necessary equipment: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdgdw8eApVJ_h669wjn40IBRnrB9U-gYl 73, John Brier KG4AKV

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Pass Recording - Sony ICD-PX370
by Frank Karnauskas 12 Jan '19

12 Jan '19

I just brought my new PX370 home and anxious to try it. I am sure the audio output from a handheld is safe to run into the external mic jack. But has anyone run the audio from a mobile rig such as a Kenwood D-710 into it? I am thinking maybe I should put a pad between that radio and the recorder. Any suggestions or experiences with this? 73, Frank FRANK W. KARNAUSKAS, N1UW ARRL MINNESOTA AFFILIATED CLUB COORDINATOR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ROTATING EDITOR 1402 SUMMIT SHORES DR. BURNSVILLE, MN 55306 N1UW(a)GOKARNS.com 612-644-9174

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Protecting SDR
by Kevin Zari 12 Jan '19

12 Jan '19

For those of you with an SDR dongle, for example the Funcube Pro +, how do you protect it from not being damaged by TX energy? I’m thinking of hooking mine up to the 70cm antenna in my M2 LEO pack while I TX on the 2m antenna and was afraid I’d overload the SDR. I see folks using them for their RX on linear birds, so I’m just wondering how you have them hooked up. Thanks in advance for your advice. -Kevin (KK4YEL) ----- The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.

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Pass recording
by Bob Hammond 12 Jan '19

12 Jan '19

What method of recording do you all use for QSOs? I'm setting up my fixed base station and know from my handheld/Arrow days that I cannot operate, talk, and write all at the same time with any accuracy. Bob W7OTJ DN17

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G-5500 Az-El controller box
by Joel Kandel 11 Jan '19

11 Jan '19

Looking for the above, new or used but in working condition. Indicate price including shipping. I’m in S Florida. Thanks, Joel, KI4T There are more stars in the universe than seconds that have passed since the Earth was formed.

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FUNcube mode switch
by Brian Hardy 11 Jan '19

11 Jan '19

Hi folks, Per the current schedule FUNcube is now in transponder mode for the weekend - enjoy! 73s Brian (G4BIP)

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Activating EM86 for the next week or so
by Robert Bragg 11 Jan '19

11 Jan '19

I will be staying in EM86 for the next week or so. I will be activating FM birds very regularly and practicing my SSB satellites when I have time. I plan to make a side trip to EM96 one evening at the beginning of the week. I will post here when I have my plans. Please let me know if you need either EM86 or 96 and I will see what we can do to make a contact. 73 R.J. WY7AA

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Q: An easy way to turn paper logs to a logging program?
by Eric - Gmail 11 Jan '19

11 Jan '19

I'd like to convert my paper satellite logs (dating back to the 1980's, from AO-10 on) to as yet undermined logging program. I'd need to create an ADIF file regardless of the final destination (including LoTW and/or Clublog) Is there any way to do this other than inputting every QSO one at a time? I thought about scanning them and then using an OCR program to put them into a spreadsheet, but that seems to be equally -- or more -- labor intensive. Any suggestions are appreciated! 73, Eric W3DQ

4 3

change being in save mode.
by Tanan Rangseeprom 11 Jan '19

11 Jan '19

Hello All AMSAT members in worldwide, Before the New Year 2019 I 'm Tanan, HS1JAN and Khun Chawalit, E20KEW along with Khun Krisada, E21EJC visited Prof Dr. Suwat, the Knacksat Project Leader, and Dr. Pongsathorn, the Knacksat Project Team Manager at the King Mongkut Institute of Technology North Bangkok (KMUT-NB) to enquire about the status of the Knacksat satellite following its SSO-A launch by a Space X rocket on December 3, 2018. Due to problems with the Space X rocket, the launch had been postponed several times with the Knacksat satellite being kept on hold and the satellite's batteries may have become depleted by the time the satellite was finally launched by SSO-A. When the deploy switch has been working for about 30 minutes the VHF/UHF antennas are deployed with heat from the nichrome wire. https://www.facebook.com/knacksat/videos/818456401588168/ This creates a need for high-voltage electricity which may be the reason that Knacksat satellite batteries had lower power than normal. If this were the case Knacksat satellites would then enter "Save Mode", or a sleep state, in order to charge the battery and to await orders from the HS0AK Ground Station. We are confident that the Knacksat satellite is still in a state of sleep. The Knacksat team expects that it may take up to many months to charge the battery to get to the original energy level. Hence, I would like to ask amateur radio operators in the AMSAT group to help the Knacksat team as well. The Knacksat team needs urgent help in receiving reports of the CW beacon signal on the frequency of 435.635 MHz because the Knacksat satellite will send the CW Beacon signal when the solar cell panel receives enough sunlight to charge the battery. Hence, there may be a signal from the CW beacon with the power of just 10 - 100 mW from the Knacksat satellite at any time. The Knacksat team has prepared rewards for anyone who sends them details with a signal report received from the Knacksat satellite including QSL cards, and Knacksat shirts, etc. Anyone who copies the satellite should please send an email to knacksat(a)gmail.com or enter a report at this website: https://knacksat-26d23.firebaseapp.com. Details can be found at http://www.knacksat.space/ Since the satellite was launched about one month ago only two persons have received signals of the CW beacon and the signal has been very weak such that the CW could not be fully copied while the telemetry could not be fully decoded. Therefore, we would like to make an urgent request for amateur radio operators to study the information below and to please get in touch by email with knacksat(a)gmail.com to help the Knacksat team. 1. The need is for an amateur radio station with an antenna with the EME level of gain to help. The UHF frequency at 435.635 MHz requires an antenna with a very high gain to receive the very weak CW beacon signal. 2. The need is also for an amateur radio station equipped at the EME level with a high-gain VHF antenna to try to send the sound (MP3) for command change mode uplink VHF frequency. that will wake up the Knacksat satellite from being in Save mode. Therefore, if any AMSAT member knows of anyone or can help or who can co-ordinate efforts to contact or is capable of receiving signals from the Knacksat satellite, could they please get in contact with the Knacksat team as quickly as possible. Thank you in advance for helping the satellites of Thailand. In the near future and not later than the second quarter of 2019 (Q2) the JAISAT-1 (“Joint Academy for Intelligent Satellites for Amateur Radio of Thailand.”) satellite will be launched into space and we will keep you informed of progress with further news. With respect Tanan Rungseeprom, HS1JAN JAISAT 1 Satellite Project Manager

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MINXSS-2
by John Mac 10 Jan '19

10 Jan '19

Hi all, Are we waiting for a reset on MINXSS-2, if so, when is that due, or is there other issues..? regards John

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A second mysterious repeating fast radio burst has been detected in space
by Greg 10 Jan '19

10 Jan '19

In case you missed it. Radio astronomy news. Greg N3MVF (CNN)Far outside our Milky Way galaxy, something is causing repeating short bursts of radio waves to be released into space. Scientists have recorded the second repeating fast radio burst to be discovered, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The finding was also presented at the 233rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle. These radio bursts are only millisecond-long radio flashes, and such rapid bursts themselves aren't rare in space. But this is only the second one that has been found to repeat. The mystery about why these bursts happen and where they come from continues, which always spurs believers to think that advanced extraterrestrial civilizations are creating them. The first one, deemed FRB 121102, was discovered in 2015 by the Arecibo radio telescope, and it was revealed in 2018 that the bursts release an enormous amount of energy. What's sending mysterious repeating fast radio bursts in space? This new repeating fast radio burst is called FRB 180814.J0422+73 and was recorded six times coming from the same location, 1.5 billion light-years away. This is one of the very first detections made by the new Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment, or CHIME. The radio telescope was still in its pre-commissioning phase and operating with only a small amount of its full capacity in the summer of 2018 when it detected this and 12 singular fast radio bursts. And although this new detection doesn't solve the biggest mysteries surrounding the radio bursts, the researchers who recorded it believe that other repeating fast radio bursts will be found -- which could allow them to figure out where they originate. "Knowing that there is another suggests that there could be more out there," said Ingrid Stairs, a member of the CHIME team and an astrophysicist at the University of British Columbia. "And with more repeaters and more sources available for study, we may be able to understand these cosmic puzzles -- where they're from and what causes them." One hypothesis is that powerful astrophysical phenomena are causing them. The first repeating fast radio burst was recorded at a frequency of 700 megahertz, but some of the bursts CHIME recorded were as low as 400 megahertz. "[We now know] the sources can produce low-frequency radio waves and those low-frequency waves can escape their environment, and are not too scattered to be detected by the time they reach the Earth," Tom Landecker, a CHIME team member from the National Research Council of Canada, said in a statement. "That tells us something about the environments and the sources. We haven't solved the problem, but it's several more pieces in the puzzle." The low frequency of this new detection could mean that the source of the bursts differ. "Scattering" was detected in the fast radio bursts, which is a phenomenon that helps determine more about the environment surrounding the origin. The CHIME team believes this scattering is indicative of powerful astrophysical objects at the source of the bursts. "That could mean [the source is] in some sort of dense clump like a supernova remnant," team member Cherry Ng, an astronomer at the University of Toronto, said in a statement. "Or near the central black hole in a galaxy. But it has to be in some special place to give us all the scattering that we see." And if CHIME was able to make these detections before it was even fully up and running, the researchers are hopeful that the new radio telescope will help them find answers about these mysterious signals.

