- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Rocket Lab launch scrubbed for today
by Wendy and Terry Osborne 27 Jun '19

27 Jun '19

Hi Folks, Today’s launch is scrubbed. They will try again tomorrow. See: https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1144053098719002624 73, Terry Osborne ZL2BAC

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ARMADILLO copied over VK
by Colin Hurst 26 Jun '19

26 Jun '19

Hastily listened to the 0044utc 27th June pass over VK to see if I could hear any of the new birds. Just grabbed TLE set 36R, no logic to that, just that they should be still grouped. Had my Funcube Dongle set to listen 437.465 to 437.555. Was low elevation pass but certainly activity on waterfall. Copied 8 frames from CP-9 and noted a marginal signal adjacent so tuned to it. Eventually two decodes from Armadillo. There's a star. There's another one. Star. Star star star. Star. Don't like space. Don't like space. Next pass is higher elevation, so maybe better results. No guarantees in this game. 73 Colin VK5HI

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ICOM IC-UX9100 1200 MHz Unit for IC-9100
by Richard Lawn 26 Jun '19

26 Jun '19

I may have one of these 23 cm modules available for the 9100. Anyone looking for one? 73 Rick, W2JAZ -- Sent from Gmail Mobile

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Fwd: Immigration is a kind of oxygen
by Ray Soifer 26 Jun '19

26 Jun '19

MIT president L. Rafael Reif issued the following statement today to all members of the MIT community, including yours truly. Reif, himself a Venezuela-born US citizen whose parents emigrated from Europe in the 1930s to escape Nazism, received his PhD from Stanford University and is a recognized authority in information technology. He has been president of MIT since 2012. In his letter, he draws attention to the global nature of the MIT community and its foundation as a meritocracy, as well as the need to protect against academic espionage wherever it may occur. Like MIT, AMSAT and amateur radio itself are global communities, whose members think for themselves about the issues Reif is raising, and develop their own points of view. For this reason, I am circulating Reif's message for your information and without further comment. 73 Ray W2RS -----Original Message----- From: President L. Rafael Reif <leadershipnews(a)mit.edu> To: rsoifer <rsoifer(a)alum.mit.edu> Sent: Tue, Jun 25, 2019 8:46 am Subject: Immigration is a kind of oxygen #yiv2554181767 #yiv2554181767divHostedEmailLink {margin-bottom:15px;text-align:center;font-family:Arial, Helvetica;font-size:11px;} #yiv2554181767 #yiv2554181767divHostedEmailLink a {color:#ce1126;} #yiv2554181767 p.yiv2554181767foot{color:#8A8A8A !important;font-size:60% !important;} #yiv2554181767 p.yiv2554181767foot a{color:#ce1126 !important;}#yiv2554181767 table td{border:0px;} | | To the members of the MIT community, MIT has flourished, like the United States itself, because it has been a magnet for the world’s finest talent, a global laboratory where people from every culture and background inspire each other and invent the future, together. Today, I feel compelled to share my dismay about some circumstances painfully relevant to our fellow MIT community members of Chinese descent. And I believe that because we treasure them as friends and colleagues, their situation and its larger national context should concern us all. The situation As the US and China have struggled with rising tensions, the US government has raised serious concerns about incidents of alleged academic espionage conducted by individuals through what is widely understood as a systematic effort of the Chinese government to acquire high-tech IP. As head of an institute that includes MIT Lincoln Laboratory, I could not take national security more seriously. I am well aware of the risks of academic espionage, and MIT has established prudent policies to protect against such breaches. But in managing these risks, we must take great care not to create a toxic atmosphere of unfounded suspicion and fear. Looking at cases across the nation, small numbers of researchers of Chinese background may indeed have acted in bad faith, but they are the exception and very far from the rule. Yet faculty members, post-docs, research staff and students tell me that, in their dealings with government agencies, they now feel unfairly scrutinized, stigmatized and on edge – because of their Chinese ethnicity alone. Nothing could be further from – or more corrosive to – our community’s collaborative strength and open-hearted ideals. To hear such reports from Chinese and Chinese-American colleagues is heartbreaking. As scholars, teachers, mentors, inventors and entrepreneurs, they have been not only exemplary members of our community but exceptional contributors to American society. I am deeply troubled that they feel themselves repaid with generalized mistrust and disrespect. The signal to the world For those of us who know firsthand the immense value of MIT’s global community and of the free flow of scientific ideas, it is important to understand the distress of these colleagues as part of an increasingly loud signal the US is sending to the world. Protracted visa delays. Harsh rhetoric against most immigrants and a range of other groups, because of religion, race, ethnicity or national origin. Together, such actions and policies have turned the volume all the way up on the message that the US is closing the door – that we no longer seek to be a magnet for the world’s most driven and creative individuals. I believe this message is not consistent with how America has succeeded. I am certain it is not how the Institute has succeeded. And we should expect it to have serious long-term costs for the nation and for MIT. For the record, let me say with warmth and enthusiasm to every member of MIT’s intensely global community: We are glad, proud and fortunate to have you with us! To our alumni around the world: We remain one community, united by our shared values and ideals! And to all the rising talent out there: If you are passionate about making a better world, and if you dream of joining our community, we welcome your creativity, we welcome your unstoppable energy and aspiration – and we hope you can find a way to join us. | | * * * | | In May, the world lost a brilliant creative force: architect I.M. Pei, MIT Class of 1940. Raised in Shanghai and Hong Kong, he came to the United States at 17 to seek an education. He left a legacy of iconic buildings from Boston to Paris and China to Washington, DC, as well as on our own campus. By his own account, he consciously stayed alive to his Chinese roots all his life. Yet, when he died at the age of 102, the Boston Globe described him as “the most prominent American architect of his generation.” Thanks to the inspired American system that also made room for me as an immigrant, all of those facts can be true at the same time. As I have discovered through 40 years in academia, the hidden strength of a university is that every fall, it is refreshed by a new tide of students. I am equally convinced that part of the genius of America is that it is continually refreshed by immigration – by the passionate energy, audacity, ingenuity and drive of people hungry for a better life. There is certainly room for a wide range of serious positions on the actions necessary to ensure our national security and to manage and improve our nation’s immigration system. But above the noise of the current moment, the signal I believe we should be sending, loud and clear, is that the story of American immigration is essential to understanding how the US became, and remains, optimistic, open-minded, innovative and prosperous – a story of never-ending renewal. In a nation like ours, immigration is a kind of oxygen, each fresh wave reenergizing the body as a whole. As a society, when we offer immigrants the gift of opportunity, we receive in return vital fuel for our shared future. I trust that this wisdom will always guide us in the life and work of MIT. And I hope it can continue to guide our nation. Sincerely, L. Rafael Reif MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 77 MASSACHUSETTS AVE, W98-300 | CAMBRIDGE, MA 02139 | | If you wish to be removed from this mailing list, click here.

