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Antenna separation on crossboom
by Bob Hammond 15 Dec '18

15 Dec '18

I'm putting the following antennas on an 8-foot fiberglass crossboom: M2 2MCP8A, 143-148 MHz C{ Gulf Alpha 70cm 8x8 CP WiMo Helix 23 I'm not sure how to calculate the proper spacing on the crossboom. I assume the 2m antenna should go on one end and the 70cm antenna on the opposite end. Can I mount the 23cm helical antenna very near the rotator without harm since it has the solid reflector behind the helix? Bob W7OTJ (was WL7CQX)

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AO-73 TLM Signal Changed?
by Hasan al-Basri 15 Dec '18

15 Dec '18

I've been decoding/uploading AO-73 TLM for a few months. The signal has always had a charactertic "look": (Using the SDR, so each signal has a specific and easily identified 'signature' Small center hump, with two large horns spiking every couple seconds. Very distinctive. Today, I see the signal now has a 100% duty cycle spike dead center on top of the small hump. I don't recall every seeing it before. Am I hallucinating...again? EO-88 and JO-97 have identical signatures, but I don't recall them having the center spike, either. The last two passes here, b4 sunrise the signal was waaaay weak. Much weaker than normal, even for this time of day. I thought it might relate to AO-73 being in eclipse...and decodes were terrible, again, compared to normal for me. After > 18,000 uploaded frames from me, one would think I couldn't have missed that center spike all these months...but ... Has something changed? 1044 software doesn't look like it has been updated. 73, N0AN Hasan

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SSO-A launch objects identified
by Nico Janssen 15 Dec '18

15 Dec '18

With nearly all TLE sets for the SSO-A launch published, and many separations increased to more suitable values, it is time to draw some conclusions. The following IDs are (almost) certain: Unknown sat: obj 43768, downlink 436.73018 MHz; MOVE-II: obj 43780, downlink 145.94993 MHz; SNUSat 2: obj 43782; ITASat 1: obj 43786, downlink 145.85999 MHz; Unknown sat: obj 43787, downlink 435.5003 MHz; EAGLET 1: obj 43790, downlink 435.20015 MHz; ESEO: obj 43792, downlink 437.004 MHz; CSIM: obj 43793; RANGE-A: obj 43798, downlink 437.146 MHz; Suomi 100: obj 43804; Al-Farabi 2: obj 43805, downlink 436.50017 MHz; MinXSS 2: obj 43807. The following IDs are not certain, because the separation between the objects is still too small: AO 95 (ex Fox 1Cliff): either obj 43769 or obj 43771; PWSat 2: either obj 43775 or obj 43779 (or maybe obj 43776); JO 97 (ex JY1Sat): either obj 43803 or obj 43801, downlink 145.839085 MHz. 73, Nico PA0DLO

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FUNcube Operations
by Brian 14 Dec '18

14 Dec '18

Hi all, Just to report that FUNcube 1 is now in transponder mode for the rest of the holiday period. Enjoy! 73s Brian Hardy G4BIP

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-12-14 18:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 14 Dec '18

14 Dec '18

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-12-14 18:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Kenilworth School and Sixth Form, Kenilworth, United Kingdom, direct via GB4KHS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Serena Aunon-Chancellor KG5TMT Contact was successful: Fri 2018-12-14 12:55:54 UTC 70 deg (***) Watch for live stream at: https://live.ariss.org/ Next contact is expected to be scheduled sometime during the week of 2019-01-14. (***) ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS-US program’s education proposal window open Oct. 1 - Nov. 30, 2018 has now closed. The next 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 108 **************************************************************************** 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 2018-12-14 18:00 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 1285. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1228. (***) 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 2018-12-14 18:00 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. 56 on orbit Serena Aunon-Chancellor KG5TMT Alexander Gerst KF5ONO Sergei Propopev 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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JY1SAT and ESEO Update
by M5AKA 14 Dec '18

14 Dec '18

Post launch updates on the JY1SAT and ESEO missions https://amsat-uk.org/2018/12/14/update-jy1sat-and-eseo-missions/ Knacksat team request telemetry reports https://amsat-uk.org/2018/12/07/knacksat-team-request-telemetry-reports/ Trevor M5AKA---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ---- | | Virus-free. www.avg.com |

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FUNcube 1 - operational status
by Brian 14 Dec '18