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France (IN94) on AO-07B
by F6GLJ 10 Jan '19

10 Jan '19

Hello. I will be on AO-07B next pass between 17:35 and 17:44, very good pass for QSO France NA. I hope meet you. 73 Qro de Michel F6GLJ https://www.qrz.com/db/F6GLJ

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SSB Satellites
by NA1SA Loon 10 Jan '19

10 Jan '19

Just asking for clarification, or how do most do this... When working a Sat other than FO-29 (where I stay locked on the 2 meter up frequency and tune the 70cm down frequency), say one of the XW or CAS birds where the downlink is 2 meters and up is 70cm... which frequency stays locked and which gets tuned? I've read that you tune the higher frequency, but then wouldn't the other station be chasing me? Loon

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Logging programs
by James McIrvin 09 Jan '19

09 Jan '19

I am wondering what many of you might be using for a logging program for Sat Work? I have a couple different ones here to choose from, just wondering what others might be using that is all. I know that there are several, just need something that will for fairly easy for working with the sats. Where much of the stuff that goes on here we have to have a lot of hands-on as compared to when working digital modes on hf. Just looking for something that I can also create a adi file later and export to my main program once I get it working correctly again. 73 de Jim N1IPA

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-01-09 23:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 09 Jan '19

09 Jan '19

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-01-09 23:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Pembroke Junior Senior High School, Corfu, NY, telebridge via LU8YY The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI Contact was successful: Tue 2019-01-08 15:28:49 UTC 32 deg (***) ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS-US program’s education proposal window open Oct. 1 - Nov. 30, 2018 has now closed. The next window should go open in the spring of 2019. The ARISS webpage is at http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. 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, click here. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) ****************************************************************************** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 135 Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 108 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2019-01-09 23:30 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1286. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1229. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2019-01-09 23:30 UTC. (***) http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 58 on orbit Oleg Konenenko David St-Jacques KG5FYI Anne McClain **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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... Will Launch 20,000 Satellites!!! [read SEVENEVES]
by Robert Bruninga 09 Jan '19

09 Jan '19

SEVENEVES: A fantastic book. Bill Gates' favorite SciFi because it is all grounded in true engineering more or less. All based on expanding the space station to thousands of inhabitants to escape the natural calamity on Earth. -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT On Behalf Of Don KB2YSI > Read some fiction: Neal Stephenson "Seveneves", > https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22816087-seveneves On Tue, Jan 8, 2019, 18:12 Zach Metzinger <zmetzing(a)pobox.com wrote: > >> Has anyone written a science fiction story about a planet so > >> surrounded by satellites and other orbital trash > >> that it could not be reached from outer space? > >> K5HV

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Cellular 5G Will Launch 20,000 Satellites!!!
by R.T.Liddy 09 Jan '19

09 Jan '19

Imagine 20,000 MORE satellites! Cellular 5G will make use of them in the coming years!! http://healthimpactnews.com/2019/20000-satellites-for-5g-to-be-launched-sen…

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Re: [amsat-bb] CAT Cable and Rotor Controller for FT-736R
by ok2gz 08 Jan '19

08 Jan '19

Hi Laird Taylor N7RSR, with FT736R there is one more problem, not just how to gain suitable cable. CAT system in FT736R allows us to set Freq for RX and TX only. But no possibility how to read RX freq! And this causes us difficulty. Frequency setting algorithm works with feedback. First set the frequency and then read it back. Verify that both frequencies are the same.If the verification fails, the control loop will stop working. There exists some solutions to this problem. For example, insert a small 8bit microcontroller between the PC and the TRX. Microcontrollerdecodes the command to set the RX frequency and remembers it.The read command returns the stored frequency from memory without reading it in the RX. When working through satellites, it is necessary to tune the RX using the mouse wheel. I do not know if the MacBook works as I have described. But GPredict sat software works as described and stops the control loop after 5 errors in the read command. Mr. Google help us to find concrete solution. 73 jarda ok2gz //================================= I have an FT-736R and have just purchased MacDoppler from AMSAT. It will be installed in a MacBook running OS 10.13.6. I’m shopping for a CAT cable to go between the two units. The guy at HRO said the original Yaesu cable to go with Macs has part# FIF-65A but I don’t see anything yet on Google by that moniker. He also said the Yaesu CAT cable for PCs is FIF-232C - which I DO see around. Then I see a caution that there are lots of cheap cables around that use terrible chips that are a nightmare to keep running. The only cable I’ve found so far (on eBay) is $35 and the vendor doesn’t seem to admit which chip set is used. Amazon in the UK has a cable for sale for 16 GBP, which could be one of the cheaper ones. Immediate questions: 1. What subset of the alleged plethora of available cables is MacDoppler compatible with CAT on the FT-736R? 2. Who sells such cables nowadays? So far I’ve found only eBay and Amazon; it’s not even clear they’re selling the same cable - never mind the one I must use... 73 Laird Taylor N7RSR --- This email has been checked for viruses by AVG. https://www.avg.com

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HS_Soundmodem & MinXSS 2
by Gustavo Carpignano 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

I'm using the HS_soundmodem from UZ7HO, to receive at 9600 baud theMinXSS 2 packets. I also use the frame decoder of the MinXSS provided bythe satellite's team. For that I use the AGW port 8000 and the host local address 127.0.0.1 For some reason the packets do not arrive from the HS_modem to the decoder. Any help is welcome. 73 Gustavo, LW2DTZ

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UPDATE
by James McIrvin 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

Good evening all. I would like to thank all of those that have helped with information that they have sent to me and also Erich Eichmann for him pointing me in the right direction to finding my error in trying to get the software working with the radio. He forced me to look at things deeper than I had and once I did what he said things came together nicely. Now that I have been able to make a small handful of contacts on the XW-2 sats, I can start to work on some of the other things to make it much more enjoyable and be able to see about doing a couple other sats where there is digital stuff going on. Have to take some of this in small steps to get it working and that is what is going on. I also have to figure out the settings to tweak the doppler file for the radio so that I may not have to fiddle with too many adjustments. I know that there will be some, but that is the way things work. I also have to work on making up some cheat sheets for myself, now that I am able to get on some I look forward in working some of you folks when the sats permit me to have those qso's. However, the next venture I need to deal with here is getting mast mounted preamps setup so that I will have a better chance of hearing things and working more stuff when it is there. The ones that I have made have been with just the eggbeater antenna's that I have set up on a temp tripod and the radio preamp. I know once I get it out at the base of the antenna it will enhance things due to feedline loss that I have now. Once I figure out what I want to do with some of this stuff as to placement of the antennas to a more permanent location in the yard I can tweak feedline and alike. However, here in the northeast with the ice and snow at this time can't do much in trying to dig up the ground and lay a conduit to the site for working with this stuff. It all comes in time. THANK YOU AGAIN TO ALL THOSE THAT HAVE HELPED ME. Have a great evening. 73 de Jim N1IPA <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> Virus-free. www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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Experiences on Yaesu FT-712 for 70cm & Satellite?
by Pavel Milanes Costa 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

I know, this is a pretty old rig. But in Cuba we can't just buy a radio from a shelf, and one of these (FT-712L) appeared on the local swap market, having problems with my Baofengs for Satellite I was wondering if any of you have some experience with one of this units? Pros, cons? 73 Pavel CO7WT.

