- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Kenwood TM-D700A Duplex Settings
by E.Mike McCardel 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

I’m setting up a Kenwood TM-D700A for use on the FM birds. I’m having issues to getting it to work full duplex. Could someone post or send me a copy of the settings they are using for their working setup? Thank you, 73, EMike McCardel, AA8EM Past Senior Editor AMSAT News Service Past AMSAT-NA VP Educational Relations Former ARRL, Ohio Section, Affiliated Club Coordinator

1 0

Re: [amsat-bb] AlphaSpid Green Heron rotor controller PstRotator (noise)
by Robert Bruninga 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

If it is the ramp-up PWM modulation, then I guess worst case is to somehow put a muffler box around the motor to keep the neighbors happy. But the vibrations are probbbly well couipled to the shafts and antenna system, so just muffling the motor might be not as effective. Wrap a towel around the motor for a quick test and see how much that attenuates the noise. Bob -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org> On Behalf Of Burns Fisher via AMSAT-BB Sent: Friday, March 27, 2020 3:04 PM To: Kevin <wa7fwf(a)gmail.com> Cc: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AlphaSpid Green Heron rotor controller PstRotator Is the Alfa-Spid stepper motor based? Certainly the feedback is digital. But I could certainly imagine a bunch of fast steps sounds like a beep. My G5500 actually makes a slightly odd noise too. I sounds almost like a clock being wound. I'm guessing it has something to do with the brake?? Does the A-S have one? Maybe sound insulation is going to be your best bet. On Thu, Mar 26, 2020 at 9:10 PM Kevin via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > I do not own one but looking at the documentation for the controller I > noticed this, "gradual startup and shutdown of rotor power to reduce > stress on towers, antennas and rotors. This is achieved by > pulse-width-modulating the operating voltage for the rotor." > > That could very well be the source of the "beeping" with the windings > in the motor singing. > > 73 > Kevin WA7FWF > > On 3/26/2020 17:47, Jeff via AMSAT-BB wrote: > > Green Heron R-21 controller > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. > Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect > the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

1 0

AlphaSpid Green Heron rotor controller PstRotator
by Jeff 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

Over the last year I have evolved to a completely new AZ/EL rotor control setup, an AlphaSpid AZ/EL rotor system, a Green Heron R-21 controller, controlled by SatPC32 and PStRotortator. In the last few weeks my neighbors have mentioned that my rotor is "beeping'. As it is just 15 feet from their lunai that they sit in at night I'm a little concerned that their comments are going to get more unfriendly. As I have recently lost a good part of my high frequency hearing I can't hear the tone. I have had to stop collecting Telemetry at night to try to alleviate the situation. Does anyone have a clue on why the rotor system would beep? Does anyone have a clue on how to stop this from happening? My only input on this as I can't hear the beep, but I'm now feeding more voltage to the rotor system then before when I was using the stock controller supplied by AlphaSpid. The higher voltage allows the rotor to turn at a much improved rate. If I knew I was going to have to put up with all this BS I would of just bought another 5500 at half the price. 73 Jeff kb2m

3 2

Re: [amsat-bb] IC-910H no audio on SO-50 downlink
by Mike Diehl 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

Shouldn’t matter, I’ve run my 910 at 50W+ without a hint of desense on SO-50. N8HM is right, the 910 has superb filtering so I would definitely break out the analyzer and check out what’s going on with the antennas and feed line. 73, Mike Diehl W8LID/VE6LID > On Mar 27, 2020, at 14:19, John Brier via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: >

1 0

Re: [amsat-bb] IC-910H no audio on SO-50 downlink
by Roy Dean 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

> > All,Has anyone else had the problem of not hearing your own downlink when > working SO-50? In the past I was able to hear myself, but lately I cannot > not. I don't know if I change some setting or that the Icom is going bad. > Thanks for any help. I appreciate it in advance. > Jim, Ke4kol Jim, With SO-50, especially, this is very common. The 2m uplink has a harmonic very close to the downlink, which if not filtered out, can wipe out your local downlink whenever you are transmitting. I'm not familiar with the 910 enough to know how well it does at this, though. You were getting in fine this morning, though (not sure if you copied my QSL)! --Roy K3RLD

5 4

IC-910H no audio on SO-50 downlink
by ke4kol 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

All,Has anyone else had the problem of not hearing your own downlink when working SO-50? In the past I was able to hear myself, but lately I cannot not. I don't know if I change some setting or that the Icom is going bad. Thanks for any help. I appreciate it in advance. Jim, Ke4kol

1 0

ISS APRS with an HT
by Steve Kristoff 27 Mar '20

27 Mar '20

Has anyone been able to digipeat APRS through the ISS with a 5 watt HT and an Arrow antenna lately? If so, what are your secrets for success? If 5 watts and an Arrow doesn't work please let me know that, too, so I can pursue a different aspect of our hobby. thanks! Steve AI9IN Grid EM79ji Oldenburg IN 47036

