- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Kicksat sprites: CQ
by andy thomas 20 Mar '19

20 Mar '19

Hi Amsateers: This is a CQ from Zac Manchester, PI for the Kicksat-2 misison to deploy Sprites, sent on twitter: Calling all HAMs! We have sent commands to deploy the Sprites from #KickSat2. We are looking for volunteers to record daylight passes. We need at least 64 kHz IQ data centered at 437.240 MHz. The KickSat-2 TLE can be used for coarse tracking, but won't be super accurate. 7 replies 36 retweets 47 likes All recordings can go via the google group "kicksat gs" many thanks 73 de andy g0sfj

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Re: [amsat-bb] LVB Tracker with Windows 7 & 10 Setup Issue
by GEO Badger 19 Mar '19

19 Mar '19

Don, Since you are using the USB version you don't need a USB-RS 232 converter. But, you might look at your COM PORTS in the hardware setup section and verify that it is operating correctly. You can update your driver(s) there as well. --- Ciao baby, catch you on the flip side. GEO http://www.w3ab.org Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana. On Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 7:33:41 AM PDT, Don Boyer <don.boyer(a)comcast.net> wrote: I recently obtained a used LVB tracker (USB version) that has an older DLP-USB232M interface module installed. I am trying to use my LVB tracker with both Windows 7 & Windows 10 via my USB port. Can anyone give me some advice regarding LVB tracker compatibility with Windows 7 & 10 versions and any set up recommendations? It looks like I need the current driver for the DLP-USB232M. But this driver is not available on the DLP site and they are closed until March 25th. I am using the current version of SatPC32. 73, Don W7AIN _______________________________________________ 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: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: [amsat-bb] LVB Tracker with Windows 7 & 10 Setup Issue
by Rolf Krogstad 19 Mar '19

19 Mar '19

Don, I have had no issues using the LVB Tracker with Windows 10 and SatPC32. One thing to check is how you connect the LVB to the PC. If your PC does not have a serial port, then you are probably using a "serial to USB" converter cable. My experience has been that many of the cheap cables use a chipset which is not compatible with the ham software I use. I always make sure that the "serial - USB" cable I purchase is based on the FTDI chipset. I have never had a problem using a "serial - USB" cable based on that FTDI chipset. There are a number of manufacturers of these cables. I got mine from Byte Runner - but there are many more vendors. 73, Rolf NR0T EN34 On Tue, Mar 19, 2019 at 9:33 AM Don Boyer <don.boyer(a)comcast.net> wrote: > I recently obtained a used LVB tracker (USB version) that has an older > DLP-USB232M interface module installed. I am trying to use my LVB tracker > with both Windows 7 & Windows 10 via my USB port. Can anyone give me some > advice regarding LVB tracker compatibility with Windows 7 & 10 versions and > any set up recommendations? It looks like I need the current driver for > the > DLP-USB232M. But this driver is not available on the DLP site and they are > closed until March 25th. I am using the current version of SatPC32. > 73, > Don W7AIN > > > _______________________________________________ > 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: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >

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LVB Tracker with Windows 7 & 10 Setup Issue
by Don Boyer 19 Mar '19

19 Mar '19

I recently obtained a used LVB tracker (USB version) that has an older DLP-USB232M interface module installed. I am trying to use my LVB tracker with both Windows 7 & Windows 10 via my USB port. Can anyone give me some advice regarding LVB tracker compatibility with Windows 7 & 10 versions and any set up recommendations? It looks like I need the current driver for the DLP-USB232M. But this driver is not available on the DLP site and they are closed until March 25th. I am using the current version of SatPC32. 73, Don W7AIN

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-03-19 02:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 19 Mar '19