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ARMADILLO spotted over Japan!
by Shivani Patel 26 Jun '19

26 Jun '19

HUGE THANK YOU to JA0CAW, who spotted ARMADILLO over Japan! He has posted the beacon on twitter @JA0CAW. Thanks also to Scott, K4KDR for connecting the dots for us! This is the first beacon heard for our satellite!!!Our team is currently still working on stations and a decoder to post on github for everyone, we just need to verify with the University that it's alright to do so.For now, our beacon features our vehicle's callign is ascii and quotes from the video game "Portal", so give us a listen! Based on info from CalPoly and from PSAT, we think we are either Object J or Object K in the database, 44347 or 44348.Parameters again are 437.525MHz DL, 19200 baud, GFSK, beacons every 10 seconds, vehicle callsign WH2XYR. Overall we are inexperienced with respect to interacting with the amateur community (and building satellites for that matter) but we already owe everyone a lot for helping us find our satellite while we are indisposed, SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH! B/R Shivani, KG5EAU

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PSAT2 SSTV copied in Brazil
by Roland Zurmely 26 Jun '19

26 Jun '19

<https://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/psat2.htm>

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PSAT2 SSTV copied in Brazil
by Roland Zurmely 26 Jun '19

26 Jun '19

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Re: [amsat-bb] PSAT2 PSK31 Uplink CORRECTION!
by Robert Bruninga 26 Jun '19

26 Jun '19

Argh! The Team at Brno University that built the PSK31 transponder CORRECTS me. The uplink is 29.4815 MHz. Bob -----Original Message----- From: Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2019 11:23 AM To: 'amsat bb' <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Cc: 'Scott' <scott23192(a)gmail.com> Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] PSAT2 PSK31 Operations Enabled PSAT2 Ten meter PSK31 uplink and UHF FM 435.350 downlink is ON. Who will be the first to nail down the ten-meter PSK31 center uplink frequency? It should be around 29.40X. The Total Doppler shift during a pass should be about 1 KHz. What 29.40X TX uplink gives 1.5 KHz in the UHF passband at the center of the pass? Thanks, Ill correct links below. (PSAT has uplink on 28.120. But PSAT2 is on 29.40X) Bob -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org> On Behalf Of Scott via AMSAT-BB Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] PSAT2 Future Operations Regarding the PSK31 uplink, please advise the correct RF frequency. At http://aprs.org/PSAT2/USER-Operations-Manual.doc, the uplink frequency is listed as 29.401 MHz. At https://github.com/alpov/PSAT-2/blob/master/README.md, the uplink frequency is listed as 29.48 MHz. At http://aprs.org/psat2.html, the uplink frequency is listed as 28.120 MHz (in text, w/ a graphic indicating "29.XX?"). Thanks! -Scott, K4KDR ============================ On Wed, Jun 26, 2019 at 10:20 AM Tomáš Urbanec via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > Hi Paul, > > Thanks for the interest in the PSK31 transponder, as Bob already > pointed up, the downlink audio spectrum is shared, so at 280Hz and > 374Hz are > PSK31 beacon tlm streams from camera board and transponder board > respectively. Then every 4 minutes the SSTV signal is present so if > you plan experiments in PSK transponder, try to stay between the > beacons and SSTV. Description of modes you can find at > https://github.com/alpov/PSAT-2/blob/master/README.md > > We would be glad to answer any questions about this experiments. > > We are still awaiting for any positive confirmation of downlink signal > at 435.350MHz as for us it is still below horizon. Any audio > recordings, IQ data or at least pictures of reception would be welcomed. > > 73! Tomas OK2PNQ and Ales OK2ALP > _______________________________________________ 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