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FT-837 port config question
by Mark Coulthurst 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

Hi Im new to the BB list so i hope this has been done correctly.... I have a Yaesu FT847. I have satpc32 that will connect happily to the radio and control everything as required but this only works if i set the radio CAT menu to 9600. Everything esle i run works at the 57600 CAT Rate and i have to change the radio every time to 9600 CAT rate to use satpc32. My question is this: i presume there is a file that has the radio CAT configurations within the sodtware. I would like to know if this is accessable and if i can overide the 9600 current setting within satpc32 to change it to 57600? Thanks in advance M1AEC

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Re: [amsat-bb] Antenna and Doppler Question
by jim＠k6ccc.org 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

For your first part, if they are fixed polarity, I would recommend crossed polarization as it helps prevent killing your downlink with your own uplink. This is particularly true for Mode V/U operation where that third harmonic can be particularly troublesome. For your second question, that one can be debated forever. The official "One True Rule" is to adjust both uplink and downlink to maintain the same frequency at the satellite. That is fine IF everyone in the conversation is using computer frequency control. If you are manually correcting for doppler, it's almost impossible. Therefore, the alternative rule is to tune the higher frequency. In reality, it will somewhat depend on what the other person is doling or is capable of. Personally I never used computerized frequency control - mainly as a limitation of my Yaesu FT-736 which only has one way CAT control. I found it to be an absolute pain in the backsides to attempt to dial around looking for conversations from the computer Jim Walls K6CCC -----Original Message----- From: "NA1SA Loon" <na1saloon(a)outlook.com> Sent: Monday, January 7, 2019 06:34 To: "AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: [amsat-bb] Antenna and Doppler Question Greetings, I recently purchased an FT-857D with hopes of working some linear birds. I know it's not the prime radio for the task, but I'm on a budget and would like to remain happily married, although she understands and supports my love for this hobby. The antennas are a rotatable array, each fixed 20 degree elevation, consisting of a Diamond A144S5 for 145mhz and a Diamond A144S10 for 435mhz. The antennas are currently mounted 2 meter horizontal, 70cm vertical. I have had success using this configuration, knowing full well I will not have the coverage I would as if I had circularly polarized antennas for each band (again, budget and marital status come to mind). My thought behind this was if I'm using my Arrow, the 2 meter and 70cm elements are 90 deg to each other and it works, for both FM and SSB birds (seen it on YouTube). Question is, would it be beneficial to put them (a) both horizontal, (b) both vertical, or leave it like I currently have them? Again, I know there is no correct answer due to a tumbling satellite and changing polarity, I just haven't had time to experiment with different configurations, and thought maybe someone has and found that one configuration may have been more consistent than the other. Now for the linear bird question... I have an Icom IC-746PRO that I use to listen to, or for, the downlink frequency. I was told to set the uplink frequency and DO NOT touch it, just tune the downlink frequency. Running CAT control (OmniRig with PstRotator), it is constantly updating both uplink and downlink frequencies for doppler. I thought that was the whole purpose of running CAT control with a doppler updating program, to keep you on frequency, or close anyways. This area of the satellite world is all new to me. I never had the chance to observe some work a linear bird to get an idea on how to do it properly. I certainly do not expect to carry a QSO throughout pass, I'm just seeking to explore another avenue of this hobby and to have fun making a contact or two on a good pass. Like I said this all new to me and I'm just seeking good advice and some positive guidance to be successful. Thanks, NA1SA _______________________________________________ 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: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Trade, Elecraft K2 for TH-D72A
by Doug Faunt N6TQS +1-510-717-1197 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

I have a K2-100, last used for the T33C DXpedition IIRC. It's got a couple of mods for audio out on the mic connector and an IF output for a band display. I'd like to get a D72 for portable sat work. 73, Doug

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Re: [amsat-bb] KR400 controller question
by Paul 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

Thanks George, I tried it with and without the resistor and couldn't see any difference with the LEDs so wondered if it was just put in to increase the life of the bulb. I'll leave them in and see how we go. The controllers now look like this adding a splash of colour to the shack. http://www.ukdx.org.uk/tv/rotator/400s.jpg Paul Sussex Coast. JO00 On 06/01/2019 22:33, W3AB/GEO wrote: > Paul, > > It appears that one unit uses 28V to light the bulb & the other uses > 14V. If the mod is for the unit that is 14V, leave the resistor in the > circuit. > > ___ > Sent from my two way wrist watch > 73 de W3AB/GEO > On Jan 6, 2019, at 03:26, Paul <paul(a)ukdx.org.uk > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > As both my KR400 controllers have blown bulbs I've modified them to use > LEDs as per https://bit.ly/2TzeHud There is however a small difference > that I'd like an opinion on as I'm not very electronically minded. > > Eddie modified his KR-400RC however on my KR-400 controllers there is an > additional 100R between the transformer and bulb. What is its purpose > and should I leave it in or remove it when adding the diode, limiting > resistor and LEDs shown in the mod? > > CCT grabs showing the difference https://bit.ly/2FbKIo5 > > Paul > Sussex Coast. JO00

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L Band Uplink Antenna
by BeetleJerald Oliver 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

What is the best antenna for L-Band Uplink? I am using the Yaesu G-5500 system with M2 VHF/UHF CP yagis already... Jerry..KJ4EU

1 0

Antenna and Doppler Question
by NA1SA Loon 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

Greetings, I recently purchased an FT-857D with hopes of working some linear birds. I know it's not the prime radio for the task, but I'm on a budget and would like to remain happily married, although she understands and supports my love for this hobby. The antennas are a rotatable array, each fixed 20 degree elevation, consisting of a Diamond A144S5 for 145mhz and a Diamond A144S10 for 435mhz. The antennas are currently mounted 2 meter horizontal, 70cm vertical. I have had success using this configuration, knowing full well I will not have the coverage I would as if I had circularly polarized antennas for each band (again, budget and marital status come to mind). My thought behind this was if I'm using my Arrow, the 2 meter and 70cm elements are 90 deg to each other and it works, for both FM and SSB birds (seen it on YouTube). Question is, would it be beneficial to put them (a) both horizontal, (b) both vertical, or leave it like I currently have them? Again, I know there is no correct answer due to a tumbling satellite and changing polarity, I just haven't had time to experiment with different configurations, and thought maybe someone has and found that one configuration may have been more consistent than the other. Now for the linear bird question... I have an Icom IC-746PRO that I use to listen to, or for, the downlink frequency. I was told to set the uplink frequency and DO NOT touch it, just tune the downlink frequency. Running CAT control (OmniRig with PstRotator), it is constantly updating both uplink and downlink frequencies for doppler. I thought that was the whole purpose of running CAT control with a doppler updating program, to keep you on frequency, or close anyways. This area of the satellite world is all new to me. I never had the chance to observe some work a linear bird to get an idea on how to do it properly. I certainly do not expect to carry a QSO throughout pass, I'm just seeking to explore another avenue of this hobby and to have fun making a contact or two on a good pass. Like I said this all new to me and I'm just seeking good advice and some positive guidance to be successful. Thanks, NA1SA

1 0

Re: [amsat-bb] CAT Cable and Rotor Controller for FT-736R
by Laird Taylor 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

I have an FT-736R and have just purchased MacDoppler from AMSAT. It will be installed in a MacBook running OS 10.13.6. I’m shopping for a CAT cable to go between the two units. The guy at HRO said the original Yaesu cable to go with Macs has part# FIF-65A but I don’t see anything yet on Google by that moniker. He also said the Yaesu CAT cable for PCs is FIF-232C - which I DO see around. Then I see a caution that there are lots of cheap cables around that use terrible chips that are a nightmare to keep running. The only cable I’ve found so far (on eBay) is $35 and the vendor doesn’t seem to admit which chip set is used. Amazon in the UK has a cable for sale for 16 GBP, which could be one of the cheaper ones. Immediate questions: 1. What subset of the alleged plethora of available cables is MacDoppler compatible with CAT on the FT-736R? 2. Who sells such cables nowadays? So far I’ve found only eBay and Amazon; it’s not even clear they’re selling the same cable - never mind the one I must use... 73 Laird Taylor N7RSR

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AO-92 not staying in L/V for 24 hours
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

Hi! Twice this weekend, AO-92 failed to stay in L/V mode for 24 hours. When it was first commanded into L/V mode at 0138 UTC Sunday (Saturday evening in the USA): https://twitter.com/AMSAT/status/1081727139974729729 it only stayed in that mode for about 3 hours. By the time AO-92 passed over the USA around 0450 UTC, it had switched back to U/V mode. Mark N8MH reported on Twitter this morning that AO-92 was put back into L/V mode at 1449 UTC: https://twitter.com/N8MH/status/1081938639930691584 and it was back to U/V this evening at 0248 UTC: https://twitter.com/WD9EWK/status/1082107763809873920 Before this weekend, I think there was one previous occasion where AO-92 didn't remain in L/V mode for the full 24 hours. Has something happened to the satellite, where the mode change won't remain in effect for 24 hours? 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/