5 8

ELaNa-20 - Will it ever happen?
by Roy Dean 26 Mar '20

26 Mar '20

So I've been following the progress (or lack thereof) of LauncherOne for a while. Ignoring the whole CV problem, is this launch really going to ever happen? It seems that as we get "closer" to the actual demo launch - we get less and less info. I guess bad timing to ask this question..... CV may be the straw that breaks the camel's back? --Roy K3RLD

4 3

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-25 20:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 25 Mar '20

25 Mar '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-25 20:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: SPDW Voortrekker Movement, Oranjeville, South Africa, direct via ZS9SPD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. (***) 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 Tue 2020-03-31 08:50 UTC ************************************************* Looking for some stay at home activities related to science and for when you are not playing on your radio? Check out these links: (***) >From ARISS Vice Chair Oliver Amend DG6BCE: ESA Astronauts to offer inspiration during isolation in #SpaceConnectsUs https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Astronauts_to_offer_inspiration_during_isolati… In Europe and around the world, we’ve been getting used to a different way of living in recent weeks. On Thursday, 26 March, ESA and long-time partner Asteroid Day will host #SpaceConnectsUs – a chance to connect across borders and hear from space explorers, artists, and scientists about how to manage ourselves and our environment as our communities battle a global pandemic. #SpaceConnectsUs is an online event running on March 26th from 16:00–21:00 CET (15:00–20:00 GMT) on ESA WebTV and ESA YouTube to help everyone practising social distancing or in isolation enjoy science, our home planet, and our dreams of the sky above us. The programme will feature remote connections with astronauts and guests from all over the world. The presenters and guests will speak to children, young adults and their families and friends about their experience and techniques in confined places, lessons in life from space exploration, their trust in science and their sources of inspiration. The programme runs in five language segments starting at 16:00 in Dutch, followed by German (17:00 CET), Italian (18:00 CET), French (19:00 CET) and English (20:00 CET, 19:00 GMT). Celestron, the telescope, microscope, and sports optics folks, now has something called #STEMINYOURBACKYARD that you can find on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. By the way, I don't work for Celestron or have any business dealings with them and this is just something I saw. Apparently there are 10 free STEM activities covering Astronomy, Nature and Wildlife, and The Microscopic World. Check out: https://www.celestron.com/blogs/news/discover-stem-in-your-backyard NASA has a STEM page with fun activities to do at home. Check out https://www.nasa.gov/stem ************************************************* 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 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 2020-03-25 20:30 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2020-03-21 00:00 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. ******************************************************************************** ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, go to: https://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) https://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ ****************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. ******************************************************************************* All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 138 Sergey RV3DR with 133 Gaston ON4WF with 123 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed, and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1387. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1320. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 60 on orbit Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

1 0

RH or LH ??
by James Jipping 25 Mar '20

25 Mar '20

Good Morning! Just reviewing some past email and the topic of which polarization "RH or LH ?" showed up. It must have been close to a solar activity maximum that I started my satellite adventure. Faraday rotation was in full swing (or should I say "rotation"). It was a phenomenon we all experienced and had to deal with. My first antenna project included a polarization switch and I have always had one on my satellite antennas. My arrow linear polarized antenna has one (my arm/wrist rotation device). I would like to advise that if you can manage it (financially or creatively -- "in the good old days it was creatively") to include some way of changing the polarization plane or direction of both the transmitted and received wave. ALL signals WILL experience some amount of polarization depending on the strength of the earth's magnetic field strength IN THE PATH of the signal from station to satellite (and vice/versa). The total rotation effect is constantly changing. And do not forget the effect that the earth's ionosphere has on polarization. As we know, the ion density of the ionosphere, is constantly changing. Right now that effect is at it's minimum as the sun's sunspot activity is at it's minimum. IT WILL change and the effect will really begin to be noticed. Please remember that the entire effect is proportional the total magnetic and ion densities, so the rotation is not going to be 90 degrees or 180 degrees. We will not always get RH OR LH, vertical OR horizontal. If the right conditions exist a RH signal could actually turn into a linear signal. Another factor to consider is the degree of rotation is proportional to the square of the wavelength. The effect is noticed at UHF frequencies, so for the many satellites whose uplink is UHF there is an effect but as we go to higher frequencies rotation effects become less a problem. Imagine the fun we had with mode A satellites in the beginning. All 10 meter down link and 2 meter up link and the Sun was doing it's sunspot thing. Well that's PHYSICS lesson for the day. It's been a while that I could do that. My advice for the day --- get a switch! You are going to need it. I always find, even now, that a switch in polarization at the antenna is needed to maintain a good QSO. Have a good day, at home or where you have to be, Jim Jipping, W8MRR AMSAT # 5512

2 1