14 Dec '18

Hi all, Just to report that FUNcube 1 is now in transponder mode for the rest of the holiday period. Enjoy! 73s Brian Hardy G4BIP

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Kenilworth School and Sixth Form, Kenilworth, United Kingdom
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 14 Dec '18

14 Dec '18

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Kenilworth School and Sixth Form, Kenilworth, United Kingdom on 14 Dec. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 12:55 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between OR4ISS and GB4KSN. The contact should be audible over the United Kingdom and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Watch for live stream at: https://live.ariss.org/ Kenilworth School and Sixth Form is located in the historic town of Kenilworth in Warwickshire England, we are effectively in the dead centre of England. The school is made up of 1880 students and just over 200 teaching and support staff. We are a true comprehensive school meaning that we do not select students on their academic abilities when starting school and teach students with a range of academic abilities. This being said, we are the top performing non selective school in the whole of Warwickshire, Coventry and Solihull based on last year's GCSE results and have been judged as an Outstanding school by Ofsted and have recently been awarded World Class School status. The school has a successful and very popular Space, Rocket and Robotics extra-curricular club run by Mr Harwood - Suther. Students have taken part in many activities such as building their own Galilean telescopes, rocket cars and taking part in a number of robotic competitions organised by VEX, as well as taking part in regular stargazing events. We have also been extremely lucky to have hosted samples of moon rock for our students to look at on two occasions. The school has also been awarded the Space Education Quality Mark (Silver) as well as the Teen Tech Award Centre for Innovation (Silver). Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What surprised you the most when you entered space? 2. Do you believe there is some form of living extra-terrestrial intelligent lifeforms beyond earth, not just bacteria and fossils? 3. During your training would you be able to describe your hardest moment and your most enjoyable experience from your training? 4. How do you find the food in space compared to when you are back on earth? 5. When you were a child did you always know you wanted to be an astronaut and fly to space? 6. Where would you prefer to live, on board The ISS or Earth? 7. What kind of plant life can be grown on the ISS as there is no oxygen or CO2 in space? 8. Why do liquids when poured out in space, always form round blobs? 9. From information that I have read, male astronauts say that "space" smells very metallic. Is it any different for female astronauts in space? 10. How will it be possible to live on Mars and plant trees, flowers, and create an earth like environment? 11. If you are in space, how does the zero gravity make you taller? 12. Is the sunrise brighter than on earth? 13. I am interested about Europa which orbits Jupiter. If life was found on Europa, what are the biological protocols to protect indigenous life and samples on or from other worlds? 14. How long did it take to get used to life on the space station? 15. What is the daily day to day routine in regards to personal hygiene? 16. This is your first visit to the to the International Space Station. What are your thoughts on another opportunity and perhaps take part in a spacewalk? 17. Does it feel like you're moving when you're on the ISS or do you just feel as though you are floating in the emptiness of space? 18. What do you think will change in space stations in the future decade? 19. What's your favourite thing to do in space? 20. When you come back to earth do you see the earth differently than you did before you left? 21. What is the strangest thing you have seen in space? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): TBD 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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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AO-85
by Andrew Glasbrenner 13 Dec '18

13 Dec '18

AO-85 is back in transponder mode and open for use with a few conditions. Please do not use the satellite while in eclipse. If the footprint of the satellite does not touch any part of the ground that is in daylight, the satellite is in eclipse. This will give us a little extra battery life, and extend the satellite's usable life. Please also do not "kerchunk" the satellite while in eclipse. I know this has been done to increase the number of telemetry packets received, but it is no longer acceptable. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT VP Operations

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Pictures for my presentation
by Frank G 13 Dec '18

13 Dec '18

Hello all, I am hosting a forum at Ham Radio University http://hamradiouniversity.org/ to help those who may be interested in getting involved with satellite communications. While putting my presentation together I thought it might be nice to see what fellow sat ops are using to work the sats. I’ll be discussing various rigs/antenna/rotator/tracking systems and have stock photos but I thought it would be fun to see what others are running in the real world. If you care to share some photos please send them to me at wa2ndv(a)gmail.com Please use HRU PIC in the subject line. Photo credits will be given if you like. Ham Radio University is a completely voluntary function, there are no vendors or swap meet. Its all about education and fellowship. Thank you all for the courtesy of your time. 73 Frank WA2NDV

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