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L Band Uplink
by BeetleJerald Oliver 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

I currently am operating U/V with great success....Need opinions as to the best way to get started using L Band Uplink (ie: AO-92) and other sats later......antennas and transverters, perhaps..... Tnx Jerry..KJ4EU

1 0

SO-50 1920Z Pass
by Bill Acito 06 Jan '19

06 Jan '19

I would suggest waiting until you can hook-up the scanner. This is exactly why full-duplex is a recommended practice; _you_ should know whether you were getting in or not. Bill W1PA

1 0

KR400 controller question
by Paul 06 Jan '19

06 Jan '19

As both my KR400 controllers have blown bulbs I've modified them to use LEDs as per https://bit.ly/2TzeHud There is however a small difference that I'd like an opinion on as I'm not very electronically minded. Eddie modified his KR-400RC however on my KR-400 controllers there is an additional 100R between the transformer and bulb. What is its purpose and should I leave it in or remove it when adding the diode, limiting resistor and LEDs shown in the mod? CCT grabs showing the difference https://bit.ly/2FbKIo5 Paul Sussex Coast. JO00

1 0

ANS-006 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by JoAnne K9JKM 05 Jan '19

05 Jan '19

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-006 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: * Recurring Donations Feature Added to AMSAT.org * D-STAR ONE Launched, Telemetry Received * Ham Talk Live Podcast Featuring W6RO Satellite Operation * PW-Sat2 Deorbit Sail Deployment - On-Board Camera Footage * JAMSAT NEXUS V/U Mode-J CubeSat Scheduled to Launch January 17 * Australian National Scout Jamboree - AJ2019 * DL50AMSAT Callsign IG HamSpirit Satellite Weekend January 18-20 * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for December 2018 * AMSAT South Africa Dual-Band VHF/UHF Yagi * Upcoming Satellite Operations * AMSAT at Thunderbird Hamfest in Glendale AZ, 12 January 2019 * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-006.01 ANS-006 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 006.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE January 6, 2019 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-006.01 Recurring Donations Feature Added to AMSAT.org Would you like to donate to AMSAT and/or ARISS but can only afford a little at a time? Even small amounts help, especially as they add up over time! You can now use AMSAT’s recurring donations on the new donation portal at https://www.amsat.org/donations/ This is a great way for everyone to donate $5-10 a month over time to make a significant contribution. Thank you for helping keep amateur radio in space. [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- D-STAR ONE Launched, Telemetry Received German Orbital Systems reports a successful telemetry downlink has been received. Their web page http://www.d-star.one/ reports D-Star ONE Sparrow and D-Star ONE iSat were successfully launched on Dec- ember 27 as part of an ECM smallsat cluster on the Soyuz-2/Fregat from Russia's Vostochny launch site. Additional details can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-DSTAR-ONE During the first orbits, beacons were received in the US, Germany, Czech Republic and Belarus, confirming the successful separations of the satellites on their target orbit 585 km, 97.73 deg, SSO. D-Star ONE Sparrow and D-Star ONE iSat are a pair of 3U cubesats which are equipped with four identical radio modules with D-Star capabilities, all being operated in a half-duplex mode. At press time DSTAR One Sparrow was planned to be used for amateur radio. DK3WN received the first telemetry on December 29, 2018 with more signals received by Scott, K4KDR and Vladimir, EU1SAT. Check the German Orbital Systems web page for LEOP status and satellite availability for contacts. D-Star ONE Sparrow operates as a half duplex repeater: Callsign: DP1GOS Uplink: 437.325 MHz Downlink: 435.525 MHz RF-Power: 800-1200 mW Telemetry: 435.700 MHz 4k8 GMSK Mobitex (CMX990 Mobitex Format) The telemetry format is documented at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-DSTAR-ONE-Telemetry A telemetry decoder is available at: http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?page_id=29535 Technical details for radio amateurs is posted at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-DSTAR-ONE-Amateur A D-Star voice message beacon transmits once a minute. All mod- ules are operated in a power save mode. This means that they are in idle for 40 seconds and then in receive mode for 20 seconds. Once a signal has been received, the modules switch to receive mode for five minutes. So it might be necessary to "ping" the satellite a couple of times until an answer is received. Object #43879 continues to be a likely fit for tracking at present. [ANS thanks German Orbital Systems for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Ham Talk Live Podcast Featuring W6RO Satellite Operation If you missed the January 3 Ham Talk Live show featuring Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, Endaf Buckley, N6UTC, and David Akins, N6HHR, discussing amateur radio and satellite operation on the RMS Queen Mary you can play back a recording of this episode at: https://www.spreaker.com/show/ham-talk-live then select Episode 147 - Aboard the Queen Mary, W6RO. Patrick and Endaf recently made a trip to the ship to do satel- lite operations, so they will report on that special event. David will fill us in on the history of the ship's radio room and the routine amateur radio operations from W6RO. Ham Talk Live is also available as a podcast on nearly all podcast sites: Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, SoundCloud, and iHeart Podcasts; and it's also available on YouTube. [ANS thanks Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, and Ham Talk Live for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- PW-Sat2 Deorbit Sail Deployment - On-Board Camera Footage PW-Sat2, the second Polish student satellite, also launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9 SSO-A flight with AMSAT Fox-1Cliff, is a student project with the goal to test a new deorbit sail. The sail was deployed on December 29, 2018. On-Board camera footage of the event can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fbMzI9w4MM Amateur radio operators are invited to take part in this mission. Dashboard software to receive, decode and upload PW-Sat2 frames to the PW-Sat2 cloud is available on their website: https://radio.pw-sat.pl/ The team has posted additional information at: https://github.com/PW-Sat2/HAMRadio/wiki PW-Sat2 transmits on 435.275 MHz using 1k2 and 9k6 BPSK AX25. [ANS thanks the PW-Sat2 team for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ For a limited time, new and renewing AMSAT members will receive a free digital copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Join or renew your AMSAT membership today at https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-membership/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ JAMSAT NEXUS V/U Mode-J CubeSat Scheduled to Launch January 17 The Japan AMSAT Association (JAMSAT) and students at the Nippon University are jointly developing a CubeSat called NEXUS which will have a 145 to 435 MHz (Mode-J) transponder and a 38 kbps data downlink. Nippon University students have previously developed the SEEDS and SPROUT satellites. NEXUS is an acronym of “Next Education X (cross) Unique Satellite”, it will be 1U CubeSat with a mass of between 1 and 1.5 kg. The NEXUS cubesat will: + Provide amateur radio communications via the 145/435 MHz transponder and SSTV + Download pictures from the 640×480 pixel camera + Operate the data downlink at 38400 bps QPSK + Compare the performance of the data downlink when using AFSK, GMSK and QPSK modes NEXUS will be launched from the JAXA Uchinoura Space Center located in Kagoshima Prefecture on January 17, 2019 (JST) aboard an Epsilon rocket together with OrigamiSat-1 and AOBA-Velox-IV into a 500 km sun sync- hronous orbit. Linear transponder ------------------ Uplink: 145.900-145.930 MHz (CW/LSB) Downlink: 435.880-435.910 MHz (CW/USB) CW/Data: 435.900 MHz & 437.075 MHz Callsign: JS1YAV Separation from the rocket is planned for T + 4100 seconds after launch at which time NEXUS will be powered on. CW telemetry infor- mation will commence transmission 16 minutes, 40 seconds following power up. The NEXUS team has posted a PDF document in English describing the planned initial operations, telemetry format, and preliminary TLEs at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-Nexus-Initial-Ops NEXUS website in Google English http://tinyurl.com/NEXUS-Satellite NEXUS Blog http://tinyurl.com/NEXUS-Sat-Blog JAMSAT in Google English http://tinyurl.com/JAMSAT Read the AMSAT-UK posting at: https://amsat-uk.org/2014/08/24/nexus-cubesat-mode-j-transponder/ [ANS thanks JAMSAT and Nippon University for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Australian National Scout Jamboree - AJ2019 Between January 4-14, 2019, 8400 Scouts from every Australian state plus representatives from 18 nations will converge in Tailem Bend in South Australia to participate in the 25th Australian Scout Jamboree - AJ2019. Their special event station will be active using VI25AJ. The special event station is expecting to showcase Amateur Radio to approximately 2000 scouts over the duration of the Jamboree. They will be active on the satellites as well as HF bands (SSB and digital modes), IRLP and EchoLink. They are looking for amateurs to give them a call during the Jamboree to help give the scouts an amazing experience - and perhaps take up the hobby on their return home. Full schedule, modes and planned frequencies will be posted at: https://www.qrz.com/db/vi25aj [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT and ARISS are currently supporting a FundRazr campaign to raise $150,000 for critical radio infrastructure upgrades on ISS. The upgrades are necessary to enable students to continue to talk to astronauts in space via Amateur Radio. We have reached a great milestone with $16,795 raised or about 10% towards our goal. This would not have been possible without your outstanding generosity!! For more information and to DONATE TODAY visit: https://fundrazr.com/arissnextgen?ref=ab_e7Htwa_ab_47IcJ9 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ DL50AMSAT Callsign IG HamSpirit Satellite Weekend January 18-20 The IG HamSpirit Satellite Weekend January 18-20 will feature the new AMSAT-DL callsign DL50AMSAT on the air from Saxony on the Czech border. Also planned are antenna construction and testing projects and testing satellite tracking programs on a variety of operating systems. IG HamSpirit hosts several radio events during the year with this event dedicated to amateur satellite operating. AMSAT-DL says you can track the event on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #satelliteweekend [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- VUCC Awards-Endorsements for December 2018 Ron, W5RKN has provided the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period December 1, 2018 through January 1, 2019. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL 01Dec 01Jan KO4MA 1627 1656 WC7V 1159 1160 W5RKN 634 660 WD9EWK 513 525 NS3L 350 375 PV8DX 313 360 AE5B 300 342 N3GS 300 332 K8BL 252 257 PT9BM 176 203 AD0HJ 175 200 KK4YEL 102 200 N7AGF 175 200 K9UO 150 175 AD0DX 101 167 W4AQT 125 153 PU8RFL 134 146 PS8MT 130 145 PU8MRS 100 127 LW2DAF 110 115 WD9EWK(DM23) New 104 F6GLJ New 103 WI4T New 101 AI9IN New 100 If you find errors or omissions please contact Ron off-list at <W5RKN>@<W5RKN>.com and he'll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for December 1, 2018 and January 1, 2019. It's a visual comparison so omissions are pos- sible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! [ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT South Africa Dual-Band VHF/UHF Yagi News from South Africa announces AMSAT SA is offering a dual-band VHF/UHF antenna. AMSAT SA is indebted to Dr Gary Immelman ZS6YI who has donated 200 units with all proceeds going to the AMSAT SA Kletskous and AfriCUBE projects. The antenna has two elements on 145 MHz and 3 elements on 435 MHz. The Yagi has a unique element called a 'Open Sleeve' which is a director very close to the driven element. The driven element is sized for 2M. When operating on 70cm the 'Open Sleeve' acts as part of the driven element on 70cm (Third harmonic of 2M). The original concept was developed in 1946 by Dr J T Bolljahn of the Stanford Research institute but was not introduced into amateur radio until the 1950s. The AMSAT SA version is based on a design by DK7ZB with modifications by WB5CXC. The first South African version was a collaboration between Guy Eales, ZS6GUY and Dr Gary Immelman, ZS6YI. It was developed for YOTA 2018 where young people successfully used the antenna oper- ating satellites using hand-held transceivers. Although currently only available in South Africa, interested ama- teur radio operators can access detailed specifications and photos at: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/DualbandYagi.htm [ANS thanks AMSAT SA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations + Central California (CM95, CM96, DM05, DM06, DM07, DM08, DM17, DM18) January 5-6, 2019 - Ron, AD0DX will be roving in Central California. He plans to activate the DM06/DM16 grid line Saturday morning, the DM 07/DM08/DM17/DM18 grid corner Saturday afternoon, and the CM95/CM96/DM05/DM06 grid corner on Sunday. Keep an eye on the @ad0dx Twitter feed for more updates https://twitter.com/ad0dx + Super Road Trip (Wyoming to Tennessee to Florida to Wyoming) January 9, 2019 until he gets back home - Starting Jan. 9, RJ, WY7AA, will be travelling from Wyoming to Tennessee to Florida, to New York and back to Wyoming, staying approximately 10 days in each place and activating grids whenever he can. - First stop Tennessee – EM86, and will try roving to EM85, EL87, EL96. - Next on to Florida – EL98, and will try roving to EL88, EL89, EL99. - Next on to New York – FN02, and try try roving to FN01, FN03, FN11, FN12, FN13 Travelling between each place, RJ will try to stop and work as he can, but putting down miles will take priority most often. In addition, RJ will be trying to operate mobile from time to time. FM birds for sure, but will be trying to learn linears while on the trip. Specific pass announcements will be posted to his Twitter feed: (https://twitter.com/WY7AA) and to the AMSAT-bb reflector. + Central California (CM95, CM96, DM05, DM06) – January 12, 2019 David, AD7DB, will be in the area of Kettleman City CA near a convergence of four grids, operating on FM satellites. Grids (maybe gridlines) will depend on the satellite passes. Operation expected from 1700 UTC through 2300 UTC. Updates will be on Twitter as the time approaches: https://twitter.com/ad7db + Quartzfest Arizona (DM23) – January 19-27, 2019 John, N7JY, will be operating FM satellites on a holiday schedule. He may also visit some adjoining grids. There will likely be other hams operating from the event, located a few miles south of Quartzsite AZ. QSL via LOTW, or you can send your card with SASE. + Las Vegas NV and Northwest AZ (DM25, DM26, DM36) – January 20-22, 2019 David, AD7DB, will be in Las Vegas at DM25/26 line, operating on FM satellites on a holiday schedule. In addition, weather permitting, sometime on Monday 01/21/19 he will make a side trip to Beaver Dam AZ to activate from DM36aw. Updates will be on Twitter as the time approaches: https://twitter.com/ad7db + Nevada (DM15, DM16, DM17, DM18, DM25, DM26, DM27, DM28, DM37, DM36) February 8-11, 2019 - Casey KI7UNJ and Jonathan KI5BEX are planning a joint roving trip to Nevada. Planned activations include the DM15/16/25/26 grid corner Friday morning, the DM16/26 gridline Friday afternoon, DM17/18 gridline Saturday morning, DM27/28 gridline Saturday evening, DM27/37 gridline Sunday morning, and DM36/37 gridline Sunday evening. This will be FM only. All contacts uploaded to LoTW upon return. Check out @KI7UNJ Twitter feed for specific passes https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ and follow them on aprs.fi KI7UNJ-7. + Turks and Caicos Islands (FL31) – February 28 – March 9, 2019 Adrian, AA5UK, will be heading to Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands from Feb 28th through March 9th, 2019. He will be operating holiday style on HF and Satellites as VP5/AA5UK from grid FL31UU14. Focus will be on the linear satellites, with some FM act- ivity depending on pile-up civility. Hope to work some European stations as location favors the East. Pass announcements will be made via Twitter: https://twitter.com/AA5UK and periodically via amsat-bb. Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 2019 is AMSAT's 50th Anniversary! Watch this space for announcements of special events coming in 2019 Get ready to help celebrate with us at the Hamvention Symposium 2019 promises to be a special event Stand by for 50th anniversary operating events and awards +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT at Thunderbird Hamfest in Glendale AZ, 12 January 2019 Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK will have an AMSAT booth at the Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club's Thunderbird Hamfest 2019 on Saturday, 12 Jan- uary 2019. The hamfest will be at a new site, at the Glendale Nazarene Church on the corner of 59th Avenue and Cactus Road in Glendale, Ari- zona. More information about the hamfest is available at: http://www.w7tbc.org/content.php?348-hamfest During the hamfest, Patrick will have demonstrations of satellite operating. If you hear WD9EWK on any passes, please call and be a part of the demonstrations. The hamfest is located in grid DM33, Maricopa County. All QSOs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World after the hamfest. If you would like to receive a QSL card for working WD9EWK during the hamfest, please e-mail Patrick directly with the QSO details. If you are in his log, he will send you a QSL card. Patrick will post updates from the hamfest on his @WD9EWK Twitter account. If you do not use Twitter, you can still see these updates in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK [ANS thanks Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + DK3WN reports that the 145.825 MHz APRS digipeater on NO-84 (PSAT) has been re-enabled and is available for operations. The digipeater is turned off for a recharging period when telemetry shows battery voltage is low. http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=92041 + AO-73 (FUNcube-1) is now back to "Educational" mode after the holiday period (Transponder ON when in eclipse, with low power telemetry; High power telemetry when illuminated in sunlight.) Please keep tracking and sending in telemetry as the FUNcube team tries to better understand the spin effects over the next few months of full orbit sun. (AMSAT-UK) + AMSAT and radio amateurs extend best wishes and thank you to Alain, IZ6BYY and Claudio, IK1SLD for 17 years of service to the amateur space community on their ISSFanClub.com web site. ISSFanClub.com closed down on January 1, 2019. Alain wrote, "I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Thank you for your visits and your attention". + A new ISS fan presence has been started at http://issfanclub.eu/ Blog entries from January 3 and 4 are posted. Many of the pages are under construction in the new format. + CQ-DATV Magazine for January 2019 is available for download at: https://cq-datv.mobi/67.php Among the several features the article "Arduino SimpleSat Rotor Controller" by Tom Doyle, W9KE may be of particular interest to AMSAT satellite stations. Tom's controller uses the Yaesu GS232 command set to control a Yaesu G5500 AzEl rotor. The controller was designed to be compatible with the SatPC32 tracking program and should work with any tracking program that supports the Yaesu GS232 format. (CQ-DATV Magazine via e-mail) + The Nashua Area Radio Society, N1FD has written a blog about their work in supporting Hudson Memorial School (HMS) in their bid to secure and hold an ISS Crew Contact. https://www.n1fd.org/2019/01/01/iss-crew-contact-journey/ + An NPR radio news feature discusses, "What's Next For Tiny Satellites?". about NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab's Marco cubesats that accompanied the InSight lander mission to Mars. JPL says their next cubesat mission will be a solar sail flight to a near Earth asteroid. Read and listen at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-NPR-CubeSat-News + Good coverage for amateur radio and amateur satellites appeared in the Shropshire Star newspaper's ooverage of the Wellington Young- sters on the Air event, that saw young people talking to others from across the world, all under expert supervision. It was one of the events organised by Telford and District Amateur Radio Society to help attract younger people to the world of 'ham' radio. Read the article at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-UK-YOTA (AMSAT-UK) + Bookings for the AMSAT SA Space Symposium are now open. The Symposium will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at the Accolade Conference Centre in Midrand, South Africa. The rate will be R400 per person for AMSAT SA and SARL members and R600 for non-members. There is an early bird rate of R350 for AMSATSA and SARL Members, if booked and paid for by February 28, 2019. Accommodation is also available at the hotel at R855 plus VAT. More details on www.amsatsa.org.za + A calendar of upcoming astronomical events, launches, and space- craft operations available as Google or iOS calendars: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-NYTimes-Astro-Calendar + Greg, W4GHW, program coordinator for the Coastal Plains ARC, sent a request for a presentation on any amateur satellites at their club. They meet in Tifton, Georgia on the second Saturday of each month. If you can help please e-mail Greg at w4ghw(a)arrl.net + A paper is available for downloading which may be of interest regard- ing telemetry: "Easy-to-Build Satellite Beacon Receiver for Propa- gation Experimentation at Millimeter Bands" can be accessed at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-Millimeter-Telemetry + There are some amateur radio connections with the New Horizons probe which had a successful flyby of Ultima Thule on January 1. Lee, KT4TZ worked on the launch in 2006. Dan, N8FGV works on the New Horizons team now. [ANS thanks everyone 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 behave and to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM k9jkm at amsat dot org