19 Mar '19

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-03-19 02:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: North Point School for Boys, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI Contact is go for: Wed 2019-03-20 20:16:09 UTC 86 deg Watch for live stream starting about 10-15 minutes before AOS at: www.ariotti.com Khabarovsk University, Khabarovsk, Russia, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is TBD Contact is a go for 2019-03-26 (***) Ulluriaq School, Kangiqsualujjuaq, QC, Canada, via LU8YY (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***) The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI (***) Contact is go for: Thu 2019-03-28 16:14:54 UTC 47 deg (***) ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS-US program’s education proposal window should go open in the spring of 2019. The ARISS webpage is at http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. 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: http://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) http://www.jarl.org/ (***) ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) http://www.jarl.org/ ****************************************************************************** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 135 Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 112 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2019-03-19 02:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1293. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1236. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2019-03-05 16:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 58 on orbit Oleg Konenenko David St-Jacques KG5FYI Anne McClain Exp. 59 on orbit Christina Koch Aleksey Ovchinin Nick Hague KG5TMV **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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AMSAT on HF
by skristof＠etczone.com 18 Mar '19

18 Mar '19

For anyone interested in the AMSAT on HF award I will be calling "CQ AMSAT" in slow code from 2300 UTC to 2330 UTC today (Monday). Frequency will be between 7.045 MHz and 7.055 MHz. Award info: https://www.amsat.org/amsat-50th-anniversary-awards-program/ Steve AI9IN

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Re: [amsat-bb] Attaching the coax to antenna boom
by Edward R Cole 18 Mar '19

18 Mar '19

Gentlemen Guessing either you did not read the entire article By Kent-AWA5VJB, or misunderstood. Kent was addressing a way to use a metallic crossboom with crossed yagis. For satellite I suspect you have them connected to produce circular polarity. Normal installation would require the end parts of the crossboom be non-metallic (probably fiberglass for strength). No metal should be closer than half-wavelength from element ends. So the only way to dress cable from the driven elements is draped off the backend of the antenna booms. But Kent rigorously measured the effect of a metallic crossboom connection to the x-yagi boom to determine least interaction. The connection location on the antenna boom is critical but does allow running coax across both crossboom and antenna boom. Being "cheap and Lazy" I decided to mount my satellite antenna using a metal crossboom with Yaesu B5400 azel rotator. I run my cables on the boom with tight corners to keep cables close to surface on the booms. Everything works well. I've not made field measurements so do not know how well they are working but was good enough for AO40, modes US and LS. http://www.kl7uw.com/sat.htm Not currently RV for satellite. 73, Ed - KL7UW -------------------------------------- From: "Frank Karnauskas" <n1uw(a)gokarns.com> To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Attaching the coax to antenna boom Message-ID: <000001d4dd4a$f11aa280$d34fe780$(a)gokarns.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" This is quite curious. Page 1 of the WA5VJB paper says, "Run the coax back down the antenna and along the boom keeping the radius small..." His hand-drawn illustration shows the feedline going down the boom then making a hard turn at the boom-to-cross arm plate. The M2 instruction sheets for the 2MCP8A and 436CP16 antennas both state (in bold type), "Do not route feedline to boom to mast plate as exiting antenna here will adversely affect circular field." Mr. Britain's paper is obviously focused on mounting the cross bar somewhere along the boom of a somewhat long antenna. The M2 instructions are for mounting short antennas from the back of the boom to the cross bar. Not the same situation. But, for a newbie like me, the definitive conclusion to this discussion is...I am still confused. I was hoping to hang my M2 LEO antennas Monday morning but now not until after I call the M2 support line for their read on this. 73, Frank FRANK W. KARNAUSKAS, N1UW 73, Ed - KL7UW http://www.kl7uw.com Dubus-NA Business mail: dubususa(a)gmail.com

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yoctenna / yefa
by Lapo Pieri 18 Mar '19

18 Mar '19

Hi to All, I just made my satellite station operational again and I'd like to show you my last labor: a new antenna for VHF and up that has a large bandwidth, high tollerance to fabrication tollerance and clean pattern. It is in its fairly early state of development but I think it could be of some interest for the community. So if you are curious you can find a short description here: http://www.radioteknos.it/yoctenna_yefa_en-1.html And any comments, criticism, or whatever are welcome 73, Lapo IK5NAX

