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DM09CN
by James Brown 06 Mar '19

06 Mar '19

In case anyone is looking for Nevada DM09CN( Reno). I will try AO91 and AO92 on next pass Jim KI6WJ Note the fades are so bad on AO92 that I can barely get half of a response.

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AMSAT on HF
by skristof＠etczone.com 06 Mar '19

06 Mar '19

If you are working on the 50th Anniversary AMSAT on HF award, I will be calling "CQ AMSAT" in slow CW between 1600 UTC and 1630 UTC today. Frequency will be between 7.045 MHz and 7.055 MHZ. If I get a chance I will try 20 m later today. Info on the awards: https://www.amsat.org/amsat-50th-anniversary-awards-program/ Steve AI9IN

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AO-92 L/V with an Alinco DJ-G7T full-duplex (long)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 06 Mar '19

06 Mar '19

Hi! I have written a bit about the Alinco DJ-G7T and using it on satellites on this list over the years. I wrote about using it on AO-92 in both U/V and L/V modes last year: http://amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2018-February/066923.html Until the past weekend, I had always worked AO-92 L/V with two radios - transmitting on 1.2 GHz from the DJ-G7T, and receiving the 2m downlink with my Kenwood TH-D74 (which can also record the downlink). I have used a couple of different antennas, but have wondered if the DJ-G7T could work the L/V mode full-duplex like it can work U/V (with some caveats) full- duplex. Now, I have tried this for myself, and will ask the question... Can the Alinco DJ-G7T work AO-92's L/V mode full-duplex? Yes. Before the past week or so, I was aware of the triplexers offered by Diamond that included a 1.2 GHz port. Those are noticeably larger than the diplexers from Diamond and other manufacturers, and a larger price tag as well. I saw something online that mentioned the Diamond MX-37 diplexer, having one port for HF through 470 MHz, and the other port for 800-1300 MHz. Physically, the MX-37 diplexer is similarly sized with other diplexers, and it has two coax pigtails for those two ports - coax with an N connector for the 1.2 GHz port, and a PL-259 on the other pigtail for use with the lower frequencies. The common port is an N socket. After I received this diplexer in the mail, I was ready to fit it into my portable AO-92 L/V station. I have been using a 10-element 1.2 GHz Yagi for AO-92 L/V in the past few weeks, and I tie that to the PVC handle of my Elk log periodic. I decided to tie the MX-37 diplexer to the PVC handle behind the antennas. This allowed me to connect the 1.2 GHz side of the diplexer directly to the coax pigtail from the Yagi's driven element. I used a 3-foot/1m length of coax from the PL-259 connector on the other side of the diplexer to the Elk's coax feedpoint. From the common port on the diplexer, I ran another 3-foot/1m length of coax to the DJ-G7T. To keep from causing audio feedback while transmitting, an earpiece or something like that needs to be plugged into the DJ-G7T. The DJ-G7T uses a single 4-conductor 3.5mm jack for speaker/mics. To split out the speaker jack so I can use an earpiece and an audio recorder, an adapter is needed. I use Alinco's EDS-10 adapter, which provides a 3.5mm speaker jack and a 2.5mm microphone jack (don't need anything in the smaller jack for this). Alinco also has an EDS-14 adapter, which looks very similar to Yaesu's CT-91 adapter used with a few HTs (VX-6R and VX-7R, among others) - where the two jacks are on short pigtails from the 3.5mm plug. The Yaesu CT-91 adapter works fine with the DJ-G7T. The DJ-G7T only allows transmitting from VFO A, the upper VFO on the HT's display. I put the 1267 MHz uplink frequency in this VFO, along with encoding the 67.0 Hz CTCSS tone. I use 5 kHz tuning steps on this radio for 1.2 GHz. I set the volume for this VFO to 0, and tightened the squelch to the maximum. For the lower VFO (B), I put 145.880 MHz with the squelch left wide open, and adjusted the volume to a reasonable level using my earpiece. I used this setup for 3 passes over the weekend. The antennas were a little heavier with the diplexer on the handle, but I could still control them with one hand. I held the DJ-G7T, along with the splitter and patch cable to my audio recorder. I could still adjust the knob for the transmit VFO, and made some contacts on those 3 passes. It was fun to be able to use just one HT for AO-92 L/V. There are some tradeoffs when going from a two-HT setup for AO-92 L/V to just the DJ-G7T. The 2m receiver isn't as good as with other HTs, certainly not as good as the TH-D74 I have normally used when working L/V. I heard some other signals mixing with the AO-92 downlink on parts of a couple of passes. Of course, the DJ-G7T does not come with a built-in recorder like the TH-D74. There may have been a little less power going to the 1.2 GHz Yagi, passing through the coax to the diplexer's common port and then out from the diplexer to the Yagi, but I still got through. During one of the L/V passes, I was still able to get through AO-92 transmitting at low power from the DJ-G7T (rated at 300mW for 1.2 GHz). I posted some pictures of this setup on the QRZ satellite forum, in a long- running thread "Where's AO-92???", starting at: https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/wheres-ao -92.614536/page-34#post-4986044 Audio from my recorder on the 3 passes I worked last weekend with this setup is in the "Satellite_Audio-2019" folder in my Dropbox space: http://dropbox.wd9ewk.net/ The direct link for the pass I worked Saturday evening, where the recording started at 0537 UTC Sunday (3 March), is: https://www.dropbox .com/sh/v3byggtuqw33fkk/AAA_gyTts4RpjT3jZa8GJI5ha/Satellite_Audio-2019/20190303-0537UTC-AO92-DM43bl.mp3? dl=0 Audio from the 1709 UTC pass Sunday morning is at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/v3byggtuqw33fkk/AACeV6R0Bjh-RRPXTrNpblAca /Satellite_Audio-2019/20190303-1709UTC-AO92-DM43bl.mp3?dl=0 and the late-morning pass at 1843 UTC Sunday: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/v3byggtuqw33fkk/AADmbAfFYtHARDfULAR _J5eSa/Satellite_Audio-2019/20190303-1843UTC-AO92-DM43bl.mp3?dl=0 It is nice to see that the DJ-G7T is capable of L/V full-duplex operation, just as it is capable of U/V full-duplex operation, in line with Alinco's advertising for the radio - with some caveats. I can now alternate between a one-radio setup and a two-radio setup for AO-92 L/V. More fun with radios... :-) 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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50th Anniversary AMSAT Satellite Friends of 50 Award
by Bruce 06 Mar '19