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Pembroke Junior Senior High School, Corfu, NY
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 05 Jan '19

05 Jan '19

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Pembroke Junior Senior High School, Corfu, NY on 08 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:28 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 LU8YY. The contact should be audible over portions of Argentina 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. Pembroke Junior Senior High School is a comprehensive public high school enrolling approximately 450 students in grades 7 through 12. It is located in the rural community of Pembroke, New York, midway between Buffalo and Rochester. In 2017, Pembroke was recognized by Business First as 3rd Most Over-Achieving School in Western New York out of the 96 schools assessed. We work diligently to provide challenging and rigorous courses that meet the diverse needs of our students. For a small school, we pride ourselves on offering an extensive selection of high-level classes and acceleration to our students. We also offer a variety of extracurricular opportunities for students in athletics, arts, science, and technology. Many of our students are very well rounded as a result of being involved in multiple sports, clubs, and music groups. Many of our students also volunteer and fundraise for multiple nonprofit organizations in Western New York. We have strong bonds with our community and are known for being able to do a lot with a little. We have enjoyed working with local amateur radio enthusiasts who have enhanced our STEM curriculum and have expanded our knowledge outside of the classroom particularly in sharing the wide range of fields that use radio communication. We have been eagerly anticipating our contact by keeping up with the events related to the International Space Station and can't wait to speak with David Saint-Jacques. We look forward to hearing about his experience so far as a new crew member on the ISS. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Did you always know that you wanted to become an astronaut? 2. What do you do for fun while you are in space? 3. What items did you bring with you to space? 4. What food do you miss the most? 5. What does it feel like to exit the atmosphere? 6. How do you know if it is day or night on the ISS? 7. What surprised you the most when you arrived at the space station, or has it been just as you expected? 8. To help us understand the size of the space station, can you compare it to the size of something on Earth? 9. Do you follow Eastern Standard Time in space? 10. What is the most difficult everyday activity or task to complete in space? 11. How do you clean up spills and messes in space? 12. Does the space station help to predict weather? 13. How do you prepare for the lack of gravity that you experience in space? 14. Which do you enjoy more, being in space or on Earth? 15. Do you celebrate Christmas or other holidays on the space station? 16. How do you maintain your water supply in space? 17. Can you spot specific constellations from space? 18. How would you take care of an open wound in space? 19. What equipment do you use to contact your family? 20. How do you exercise in space? 21. What is your favorite part about being on the ISS? 22. What do you believe is the future for manned spaceflight? 23. Who inspired you to become an astronaut? 24. How does a flame act in space? 25. What is the coolest thing you have seen on Earth from 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): 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) 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 informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.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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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-01-05 22:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 05 Jan '19

05 Jan '19

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-01-05 22:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Pembroke Junior Senior High School, Corfu, NY, telebridge via LU8YY The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI Contact is go for: Tue 2019-01-08 15:28:49 UTC 32 deg The ISS Fan Club website has now changed. (***) The ISS Fan Club website is: http://www.issfanclub.eu (***) ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS-US program’s education proposal window open Oct. 1 - Nov. 30, 2018 has now closed. The next window should go open in the spring of 2019. The ARISS webpage is at http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. 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, click here. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) ****************************************************************************** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 135 Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 108 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2018-12-31 19:30 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1285. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1228. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2018-12-14 18:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 58 on orbit Oleg Konenenko David St-Jacques KG5FYI Anne McClain **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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SO-50 1920Z Pass
by Chris Pohlad-Thomas 05 Jan '19

05 Jan '19

Just checking to see if anyone could hear me on this pass a little while ago. I don't yet have an extra BNC to hook my scanner up to my arrow for full duplex, so running off a VX-7R. -- Chris Pohlad-Thomas KC1E

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AMSAT Droid Developer
by Paul Overn 05 Jan '19

05 Jan '19

Hello, Does anyone know who the developer is for AMSAT droid? Im looking to edit the SAT file to limit it to just the ones I use, and I cant find it. Any help would be appreciated. Paul Overn KE0PBR Twitter: @KE0PBR `·.¸¸.·´¯`·.. ><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><((((º>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.. ><((((º>

3 2

FT-857 and Omnirig
by NA1SA Loon 05 Jan '19

05 Jan '19

I'm using PstRotator with Omnirig to control my new FT-857D. I managed to get the computer and radio to connect, but I cannot get the TX and RX frequencies to display on the OmniRig side of PstRotator, My settings are... Rig Type: FT-857 Port: COM 3 Baud Rate: 4800 Data Bits 8 Parity: None Stop Bits: 1 RTS: Low DTR: High Poll int ms: 500 Timeout: 4000 When in connects to the radio it only shows the RX frequency in OmniRig and it keeps changing the radios VFO to display a shortened frequency number... instead of 145.950 it shows 145.95. I then get a TX ERROR msg when you push the PTT and I end doing a reset to get the radio out of this mode. I'm stumped... Loon

2 2

Sat Contacts
by James McIrvin 04 Jan '19

04 Jan '19

Good evening all. I have been trying to make contacts this afternoon, after finding that I could start hearing myself on the birds which I had not been able to do before. I tried and I had a couple of folks respond to me, however, I was not able to pull them out of the noise. Sorry about that, just a newbie trying. also trying to tweak things so I can hear it all and learning how things work. I don't mean to cause anyone issues with me trying to work the birds, just trying to figure things out. So if you did hear me sorry, however, I will get things figured out at some point. Today was a good day so far trying to work the XW 2 birds. Since I have the ts2000 there is a birdie that kills some of the fm work which does not please me in the least. However, I will get this figured out. I just ask that you bare with me and also if you can give me any pointers that would be great too. Have a great weekend everyone and maybe we can work something out on one of these things. 73 de Jim N1IPA <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> Virus-free. www.avg.com <http://www.avg.com/email-signature?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_cam…> <#DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2>