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FoxTelem Version 1.07 released
by Chris Thompson 18 Mar '19

18 Mar '19

I'm officially releasing version 1.07 of FoxTelem. A test version has been out for a while, but it had several issues, including a lower decode rate than 1.06. That prevented release for a while. Those issues (and something like 65 other defects) are now all fixed and this decoder performs better than 1.06. Feel free to test them side by side and report back if that is not the case for you. We are always interested in any comparative results. In addition to defects in FoxTelem 1.06 and earlier versions of 1.07, this also introduces Doppler calculation with automatic adjustment of the decoder frequency. This is especially useful for decoding beacons and has been helpful in testing for Fox-1A / AO-85 and Fox-1Cliff / AO-95 which are both in SAFE mode. Decoding from Doppler takes a bit of configuration to get right. Have a read of the new sections in the manual or ask for help if you want to give it a try. There are pros and cons vs "Find Signal" for sure. Version 1.07 changes the core SDR within FoxTelem to use a Numerically Controlled Oscillator (NCO) rather than an FFT Filter for the conversion to base-band. This produces better decodes and will allow the support of wider bandwidth SDRs in the future. The old decoder is available still if needed from the settings screen. Read the manual for details. Version 1.07 also introduces two new BPSK decoders in advance of the Fox-1E launch. (I have no inside information about when that will be, but I have the decoder ready :) I also wrote some notes on the comparison between the two decoders, which you can read if you are interested in BPSK decoding performance, or just wonder what I do with my time in the evenings: http://www.g0kla.com/workbench/2019-03-09.php The releases are here: http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/windows/foxtelem_1.07y_windows.zip http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/linux/foxtelem_1.07y_linux.tar.gz http://amsat.us/FoxTelem/mac/foxtelem_1.07y_mac.tar.gz KEY CHANGES in 1.07 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * Ability to add a new spacecraft from the menu. You can also remove them. * Doppler calculation and tracking as an option instead of "Find Signal" * A better SDR based on a Numerically Controlled Oscillator, ready for wider SDRs * Two new PSK decoders - Costas Loop and Dotproduct * RTL dongle implemented for testing, though more work to do * Stops downloading keps when position calc is off * Allows toggling of high speed / DUV display when in auto mode * Fixed plotting issues for Earth plots * Fixes several crashes and bugs * Fixes copy paste issues with tables * Respects left/right audio preference when processing wav files * Implements formats for later spacecraft - Fox-1E and HuskySat * Linux and Mac launch script updated to locate the JVM (especially on Mac). Please report if when this works/does not work * MEMS gyro calibration updated * Fixed a bug where AO-85 data from the server could not be stepped through And many other bug fixes. Full list of changes here: https://github.com/ac2cz/FoxTelem/milestone/12?closed=1 Let me know any feedback. 73 Chris G0KLA / AC2CZ -- Chris E. Thompson chrisethompson(a)gmail.com g0kla(a)arrl.net

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-03-18 19:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 18 Mar '19

18 Mar '19

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-03-18 19:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: North Point School for Boys, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI Contact is go for: Wed 2019-03-20 20:16:09 UTC 86 deg Watch for live stream starting about 10-15 minutes before AOS at: www.ariotti.com Exp. 59 on orbit (***) Welcome aboard! (***) Christina Koch Aleksey Ovchinin Nick Hague KG5TMV ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS-US program’s education proposal window should go open in the spring of 2019. The ARISS webpage is at http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. 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: http://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) http://www.jarl.org/ (***) ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) http://www.jarl.org/ ****************************************************************************** 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 http://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? 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 **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 135 Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 112 **************************************************************************** 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. 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 2019-03-18 19:00 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. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1293. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1236. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://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: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2019-03-05 16:00 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 58 on orbit Oleg Konenenko David St-Jacques KG5FYI Anne McClain Exp. 59 on orbit (***) Welcome aboard! (***) Christina Koch Aleksey Ovchinin Nick Hague KG5TMV **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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