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New satellite operator - M7OJA
by Roy Dean 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

> > I would like to try to maximise the time I have to use the satellite. My > handheld radio (Anytone 868) doesn't have an auto doppler shift, so I am > wondering how to calculate the doppler frequencies? For example, on this > link https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/how-to-work-fm-satellites/, all of the > frequencies are listed to be programmed into a handheld (accounting for > doppler shift). I would like a similar list of frequencies for the Fox-1D > (or know how to calculate them). Many Thanks, Oscar M7OJA (IO94HT) Hi Oscar (very appropriate name for this list!), If you have a computer or smart phone accessible during the pass, I suggest opening up the following webpage: http://www.amsat.org.ar/pass.htm Set your grid square at the bottom and hit "Resolve and Set New". Double check that the little house on the map is on your location. If that is correct, simply click on the satellite in the list and the upper right will change to a display that shows the elevation, azimuth, and current uplink/downlink at your location. Then it's simply up to you to change your uplink and downlink VFO to the closest match of the displayed correct doppler frequency. --Roy K3RLD

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Oscar Sub Band Freq Infio
by KA9QJG 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Hello from Don KA9QJG Ham for over 40 yrs. Hope Everyone is staying Safe and Healthy.. I hope its ok to change the ongoing thread.. I have heard some New Hams using the Oscar sub bands for FM Simplex. Below Is the ARRL Band Chart Now Reads New 144.30-144.50 New OSCAR subband 145.80-146.00 OSCAR subband They are using Freq 144.315 FM Simplex. One was telling a story over 25 yrs ago they were using this Freq and a complaint was made to the FCC He got a Letter from the FCC . And He called respond the complaint and told the FCC that this was the Old Oscar Sub band that had not been used since the sixties Sats were Not up and working anymore. And the FCC Said do not worry about the complaint. So after listening to all this on 144.315 over a long time I thought the best place to get a real answer would be here. Thanks everyone Please Stay Safe and Healthy 73 At 73 Be careful Old Age is catching LOL Don KA9QJG 2 Meters (144-148 MHz) 144.00-144.05 EME (CW) 144.05-144.10 General CW and weak signals 144.10-144.20 EME and weak-signal SSB 144.200 National calling frequency 144.200-144.275 General SSB operation 144.275-144.300 Propagation beacons 144.30-144.50 New OSCAR subband 144.50-144.60 Linear translator inputs 144.60-144.90 FM repeater inputs 144.90-145.10 Weak signal and FM simplex (145.01,03,05,07,09 are widely used for packet) 145.10-145.20 Linear translator outputs 145.20-145.50 FM repeater outputs 145.50-145.80 Miscellaneous and experimental modes 145.80-146.00 OSCAR subband 146.01-146.37 Repeater inputs 146.40-146.58 Simplex 146.52 National Simplex Calling Frequency 146.61-146.97 Repeater outputs 147.00-147.39 Repeater outputs 147.42-147.57 Simplex 147.60-147.99 Repeater inputs Notes: The frequency 146.40 MHz is used in some areas as a repeater input. This band plan has been proposed by the ARRL VHF-UHF Advisory Committee.

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Re: [amsat-bb] Testing
by Bruce Perens 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Bob McGwier's credentials exceed anyone on the board except for Tom Clark, who is stepping down and has endorsed Bob to replace him. Howie is pretty highly achieved in the satellite world, and I am intrigued by Jeff's background in Kaizen. This stuff has taken over companies to an astonishing degree, and gives them a way to rationally manage processes that we did not understand how to manage before. These folks are not *just *new blood. Thanks Bruce >

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Re: [amsat-bb] Moderation and personal attacks
by Fernando Ramirez 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Well, then you shouldn't have a problem with publishing that evidence. KF7R On Fri, Jul 17, 2020, 11:06 AM Clint Bradford <clintbradford(a)me.com> wrote: > I have three independent sources - including GoDaddy - for that truth. > > Notice how WE4B hasn’t make a peep about it? And Patrick stating > he wasn’t involved in CREATING it - but he sure contributed to it. > > With a third party. > > DO you, too, have some sort of “personal vendetta” against me? Any > questions or concerns? I am available by phone, email, Skype, Zoom … > > Clint Bradford K6LCS > 951-533-4984