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AO-91 at 19:15 - 19:27
by johnv＠frontier.com 04 Jan '19

04 Jan '19

I tweeted that I forgot my tape recorder and noticed it was gone on my boom so I tried to write calls on my wrist. I got one good one and one partial. ND0C Randal is okayK9ITW - Bill is okay But there were two others I missed before these two at the begin of the overflight in CN87. Sorry to goof up like this and thanks for the help JohnN7AME

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Soundcard Packet to ISS
by Les Rayburn 04 Jan '19

04 Jan '19

Now that I’m back on the birds, I’d like to try my hand at making QSO’s using the ISS Digipeater. My IC-910H is set up for sound card modes—I use it successfully with WSJT for meteor scatter work. What is the best software for doing packet work with ISS? It does not have to be freeware—happy to pay for a good product. 73, Les Rayburn, N1LF 121 Mayfair Park Maylene, AL 35114 EM63nf Member WTFDA, IRCA, NRC. Former CPC Chairman for NRC & IRCA. Elad FDM-S2 SDR, AirSpy SDR2, SDRPlay RSP-2 Pro, Sony XDR-F1HD [XDR Guy Modified], Dennon TU-1500RD, Sangean HDT-1X, Ray Dees RDS Decoders, Korner 9.2 Antenna, FM-6 Antenna, Kitz Technologies KT-501 Pre-amps, Quantum Phaser, Wellbrook ALA1530 Loop, Wellbrook Flag, Clifton Labs Active Whip. “Nothing but blues and Elvis, and somebody else’s favorite song…”

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FUNcube 1 Operational Status
by Brian 04 Jan '19

04 Jan '19

Greetings to all FUNcubers for 2019. FUNcube 1 is now back to "Educational" mode after the holiday period. Please keep tracking and sending in telemetry as we try to better understand the spin effects over the next few months of full orbit sun. Thanks, Brian (G4BIP)

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Re: [amsat-bb] Arrow modification
by k6vug＠sbcglobal.net 04 Jan '19

04 Jan '19

Thanks for sharing Rick, it helps to compare notes. I have experienced the problem with a single coax feeding a full duplex Icom W32A HT as well as two separate coaxes feeding two radios. The front-end gets severely de-sensed esp when the V/U frequencies get close to harmonic relationship. I guess I need to investigate further. 73!Umesh, k6vug On Wednesday, January 2, 2019, 5:00:36 PM PST, saguaroastro <saguaroastro(a)cox.net> wrote: Umesh, I have not experienced any of that in either mode. In fact most of my contact with it were V/u. This is using a KW D7A or D72a 73Rick Tejera (K7TEJ)Saguaro Astronomy ClubWww.saguaroastro.orgThunderbird Astronomy ClubWww.w7tbc.org -------- Original message --------From: k6vug(a)sbcglobal.net Date: 1/2/19 17:09 (GMT-07:00) To: Kenneth P Alexander <ve3hls(a)gmail.com> Cc: AMSAT -BB <AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Arrow modification The WA5VJB models are great for UHF up and VHF down (assuming duplex ops), but get severe RX overload for VHF up and UHF down. 73! Umesh, k6vug On Tuesday, January 1, 2019, 5:53:01 PM PST, Douglas Quagliana <dquagliana(a)gmail.com> wrote: I'm not sure if anyone has modified an Arrow to put the elements in the same plane. However, Kent's "cheap LEO" yagi puts the 2m and 70cm elements all in the same plane, so it can be done (if you know what you are doing.) See http://www.wa5vjb.com/references/Cheap%20Antennas-LEOs.pdf 73, Douglas KA2UPW/5 > On Dec 31, 2018, at 9:37 PM, Kenneth P Alexander <ve3hls(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi Doug, > > Simply moving them into the same plane will likely cause problems because > the bands are harmonically related. The 2m elements will make a mess of > the 70cm radiation pattern if they're in the same plane. That said, I did > just stumble across a satellite yagi design where the elements were > intentionally in the same plane. Only the 2m yagi is fed and a passive 70 > cm driven element is placed close to the 2m driven element so the 2m > element excites the 70 cm passive element, causing it to radiate on 70 cm. > I believe it's called an open sleeve design. I think it was 3 elements on > 2m and 3 or 4 elements on 70 cm. Sorry I didn't bookmark the page. I > don't remember where I saw it. Hopefully someone else saw it and remembers. > > Happy New Year, > > Ken > bueng-ken.com > > > On Tue, Jan 1, 2019 at 10:20 AM Douglas B Tabor via AMSAT-BB < > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > >> I’ve been using my well faded Arrow for 4 years. The boom is a much >> appreciated LIDstick so the old man can swing it as well as a 3 year old. >> >> Has anyone modified the Arrow to have 2m and 70cm elements in the same >> plane (instead of stock 90 degrees)? I’m just curious what the performance >> result might be - I know it would be easier to get in and out of the >> RoverMobile instead of doing the twist-and-angle it out. >> >> HNY and 73, >> >> Doug, N6UA >> >> Douglas Tabor >> dtabor52(a)icloud.com >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >> > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Kenwood TS2000 control versus Icom IC9100
by James McIrvin 04 Jan '19

04 Jan '19

I would like to find out which unit has a better tracking for doppler and general connectivity over all. I have been fighting with this TS 2000 keeping my connection with the pc going. I am about ready to deep six this thing. I have gone to a true IO card for the serial connection, Not a USB converter, changed the speeds to match in the settings in both radio and pc. tried different ports and things like that and at times it will track fair and then other times it does not do anything. I have restarted the pc and the radios, shut them both off and then restarted and still, I am having issues. I would like to have a rig that is going to work with Satpc32 in a reasonable fashion. Just keeping this thing working is taking the fun out of trying to get on with the birds and ready to change if it is going to work better. However, I am looking at general input from those that have used these rigs and if they have had good luck with them or if I am asking for something out in left field. Thank you. Jim

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Re: [amsat-bb] Arrow modification
by Bill Acito 03 Jan '19

03 Jan '19

Doug, I been thinking about this as well. One antenna (arrow) for those birds with antennas at 90 (SO-50), and another for those birds with them in line. I've been looking at parallel designs(think "trident") e.g. take my elk, use that for 2m, and have a clip-on parallel spot for a 432 or 1.2G beam. Tired of doing the TX-90-degree-twist. Bill W1PA

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KLM Crossed Yagis
by Tom Lubbers K8TL 03 Jan '19

03 Jan '19

I have replaced my KLM's. If anyone is interested and close enough to pick them up contact me. k8tl(a)earthlink.net

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AMSAT at Thunderbird Hamfest in Glendale AZ, 12 January 2019
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 03 Jan '19

03 Jan '19

Hi! I will have an AMSAT booth at the Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club's Thunderbird Hamfest 2019 on Saturday, 12 January 2019. The hamfest will be at a new site, at the Glendale Nazarene Church on the corner of 59th Avenue and Cactus Road in Glendale, Arizona. More information about the hamfest is available at: http://www.w7tbc.org/content.php?348-hamfest During the hamfest, I will have demonstrations of satellite operating. If you hear WD9EWK on any passes, please call and be a part of the demonstrations. The hamfest is located in grid DM33, Maricopa County. All QSOs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World after the hamfest. If you would like to receive a QSL card for working WD9EWK during the hamfest, please e-mail me directly with the QSO details. If you are in my log, I will send you a QSL card. I will post updates from the hamfest on my @WD9EWK Twitter account. If you do not use Twitter, you can still see these updates in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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FT-857D and PstRotator
by NA1SA Loon 03 Jan '19

03 Jan '19

Does anyone use an FT-857D with PstRotator? Just wondering how Omni-Rig works at keeping doppler up to date. Loon NA1SA

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FT-857D and PstRotator
by NA1SA Loon 03 Jan '19

03 Jan '19

Does anyone use an FT-857D with PstRotator? Just wondering how Omni-Rig works at keeping doppler up to date. Loon NA1SA

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Sat rigs for sale
by Stephan Greene 02 Jan '19

