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Re: [amsat-bb] Local stay-in voice nets
by andy thomas 30 Mar '20

30 Mar '20

hi Bob, we are doing the same here in the UK , the Welland Valley ARS now has a quick call around on 2 metres at 4pm local time, social in nature and also taking food orders. I expect the nets are springing up everywhere. It's a new use for amateur radio. 73 de andy g0sfj

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Local stay-in voice nets
by Robert Bruninga 30 Mar '20

30 Mar '20

With everyone isolated at home, The local Goddard ARC began holding daily noon-time chat nets to keep everyone socially connected. SOunds like a good idea since it is rare to hear anyone at all on any of our several dozen Wash dc/baltimore repeaters these days. Bob, Wb4APR

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ANS-089 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark D. Johns 29 Mar '20

29 Mar '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-089 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator * AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice * First Satellite Contact to be Noted in May QST * Amateur Radio Satellite Spreads Fight Coronavirus Message * Ham Talk Live! Interviews Frank Bauer, KA3HDO * ISS Crew Transition Affected by CoViD-19 * Upcoming ARISS Contacts * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-089.01 ANS-089 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 089.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Mar 29 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-089.01 Sean Kutzko, KX9X, Appointed AMSAT Volunteer Coordinator AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, has announced the appointment of Sean Kutzko, KX9X, as Volunteer Coordinator. First licensed in 1982 as KA9NGH, Kutzko served as both ARRL Contest Branch Manager (2007-2013) and ARRL Media and Public Relations Mana- ger (2013-2017). He was the creator and co-administrator of the ARRL National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program in 2016. An active HF and VHF contester, DXer and backpack QRP enthusiast, Kutzko started work- ing satellites in 2011 and has transmitted from over fifty different grid squares. He has written instructional materials on satellite op- erating for the AMSAT website, QST, and blogs regularly on satellite topics for the DX Engineering blog "On All Bands." "It's an honor to be able to volunteer for AMSAT," Kutzko said. "When [new AMSAT president] Clayton [Coleman, W5PFG] asked if I would help coordinate a team of volunteers, I jumped at the opportunity. AMSAT is a great organization and helping find good volunteers who are willing to help all areas of AMSAT's growth and development is the least I could do for the organization that has given me a lot of enjoyment and technical skill." Outside of Amateur Radio, Kutzko is a freelance PR/communications consultant and voiceover artist, as well as a baker of artisan breads, pizza and pastries. He also plays drums in a classic rock/country band, Silverweed. He lives in Urbana, Illinois. [ANS thanks AMSAT President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, for the above in- formation] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Office Closed Until Further Notice Due to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan's order closing all non-essential businesses in the State of Maryland in response to the COVID-19 pan- demic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice, effective to- day at 5:00pm EDT. While the office is closed, AMSAT will continue to accept new and renewal memberships. However, membership packets will not be mailed until the office reopens. T-shirts, hats, and other items stocked in the office will also not be available until the office reopens. Dig- ital downloadable content, including SatPC32 and MacDoppler will re- main available from the AMSAT store. Antenna, name badge, and awards orders will be forwarded for processing. The March/April issue of The AMSAT Journal will be produced on time. However, it may only be possible to publish it in digital format. Stay tuned for further updates. Any questions about memberships, orders, or office operations can be sent to info at amsat.org. Please note that no mail or phone service will be available until the office reopens. Vendors billing AMSAT for goods or services may email the above address to arrange payment. [ANS thanks the AMSAT office for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ First Satellite Contact to be Noted in May QST Those who are ARRL members may be interested in the Technical Corres- pondence article in the forthcoming May 2020 QST, entitled "The 60th Anniversary of the First Satellite Contact." The contact to which it refers took place on February 6, 1960, six months before NASA's Project Echo, between W2RS and K3JTE (now W3PK), making use of a propagation mode first reported by W8JK (SK), which he called "the satellite ionization phenomenon." The May 2020 QST article describes what we did