06 Mar '19

I am sorry it took so long to get the award into the store. We were trying to wait until we had the certificate designed. In any event, the item is in the store and you can apply for it now. Those that sent their applications to me will need to pay for the award (please paste your contacts in the comments, easier for us to keep track). Keep in mind that these are not numbered so there is no hurry if you apply today or next week or in a month. Also be aware, that if you apply now and also apply for the special AMSAT Satellite Achievement Award (only 20 of them will be available), I plan on placing it in the store this weekend. If you order separately, you will pay postage twice. If you order on the same order, you pay postage once. Your choice. Certificates will be mailed as soon as we complete the design and figure the best way to print them. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Member 2016-2020 ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

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Fox Operating Guide - Charlotte Hamfest
by Philip Jenkins 05 Mar '19

05 Mar '19

I plan to be at the Charlotte NC Hamfest this Friday and Saturday, and while I won't be doing a full-blown AMSAT info table, I've decided to have a few AMSAT/satellite related things at my flea market table at the last minute. (I most likely won't be doing demos since I'll be there by myself.) One item that I'm planning to print is the Fox Operating Guide, and looking at the AMSAT website just now, the 2018 version doesn't reflect the current status of AO-85 nor Fox-1Cliff (AO-95). Should I just draw a line through the info (without obliterating the info entirely) for those two birds on the second page of the sheet, and only fill in the details when someone asks why they are marked out? I don't want them to try to listen for signals which aren't there! :-) And, how should I classify the status of AO-85 if someone asks - "Currently unavailable?" "Currently out of commission?" I'm just looking for the best (and briefest?) way to express its status. Philip N4HF

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AMSAT on HF
by skristof＠etczone.com 05 Mar '19

05 Mar '19

For anyone interested in the AMSAT on HF award, I will be calling "CQ AMSAT" in slow code from 1930 UTC to 2000 UTC. Frequency will be between 7.045 MHZ and 7.055 MHZ. Steve AI9IN

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-03-05 16:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 05 Mar '19

05 Mar '19

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-03-05 16:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Ceip Nuestra Señora Del Carmen, Torre De La Reina, Spain, direct via EG7NSC The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI Contact was successful: Tue 2019-03-05 09:50:56 UTC 48 deg (***) Watch for live stream at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1fWg9eb3XA 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, click here. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) ****************************************************************************** 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 2019-03-05 16:00 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 **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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VP5/AA5UK satellite operations cancelled - HF operations alive and well
by Adrian Engele 05 Mar '19

05 Mar '19

Folks, Satellite: After many months of planning and getting the satellite FT-1638 bag all tuned in an working properly, I had a little accident on the second pass on my first day. My bag slid off the truck of the car and somehow affected my Radiosport headphone cable. I tried trouble shooted the issue, but I don't have the tools to do more. Yes some people have said why did you not bring a microphone, well I have dive gear, photo gear, drone and HF and Satellite gear. My weight was at maximum! My headset uses kevlar and is commercial grade tough. I only managed two passes and I will post those on LOTW when I get back. That's life unfortunately! HF: I had challenges here too. My remote Tuner is suddenly not liking 20M-80M and dies when I key up. I rigged up plan B. Not ideal but at least I am on the air 10-40M. Been working FT8 pile ups 20 to 25 people deep at times. My operation is holiday style and I get on when I have time or am in the mood. If you need VP5 you can still reach me through March 8th in the evening. March 9th is tear down. Good news, bad news. I tried... 73, Adrian VP5/AA5UK Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

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VK5DG/3 in QF13, QF14, QF24 correction
by David Giles 04 Mar '19

04 Mar '19

Hello All, Must have had a brain fade or the diary flipped to the wrong week at a crucial moment. The activation will be Wednesday this week on the 6th of March in Gunbower National Park in grid QF24. Depending on how things go I will also try from grids QF14 and QF13. Both FM and linear satellites will be used during the day. Hope to catch you on the birds as well as seeing plenty of the feathered variety of which the National Park is famous for. 73 de David VK5DG

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VK5DG/3 in QF13, QF14, QF24 on 13/3/19
by David Giles 04 Mar '19

04 Mar '19

Hello All, I'll be operating on Wednesday 13th of March from Gunbower National Park in grid QF24. Depending on how things go I will also try from grids QF14 and QF13. Both FM and linear satellites will be used during the day. Hope to catch you on the birds as well as seeing plenty of the feathered variety of which the National Park is famous for. 73 de David VK5DG

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