02 Jan '19

I am posting this for a fellow club member who is handling an estate sale for an SK. Please contact Paul, N4PD, Radio.N4PD(a)gmail.com with any questions about this equipment, prices, and shipping or local pickup. I can vouch that Paul is a very reliable seller. Equipment is in Northern VA (Wash DC suburbs). Contact Paul for the complete list, I've narrowed it down to the rigs I think would be of most interest for satellite use. Kenwood TS-2000 HF/VHF/UHF - $1200. Yaesu FT-847 - HF/VHF/UHF - $750. Kenwood TM-D710A - VHF/UHF - $400. iCom iC-901A - VHF/UHF - $175. iCom iC-V8000 - VHF - $125. Yaesu FT-7800R - VHF/UHF - $165. iCom iC-W32A - VHF/UHF - $100. Yaesu FT-60R - VHF/UHF - $135. Yaesu FT-50R - VHF/UHF - $75. Yaesu VX-170 - VHF/UHF - $50. Yaesu VX-8DR - VHF/UHF (4 bands) - $350. 73 Steve KS1G FM18

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Re: [amsat-bb] AO-85 & Wouxun KG-UV9D - more testing (long)
by Doug Faunt N6TQS +1-510-717-1197 02 Jan '19

02 Jan '19

Hi, How do you feel about the Wouxon KG-UV9D Plus these days? 73, doug

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Arrow modification
by Douglas B Tabor 02 Jan '19

02 Jan '19

I’ve been using my well faded Arrow for 4 years. The boom is a much appreciated LIDstick so the old man can swing it as well as a 3 year old. Has anyone modified the Arrow to have 2m and 70cm elements in the same plane (instead of stock 90 degrees)? I’m just curious what the performance result might be - I know it would be easier to get in and out of the RoverMobile instead of doing the twist-and-angle it out. HNY and 73, Doug, N6UA Douglas Tabor dtabor52(a)icloud.com

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Hawaii
by Gabriel Zeifman 02 Jan '19

02 Jan '19

Happy New Year to all the Bird Folk of North America, Today is my final day in Hawaii. I am planning to be on AO-7 at 2253Z from BL11 and will find a perfect horizon, this pass has footprint about as far east as you’ll ever see to Hawaii. At 0215Z I will work FO-29 from BL01, this pass is a little further west but since it’s coming from the NE I should also be able to find a perfect horizon for it which should allow QSOs as far east as Ohio and maybe even parts of Pennsylvania. Might do a few random passes throughout the day or passes by request, Twitter is best for that AL6D_Alaska. Can do passes as late as 0600Z likely. 73, Gabe AL6D/KH6

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Icom CI-V programming
by Mike Diehl 02 Jan '19

02 Jan '19

I’m currently working on some projects that will implement CI-V control of my rig, an Icom IC-910H without the L band module. After a few struggles with the manual being either wrong or missing information I’ve run into what could be a potential problem later. When using command 0x00 to set the frequency, the rig will not switch bands on its own. Whether this makes sense or not is debatable and I have a couple possible workarounds, some uglier than others. I can either read the bands that Main and Sub are on and send my 2m and 70cm frequency to the correct place (elegant) or I can send them both the same frequencies and let the rig sort it out (ugly). Now comes the tricky part. I don’t have the L band module yet but when I do, how am I supposed to get the rig to switch from say L/v to U/v if it doesn’t auto switch bands? I’m not seeing any commands to handle this situation. Does anyone know if there is an undocumented command or some other type of workaround? I would also be curious what users of SatPC32 experience when they switch between L/v and U/v. Do you manually have to switch bands to regain frequency control or does the IC-910 become smart enough to switch on its own when the module is installed? Any insight into this would be greatly appreciated. 73, Mike Diehl W8LID/VE6LID

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Upcoming Satellite Operations
by Robert Bankston 02 Jan '19

02 Jan '19

Attention all grid chasers: There are some exciting roving trips happening in January and February. Be sure to check out the Upcoming Satellite Operations page on the AMSAT website for more information. https://www.amsat.org/satellite-info/upcoming-satellite-operations/ Happy Hunting, 73, Robert Bankston, KE4AL AMSAT-NA VP of User Services Twitter: @KE4ALabama Website: KE4AL.wordpress.com

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Arrow antennas
by Ray Soifer 02 Jan '19

02 Jan '19

Doug, The problem, as I see it, is that 2m and 70cm are harmonically related. If the two Yagis were in the same plane, there would be more interaction between them. Placing them 90 degrees apart minimizes such interaction. 73 Ray W2RS

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Re: [amsat-bb] Arrow modification
by Nick Hart 02 Jan '19

02 Jan '19

Just realized this didn’t post to the group. Sent from my iPhone > On Dec 31, 2018, at 7:28 PM, Nick Hart <nickhart(a)usa.net> wrote: > > I started making one of these last year. But, I went in a different direction > at the time. > > http://www.amateurradio.bz/4_dollar_satellite_antenna.html > > The author's idea is to treat the driven elements like a fan dipole running > off of a common feed, so you wouldn't need a duplexer. > > Dirt cheap and certainly worth the experiment to see what sort of results > you'll get. > > > > ------ Original Message ------ > Received: Mon, 31 Dec 2018 07:20:04 PM PST > From: Douglas B Tabor via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > To: AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org > Subject: [amsat-bb] Arrow modification > > I’ve been using my well faded Arrow for 4 years. The boom is a much > appreciated LIDstick so the old man can swing it as well as a 3 year old. > > Has anyone modified the Arrow to have 2m and 70cm elements in the same plane > (instead of stock 90 degrees)? I’m just curious what the performance result > might be - I know it would be easier to get in and out of the RoverMobile > instead of doing the twist-and-angle it out. > > HNY and 73, > > Doug, N6UA > > Douglas Tabor > dtabor52(a)icloud.com > > _______________________________________________ > 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: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > >

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-12-27 22:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 02 Jan '19

02 Jan '19

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-12-27 22:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Next contact is expected to be scheduled sometime during the week of 2019-01-07. ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS-US program’s education proposal window open Oct. 1 - Nov. 30, 2018 has now closed. The next window should go open in the spring of 2019. The ARISS webpage is at http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. 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, click here. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) ****************************************************************************** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 135 Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 108 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2018-12-27 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1285. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1228. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2018-12-14 18:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 58 on orbit Oleg Konenenko David St-Jacques KG5FYI Anne McClain **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Re: [amsat-bb] Arrow modification
by W0JW John 01 Jan '19

01 Jan '19

Antenna with 2 & 70cm in the same plane. http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ 73 John W0JW

1 0

Journal
by Chris Pohlad-Thomas 01 Jan '19

01 Jan '19

I joined AMSAT a few weeks ago and was curious how I access the most recent journal. Chris Pohlad-Thomas KC1E

2 1

Club Program
by Greg 01 Jan '19

01 Jan '19

I am program coordinator for the Coastal Plains ARC for 2019. We meet in Tifton Georgia on the second Saturday of each month. I was wondering if there was someone close by who would be willing to do a presentation on any of the Amateur Satellites. If you are interested, please email me directly. w4ghw(a)arrl.net <mailto:[email protected]> 73 Greg W4GHW

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VUCC Awards-Endorsements for December 2018
by Ronald G. Parsons 01 Jan '19

01 Jan '19

Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period December 1, 2018 through January 1, 2019. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL 01Dec 01Jan KO4MA 1627 1656 WC7V 1159 1160 W5RKN 634 660 WD9EWK 513 525 NS3L 350 375 PV8DX 313 360 AE5B 300 342 N3GS 300 332 K8BL 252 257 PT9BM 176 203 AD0HJ 175 200 KK4YEL 102 200 N7AGF 175 200 K9UO 150 175 AD0DX 101 167 W4AQT 125 153 PU8RFL 134 146 PS8MT 130 145 PU8MRS 100 127 LW2DAF 110 115 WD9EWK(DM23) New 104 F6GLJ New 103 WI4T New 101 AI9IN New 100 If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at <mycall>@<mycall>.com and I'll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for December 1, 2018 and January 1, 2019. 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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NASABARE TLE causing error in SATPC32
by cchunter3＠mindspring.com 01 Jan '19

01 Jan '19

happy New Year All, I updated my Nasabare tles this am...got a popup in SatPC32 zugriffsverletzung bei adress 004499E2 and then a cascadiing failure. I switched over to Nasaall and works ok now. Is this the tles? or my settings/program? thanks 73 christy KB6LTY

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WAS satellite
by BeetleJerald Oliver 01 Jan '19

01 Jan '19

I am looking for a satellite station operating from state of Delaware.....Need for my WAS.....If know of anyone, let me know..... Tnx Jerry KJ4EU

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