and what has been learn- ed since then about the ionosphere and how W8JK's mechanism works. For further reading about the contact, see the article in Proceedings of the Institute of Radio Engineers, September 1961. For more about the satellite ionization phenomenon, see the chapter by W8JK in S.F. Singer, ed., Interactions of Space Vehicles With an Ionized Atmosphere, Pergamon Press, 1965. The May issue of QST is expected to be published in mid-April. [ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Amateur Radio Satellite Spreads Fight Coronavirus Message Indonesia’s national amateur radio society ORARI reports the ham radio satellite LAPAN-A2 (IO-86) is being used to send a Fight Coronavirus message using APRS. A translation of the ORARI post says: The satellite spreads the text message “Stay Healthy, Stay at Home #LawanCorona”. This was conveyed by Researcher of the Center for Satellite Technology, Sonny Dwi Harsono when contacted, Friday, March 20, 2020. Sonny explained, this action was a form of support for government pol- icies on social distancing. The policy encourages all of us to reduce activities outside the home and interactions with others. “So this mes- sage was sent by the LAPAN A2 satellite via the APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) beacon which was transmitted throughout Indonesia. APRS is a text based communication system for short messages such as SMS on mobile phones. But this APRS message can only be received through HT (Handie Talkie) which has the recipient of the APRS mess- age,” he said. Sonny explained, messages that have been disseminated can be received by anyone by setting the HT radio frequency to 145.825 MHz. To date corona’s message has been received by dozens of members of the Indo- nesian Radio Amateur Organization (ORARI) spread throughout Indonesia. The dissemination of the message was carried out starting March 20. For the time being the message dissemination was carried out on the APRS mission only. But it will try to spread the message one time at a LAPAN-A2 / LAPAN-ORARI track every 100 minutes. “Later if possible, we try to distribute 24 hours nonstop every 100 minutes under certain con- ditions. Currently we are discussing the technicalities. The messages from the government can also be disseminated via the LAPAN-A2 satel- lite," he concluded. Source ORARI https://tinyurl.com/IndonesiaORARI Follow LAPAN-A2 https://twitter.com/lapansat [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Ham Talk Live! Interviews Frank Bauer, KA3HDO Ham Talk Live! host Neal Rapp, WB9VPG recently interviewed Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, for an informative look at recent events in the ARISS program. Bauer, who is AMSAT Vice President, Human Spaceflight and ARISS Inter- national Chair was interviewed on Thursday, March 26, 2020. In the interview Bauer covers ARISS' four-year effort to update the ISS Amateur Radio station with its next generation radio system, the Interoperable Radio System (IORS). The IORS consists of a specially modified JVC-Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver and the AMSAT-NA developed multi-voltage power supply. The complete interview can be heard at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-089-Bauer [ANS thanks Neil Rapp, WB9VPG for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ISS Crew Transition Affected by CoViD-19 The International Space Station Expedition 62 crew, consisting of NASA Flight Engineer Jessica Meir, Flight Engineer Andrew Morgan, KI5AAA, and Commander Oleg Skripochka, RA0LDJ, are readying their Soyuz MS-15 crew ship for departure on April 17. Meanwhile, the crew that will re- place them is nearing its launch scheduled for April 9 aboard the Soyuz MS-16 crew ship. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, KF5KDR, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner arrived this week at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for final training. The Expedition 63 trio is due to live aboard the station for 195 days with Cassidy as commander. (ANS thanks spaceref.com for the above information) NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy’s family will be watching remotely from halfway around the world when he blasts off April 9 from Kazakhstan to begin a six-month expedition on the International Space Station. That’s because travel restrictions and stringent social distancing guidelines instituted to slow the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic will limit the ability for family members to travel to the Baikonur Cosmo- drome for the launch. Launch day at Baikonur is usually a festive af- fair. “But it’ll be completely quiet,” Cassidy said in a satellite in- terview from Star City, Russia. “There won’t be anybody there." (ANS thanks spaceflightnow.com for the above information) NASA already has a long-held strategy in place for preventing astro- nauts from carrying any nasty bugs with them to space. All astronauts going to orbit must go through a two-week period of quarantine called “health stabilization,” according to NASA. That way, the agency can make sure the crew is not incubating any illnesses before launch. How- ever, NASA said it “will continue to evaluate and augment this plan, in coordination with its international and commercial partners” if needed. In the meantime, Russia’s state space corporation, Roscosmos, has de- cided to shut down all media activity surrounding the Soyuz launch, barring journalists from covering the mission in person. Russia will still live stream the launch, and NASA typically airs all of its crew- ed launches on its own online TV channel. The return of the Expedition 62 crew in mid-April would typically in- volve large numbers of recovery personnel. SpaceX will be ready to send its first crew of NASA astronauts to the International Space Station aboard its Crew Dragon capsule sometime in May. NASA has not provided any details if those operations would change in light of the pandemic. (ANS thanks theverge.com for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contacts Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk, Russia, direct via RKØJ The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Oleg Skripochka Possible contact on Tuesday 2020-03-31 08:50 UTC ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancella- tions or postponements of school contacts. As always, ARISS will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates at the ARISS webpage: https://www.ariss.org/ The contact scheduled for Wednesday 2020-03-25 with SPDW Voortrekker Movement, Oranjeville, South Africa, direct via ZS9SPD was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team men- tors for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations River Bend Wireless Rove (EN22, EN33, EN34, EN42, EN43, EN44) April 2-4, 2020 Mitch Ahrenstorff, AD0HJ, is looking to add six more grids to his ro- ver basket just before the April 4 AMSAT presentation/demonstration at the River Bend Wireless and Mechanical Society in Faribault, Minn. Mitch will be activating the EN43/EN44 grid line on April 2nd, the EN32/EN42 grid line on April 3rd, and the EN33/EN34 grid line on April 4th, 2020. Watch Mitch’s Twitter feed as the dates approach for a de- tailed schedule. https://twitter.com/AD0HJ >From the Mountains to the Bay (CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10,11,20,21) April 12-21, 2020 R.J. Bragg, WY7AA, is hitting the asphalt again, roving from Wyoming to Vacaville, Calif. He’s attending a class from April 15-19, so most of the roving will be outside of this time. Grids to be covered in- clude: CM88,89,98,99 DM09,19,29 DN00,01,02,10,11,20,21. Specific pass details will be posted on WY7AA QRZ page and Twitter (https://twitter.com/WY7AA) as the trip approaches. Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP-User Services for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Nothing to do while quarantined by Covid-19? How about making a paper model of the satellite, DIWATA-1, the first satellite designed and built in the Philippines: https://tinyurl.com/ujukexd (ANS thanks JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM, for the above information) + There has been lengthy discussion this week on the AMSAT email bul- letin board, amsat-bb, about inconsiderate operators on FM satel- lites. A document by Sean Kutzko, KX9X, published back in 2017, is still an excellent guide to best practices on these birds. See it at https://tinyurl.com/ybw5e2ng (ANS thanks Mark Johns, K0JM, for the above information) + The coronavirus has had effects on many space activities this week: Virgin Orbit is reassessing schedules, Blue Origin in hard-hit Seat- tle is mostly working online, Arianespace suspended launches from French Guiana and Russia recalled and quarantined its personnel, ESA mission control is working from home, and some spaceports are closed worldwide. (ANS thanks orbitalindex.com for the above information) + One thing astronauts have to be good at: living in confined spaces for long periods of time. Find yourself in a similar scenario? NASA astronaut Anne McClain recently posted a lengthy Twitter thread with pro-tips for getting through your time at home. It begins at: https://tinyurl.com/tqh3hke (ANS thanks orbitalindex.com for the above information) + At least on the ISS astronauts don't have the added task of caring for and educating kids. If your current confinement capsul is equip- ped with youngsters in grades K-4, there are resources for you at: https://www.nasa.gov/stem-at-home-for-students-k-4.html (ANS thanks NASA for the above information) + The Folding@home project is a distributed computing project that is currently running calculations to analyze protein structures on the COVID-19 project. Donate your spare computer time to help this project and consider joining AMSAT's team (#67910). More information at https://foldingathome.org/covid19/. AMSAT's team standings can be found at https://stats.foldingathome.org/team/69710 --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, K0JM at amsat dot org