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Mount Carmel HS ARC marine buoy deployed and transmitting
by Phil Karn 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Over the past year, Randy, KQ6RS and I have mentored the MCHSARC in designing and constructing a simple marine buoy that was deployed from the R/V Sally Ride this morning about 700 km off the coast of southern California. It is up and transmitting WSPR on 20m using the callsign KQ6RS, and is being received all over the US and into Canada and Brazil. The electronics is the 20m WSPR version of the WB8ELK "pico tracker" that has been flown quite a few times (including by us) on long duration balloons. We removed the solar panels and substituted 21 ordinary alkaline D-cells wired to supply 4.5V. We estimate battery lifetime will be 6 months. The basic design was inspired by Bob, WB4APR, at the US Naval Academy. Physically, the buoy is just a 5' section of 4" PVC pipe, ballasted at one end to float vertically in the water. The top is closed by a sewer pressure test plug I found at Home Depot; it has a bolt in the center that acts as a convenient feed-through and mounting point for the antenna, a stainless steel CB whip with a matching network designed, tested and carefully tuned by Randy. We use the sea as a counterpoise, but to avoid direct metal/seawater contact we lined the inside of the pipe with copper tape to form a capacitive connection. We probably spent too much time on this; Randy even modeled the electrical fields in the seawater with a professional RF analysis package. In our first flotation tests in Randy's swimming pool we found that the ballasted pipe, by itself, was remarkably stable in pitch, roll, sway and surge but oscillated a lot in heave (up and down). To damp this Randy added cross arms at the water line to add drag in the vertical direction. (It wasn't our intent to mimic a religious icon but that's where the physics went.) Tuning the antenna required sea water, so Randy did it from a dock on Mission Bay here in San Diego. We tried to make this thing as rugged as we could. (My favorite saying to the students was that the sea *always* wins in the end, but we can delay that long enough to be useful.) Everything inside is held in place with epoxy or polyurethane foam. Randy reinforced the sewer plug with a PVC end cap with a hole cut in the center. Although the antenna is stainless steel, Randy covered it with a type of heatshrink with a waterproofing compound inside. Activation was by removing an external magnet placed over a parallel pair of normally closed magnetic reed switches. (Using two instead of one was my idea.) We even argued how to guard against the crew forgetting to remove the magnet before deployment. Randy found some adhesive that would dissolve and let the magnet fall away; I suggested a big REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT tag and a float that would pull it away if it was tossed into the water. That left the problem of deployment. We couldn't just drop it close to the coast because it would quickly wash back up on the beach. We needed a boat ride. We were originally going on a NOAA vessel in April, but that trip was cancelled due to the pandemic. Randy secured a trip on the R/V Sally Ride, a research ship operated by Scripps Institute of Oceanography and home ported here in San Diego. This map shows the "lawn mowing" pattern they follow to measure and sample sea water off southern California. We were deployed early this morning at the most southwestern point shown here: https://calcofi.org/cruises/2020-cruises/calcofi-2007sr.html First report was at 12:52:30 UTC this morning from 29 51.25N, 123 37.50W. That's grid square CL89eu, which I figure is pretty rare for grid hunters. The current carried us east into CL89fu at 20:32:30. This is a little surprising since we thought the currents in that area are to the southwest. But that's why you do science! You can track us on aprs.fi here: https://aprs.fi/#!call=a%2FKQ6RS-1&others=1&timerange=604800&tail=3600 We also show up on wsprnet.org http://wsprnet.org/drupal/wsprnet/map Because of the funky way Bill encodes position in WSPR (which was never designed for this), you'll see some weird-looking callsigns (like 0W7NFU) in addition to KQ6RS. This was our first buoy, just to get our feet wet (ha ha). Now to think about what we want to put in our *second* buoy. Two-way links, satellite tracking, sensors, the works. But remember the "second system" effect... 73, Phil

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RS-44 Transponder Turned off 09:35z
by Peter Goodhall (2M0SQL) 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Hi All, I've just been using RS-44 was fine as it passed over North America, Canada, however, once it went over Russia at around 09:35z the RS-44 transponder turned off. I hope it will be back! Peter, 2M0SQL