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Re: [amsat-bb] PSAT2 PSK31 Operations Enabled
by Robert Bruninga 26 Jun '19

26 Jun '19

PSAT2 Ten meter PSK31 uplink and UHF FM 435.350 downlink is ON. Who will be the first to nail down the ten-meter PSK31 center uplink frequency? It should be around 29.40X. The Total Doppler shift during a pass should be about 1 KHz. What 29.40X TX uplink gives 1.5 KHz in the UHF passband at the center of the pass? Thanks, Ill correct links below. (PSAT has uplink on 28.120. But PSAT2 is on 29.40X) Bob -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org> On Behalf Of Scott via AMSAT-BB Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] PSAT2 Future Operations Regarding the PSK31 uplink, please advise the correct RF frequency. At http://aprs.org/PSAT2/USER-Operations-Manual.doc, the uplink frequency is listed as 29.401 MHz. At https://github.com/alpov/PSAT-2/blob/master/README.md, the uplink frequency is listed as 29.48 MHz. At http://aprs.org/psat2.html, the uplink frequency is listed as 28.120 MHz (in text, w/ a graphic indicating "29.XX?"). Thanks! -Scott, K4KDR ============================ On Wed, Jun 26, 2019 at 10:20 AM Tomáš Urbanec via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > Hi Paul, > > Thanks for the interest in the PSK31 transponder, as Bob already > pointed up, the downlink audio spectrum is shared, so at 280Hz and > 374Hz are > PSK31 beacon tlm streams from camera board and transponder board > respectively. Then every 4 minutes the SSTV signal is present so if > you plan experiments in PSK transponder, try to stay between the > beacons and SSTV. Description of modes you can find at > https://github.com/alpov/PSAT-2/blob/master/README.md > > We would be glad to answer any questions about this experiments. > > We are still awaiting for any positive confirmation of downlink signal > at 435.350MHz as for us it is still below horizon. Any audio > recordings, IQ data or at least pictures of reception would be welcomed. > > 73! Tomas OK2PNQ and Ales OK2ALP > _______________________________________________ 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

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PSAT2 Future Operations
by Robert Bruninga 26 Jun '19

26 Jun '19

PSAT Voltages look good. The PSK31/SSTV downlink appear to be working well on 435.350+/- Doppler, But you will only see SSTV during daylight passes (Now occuring in the Southern Hemisphere) where the Solar charge voltage is above threshold (6.8 volts. THen you should see SSTV images once every 4 minutes automatically while in the sun. Northern Hemisphere passes are presently occurring overnight and PSAT2 is in a 28 degree orbit and not seen at all by high northern latitudes and most of Europe :-( PSAT2 APRS digipeating will remain off indefinately while all these other NEW modes are working. Do not TX any APRS packets on the uplink. DTMF Grid Uplinks-to-APRS/Voice will be enabled LATER. While waiting, spend the next day familiarizing yourself with the PSAT2 APRStt touchtone mode. This mode will let you send DTMF Grid square reports which are translated to VOICE and to an APRS packet on the 145.825 downlink. Be sure to prepare your radio with your pre-programmed DTMF grid report IN ADVANCE. And learn how to send Touchtone from your radio's DTMF memory. quickly! It should take under 4 seconds. Do not even think of sending it manually. Here is WA7MXZ's translator to calculate your onetime DTMF grid report: http://aprs.org/aprs_translator.htm See how it works in about the middle of the PSAT2 page: http://aprs.org/psat2.html A successful DTMF uplink will result in a Voice response and an APRS packet on the downlink for display on APRS radios. Again, no APRS Uplink in this mode. This will be painful because of the 4 second uplink transmissions all colliding on the half-duplex uplink, so PLEASE only attempt your DTMF uplink once every 30 seconds or longer to give others a chance. And of course NOT while PSAT2 is downlinking. We will advise when this mode is enabled. http://aprs.org/aprstt.html Bob, WB4APR

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