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[Video] A year along the geostationary orbit
by John Brier 28 Mar '20

28 Mar '20

Spectacular imagery. Intellectually I knew typhoons/hurricanes are a part of the global weather system, not things that randomly "happen" to humans, but this really put that into perspective, among other things. https://vimeo.com/342333493 "Himawari 8, Japan’s most advanced meteorological satellite, travels 35,786 km above Earth, at more than 11000 km/h. It observes the Eastern Hemisphere day and night. For one year we look through the eyes of the distant observer. From solstice to solstice, from pole to pole, from storm to storm, we watch Earth’s beauty and fragility, weather’s wonders, forces, and disasters. From space, it all looks miraculous." https://dceff.org/film/year-along-geostationary-orbit/ 73, John Brier KG4AKV P.S. I hope everyone is handling the Coronavirus as well as possible. My state just instituted a month long shelter in place policy.

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Controller/Interface for iMAC to G-5500
by Carl A Estey 28 Mar '20

28 Mar '20

What hardware interface (Controller) do you recommend for use on an Yaesu G-5500 az-e rotor, IC-9700, MacDopper s/w and running a iMac (mod 2011) running High Sierra OS? Carl WA0CQG

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Indian Students are offered to Learn Ham Radio in Lockdown
by Rajesh Vagadia - VU2EXP 28 Mar '20

28 Mar '20

(Initiative to popularise Ham Radio and Amateur Radio Satellite activities) *ARE YOU TIRED IN LOCKDOWN?* *Indian Students *are offered to* Learn from Home* about Interesting Scientific Hobby - *Amateur Radio!* *Dear students & friends,* Feel Free to *Learn & Ask any Questions* regarding; Ham radio, It's Applications, Operating Procedure, Getting Licence, Amateur Satellites, ARISS Events, Satellite Communication, Ham events, Emergency Communication etc. *WhatsApp any of your Questions* to active Indian Ham Operator Rajesh P. Vagadia VU2EXP on M: *9898283916* or *Call during* *10:00 AM - 1:00 PM* & *4:00 PM - 7:00 PM* (IST) (Keep us engage up to 14th April 2020) *We will be Happy to Answer your every Queries.* Thanks & 73 Rajesh P Vagadia - VU2EXP Rajkot - Gujarat (India) Regional Co-ordinator West India Zone AMSAT-INDIA M: 9898283916 E: vu2exp(a)gmail.com www.qrz.com/db/vu2exp *Stay Home • Be Safe • Learn More*

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Re: [amsat-bb] Trying to get back on the sats... but G-5500 Failure
by Michael Hatzakis Jr MD 28 Mar '20

28 Mar '20

Jerry, Just for perspective. That rotor has been up for 15 years or more. Been through multiple major storms, snow, ice, etc and has been flawless for that entire time. This is the first failure in all that time, and more than likely related to sitting dormant for 6 years. So, I would say, that is pretty darn good. Can’t speak for others, but I don’t have an issues with that duration of a failure free period. Michael Hatzakis Jr MD. K3MH > On Mar 27, 2020, at 2:21 PM, Gerald Witalec <jplanner(a)sbcglobal.net> wrote: > > Hi Michael, > Been reading a lot on the AMSAT-BB and amazed about how many of you are having problems with such an expensive rotor. > I have decided not to purchase it and going to build my SAT station instead with servo motors. > > Jerry...W8RQM > > On Friday, March 27, 2020, 4:58:27 PM EDT, Michael Hatzakis Jr MD via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > > Hi guys/gals, > > I used to be very active on the Sats, and for years; have a great set-up, but thanks to life events, went dark for about 5-6 years. > > Trying to find a silver lining in this COVID crisis, while my business is in the tank, thought I would get back to my love of the birds. > > Unfortunately, I turned on my G-5500 controller and suddenly find the elevation portion of the rotor isnt responding. Rotation is fine. Thanks to my fearless days of my 40’s, the antenna is up on the chimney in a set up thats a little challenging to service, so I am looking for what I can do on the ground to try to debug and prepare first, before embarking on a roof expedition. > > What are the common reasons for the elevation rotator to stop responding? is there much I can do on the ground to debug, and/or prepare when I go up on the roof to check the rotor out? What are the repair options? > > Michael Hatzakis Jr MD K3MH > mail(a)hatzakis.net <mailto:[email protected]> <mailto:[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. <mailto:[email protected].> AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb <https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb>

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Shortening M2 2MCP22?
by Rich Gopstein 28 Mar '20

28 Mar '20

I have an old 2mcp22 antenna that I would like to put up, but it's almost 20 feet long... Since I don't need that much gain for the current batch of satellites, I was wondering if I can use only one boom section and end up with a shorter 10 (2x5) element antenna. Would that have any undesirable effects (other than reducing gain and increasing beam width)? Thanks. Rich, KD2CQ

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Be on the lookout for YV stations on the birds
by The Romagni's 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

Hello all, I been involved with a project teaching how to get on sats with a group of hams down in Venezuela - the result has been amazing, and now about 10 to 15 stations are getting on the birds (most of the on the FM birds) - so be in the look out for some activity from YV Land. 73 Steve W4DTA / YV5DTA

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Trying to get back on the sats... but G-5500 Failure
by Michael Hatzakis Jr MD 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

Hi guys/gals, I used to be very active on the Sats, and for years; have a great set-up, but thanks to life events, went dark for about 5-6 years. Trying to find a silver lining in this COVID crisis, while my business is in the tank, thought I would get back to my love of the birds. Unfortunately, I turned on my G-5500 controller and suddenly find the elevation portion of the rotor isnt responding. Rotation is fine. Thanks to my fearless days of my 40’s, the antenna is up on the chimney in a set up thats a little challenging to service, so I am looking for what I can do on the ground to try to debug and prepare first, before embarking on a roof expedition. What are the common reasons for the elevation rotator to stop responding? is there much I can do on the ground to debug, and/or prepare when I go up on the roof to check the rotor out? What are the repair options? Michael Hatzakis Jr MD K3MH mail(a)hatzakis.net <mailto:[email protected]>

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