- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Re: [amsat-bb] Amazon donations
by jim＠k6ccc.org 14 Sep '20

14 Sep '20

Bruce said: > If you use the app, you can set it up for smile. If you use a web browser be sure to always goto smile.amazon.com I normally use a browser, but I do have the Amazon app on my phone. Note that it is rather hidden on the app. On the app, press the three horizontal bars in the upper left corner for the main menu. Then under "Programs and Features", select "See All Programs". Then scroll down to "AmazonSmile" (not in alphabetical order). 73 ----- Jim Walls - K6CCC jim(a)k6ccc.org

1 0

Amazon donations
by Francis Geraci 14 Sep '20

14 Sep '20

I just got an Email from AmazonSmile. $5,660.00 was donated to Amsat. All you Amazon buyers, use "Amazonsmile" when buying, and donate to Amsat. IMHO W1FXX

1 0

New LOTW ADIF File Generator
by Wes Baden 14 Sep '20

14 Sep '20

I didn't mean for my original post to kick up any dust. In hindsight, it was a classic "Who Moved My Cheese?" moment. Train a mouse to move through a maze to find cheese, then move the position of the cheese, and the mouse will become disoriented and panic at first. In my case, I should have played with the new system for a while before posting. Many thanks to those who passed on information about navigating the ADIF file generator now. Using TAB rather than ENTER, as I did previously, gets me down from one entry line to another (ENTER no longer does, at least on my PC). Also, the elimination of "Phone," replaced by a number of voice modes, really does make a lot of sense. I miss what are probably the most common linear satellite modes, CW and now SSB, being at the top of the Mode list, but as someone pointed out, they are findable fairly quickly by typing in "C" or "S" first. I have no trouble using LOTW at this point (I really need to get a logging program, though!), and my CW and SSB contacts are matching on LOTW just as they should be. I appreciate the coders' ongoing efforts to tweak LOTW and made it better over time. In the future, I just need to remember not to panic when the cheese gets moved once again. 73, Wes NA1ME

2 1

New version of LOTW
by Wes Baden 13 Sep '20

13 Sep '20

Anyone else not pleased with the new version "improving" LOTW, at least as it involves SAT contacts? Can we get ARRL to undo some things? At least on my computer, you no longer can press the Enter key to go down entry fields one after another. It's a much slower process now. Also, the two most common modes that we've been using on LOTW, CW and VOICE, are no longer first in line, where an expanded list of modes is alphabetized. This also slows down entries. Worse yet, VOICE is no longer a listed mode at all. It's been replaced by SSB, LSB and USB. I could be wrong, but isn't this in particular going to make QSO matching more difficult? Should SAT ops simply enter SSB, or should it be USB (the output of satellites) or LSB (our input to them)? In sum, the whole process is now slower with multiple opportunities for matching errors and contacts not being confirmed. Ugh. Wes NA1ME

3 2

Oops, It's "Phone" They Removed
by Wes Baden 13 Sep '20

13 Sep '20

Way too early in the morning and without coffee when I sent that post about changes in LOTW. It's PHONE they removed, which used to appear immediately after CW in the first two Mode field options. For linear SAT users, the previous PHONE choice is now replaced by LSB, SSB and USB. Pick one now and hope the operator you've contacted picks the same one, for a match. Or should the new standard, for us, simply be SSB? Wes NA1ME

1 0

1.2G on LEO Pack
by Jeff Davis 12 Sep '20

12 Sep '20

Looking for links to photos of 1.2G antenna installed on the same boom as a LEO Pack. Thanks! 73 Jeff KE9V

1 1

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-09-12 20:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 12 Sep '20

12 Sep '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-09-12 20:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Avellaneda Ikastetxea, Sodupe, Spain, telebridge via ZS6JON The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Fri 2020-09-18 12:56:34 UTC 65 deg Watch for live stream at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMDcOZOF2FE&feature=youtu.be (***) ************************************************************************************************************* There is a new radio on board the ISS. The Kenwood D710GA is now in use. The crossband repeater is now available when the radio is not being used for ARISS school contacts. The frequencies are 145.99 MHz up (67 tone) and 437.800 MHz down. Watch the Doppler on the downlink. ######################################################################################################################################## A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. ************************************************* ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, I will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates. The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No new schools Cancelled: No new schools (***) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements here also. Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2020-09-12 20:00 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2020-09-10 14:00 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Proposal Window of February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 has now closed. For future proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. ******************************************************************************** ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, go to: https://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) https://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ ****************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. ******************************************************************************* All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 138 Sergey RV3DR with 135 Gaston ON4WF with 123 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed, and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1398. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1331. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 62 now on orbit Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

1 0

AMSAT D-Star talkgroups
by Keith E. Brandt, WD9GET 12 Sep '20

12 Sep '20

I'm having trouble with the AMSAT D-Star reflectors. I can hear traffic with no difficulty, but I am not heard when I transmit. Other reflectors work fine (30C, 1C, 4B, etc). I've tried the various alternative reflectors that are hooked together (DCS, XLX, XRF systems using reflectors 28C, SAT, and SIN). When I transmit, the Pi-Star shows me getting into the hotspot and it shows the reflector connected. The gateway pages for the reflectors sometimes show me connected, sometimes they don't. My hotspot is a RPi 3 running Pi-Star 4.1.2 with a DVMega board (firmware 3.26) -- both the newest versions I've tried accessing the hotspot with both my TH-D74A and Icom ID-51A I use the Pi-Star interface to change reflectors I can use the AMSAT reflectors from my Windows computer with an AMBE stick and BlueDV If anyone has any insights as to why my transmissions aren't getting to the system I'd appreciate advice. Keith WD9GET

2 1

Re: [amsat-bb] ORI receives half million dollar grant, and, it's only the first.
by Daniel Schultz 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

Going Open Source is the second thing that AMSAT needs to do. The first thing is to learn how to govern the organization in an adult manner without all the petty bickering and name calling of the past couple of months, no matter which group wins the BOD election in a few days. The more I learn about the secondary launch market as it exists today, the more I must conclude that the only way that we will get a launch to HEO for a satellite large enough to serve our needs will be to buy it on the commercial launch market, and we are talking millions of dollars for that. Since we have no generous Arab royalty on this side of the pond, it did not look very hopeful that some rich benefactor would come to our aid. It still might be too big of an ask, but the days of free satellite launches as "ballast" are far behind us and we better learn to adapt to that reality. Dan Schultz N8FGV ----------------------------- Michael, W4HIJ, wrote: It appears there are resources out there if AMSAT is willing to do what's necessary to have access to them. I guess the question is what's that involve? Is it simply just going open source or is there more to it than that? Are there other stumbling blocks that they wouldn't be comfortable with for some reason?

1 0

Phase 4 Ground
by Robert McGwier 11 Sep '20

11 Sep '20

ARDC awarded ORI $500,000 to do major development on the phase 4 ground digital communications terminal. ORI has assembled a tremendous engineering team to do this work. Congratulations to ORI. I was informed the check is in the mail. This is the largest grant ARDC has given to date. ORI was previously awarded large grants by the ARRL foundation and the Yasme foundation to support the work. 73s Bob N4HY

7 19