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WE4B - A Question
by Clint Bradford 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Since the original question has been hijacked and might be un-seen by its intended recipient, I again ask: Candidate WE4B - please list for us the projects you have volunteered for for AMSAT-NA. Specifically for AMSAT-NA - and not just general satellite contacts. Say, for the past 10 years. Many thanks. Clint Bradford K6LCS Please respect the original title of the thread. Got a problem with me? Please initiate a new thread, send me email, or call me at 909-999-SATS. Please act decently. Clint Bradford K6LCS

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Re: [amsat-bb] Candidte WE4B Inquiry
by Clint Bradford 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

> On Jul 17, 2020, at 6:15 AM, Rick Wyrwas <rwyrwas48(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > No I know you do things for AMSAT but my question to you Sir is it just to benefit you financially > 73 Rick WA9JBQ Fifty dollars. And a few coffee mugs. One Fisher Space pen, engraved. Two books donated to a local library, in which I inscribed the bookplate. I gave away a Kenwood TH-D72a, software, Arrow Antenna, and RT Systems’ software to one club. The $50 was totally unexpected and NOT solicited. While packing up my car after a presentation, the club prez handed my wife that check for $50. I was flabbergasted. Never asked for What is your problem? Whomever you re getting your information from is, well to put it mildly - a misrepresenter of the truth. Clint Bradford K6LCS

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Candidate Statement - Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
by Paul Stoetzer 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Thank you to all the members that nominated me for the AMSAT Board of Directors. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Paul Stoetzer, N8HM. An AMSAT Life Member, I served as AMSAT’s Secretary from 2015-2017 and as Executive Vice President since 2017. There have been suggestions made that AMSAT is "stagnant," "in hibernation," or "sitting on our thumbs." Nothing could be further from the truth. By any objective measurement, the past five years have been incredibly successful for AMSAT. Membership and satellite activity has grown. We have launched four satellites and placed a transponder on a fifth. One satellite (RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E) is completed and awaiting launch no earlier than the third quarter of this year, and we have launch opportunities for the first two satellites of our GOLF series. Additionally, we completed the Multi-Voltage Power Supply for ARISS, have engaged in more partnerships to fly our linear transponder module, and begun work on the Amateur Radio EXploration (AREx) program to place an amateur communications system on the Lunar Gateway. The work done by our engineering team leads us well-poised for the future. I believe that within the next few years, we will be in a position to place a CubeSat in HEO and provide the worldwide amateur community with a resource they have not enjoyed since AO-40. This will not be an easy task. It is critical that the engineering team continues their work on the GOLF project perfecting the systems that will enable us to operate a CubeSat in a HEO environment. The first GOLF satellite, GOLF-TEE, will serve as a testbed for these technologies in LEO. Data gained from that mission will further inform our engineering team's efforts. While our engineering team continues their hard work building the satellites, the rest of the leadership team must work equally as hard fundraising for a HEO launch opportunity. It will not be an easy task, but I know we can do it. Please vote for me, Mark, N8MH, and Bruce, KK5DO. Together we will return amateur radio to HEO. I encourage you to read my candidate statement at https://www.upwardtoheo.com/biographies/paul-stoetzer-n8hm I've also written some more information about why I'm running for the Board at https://www.upwardtoheo.com/updates/why-im-running-n8hm Former AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, explains why Mark, N8MH, Bruce, KK5DO, and I are the best choices in this election at https://www.upwardtoheo.com/updates/former-amsat-president-barry-baines-wd4… 73, Paul, N8HM

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What?
by Clint Bradford 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

What? I have NEVER charged to put on a presentation. Well. I take that back: I ask for an endless cup of coffee sometimes. Whomever told you that is clueless - watch out for any “facts” you receive from them in the future. Clint Bradford K6LCS PS When I performed at Pacifico’s two years in a row (so many in attendance they asked me to perform TWICE the second year, THEY offered a hotel room and has money. >> Clint. I understand that you charge for your presentations thus I would venture to say you financially benefit for your “association “ with AMSAT. Is that correct 73 Sent from my iPhone

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