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[video] AO-92 L-band demo by N8HM at Hamvention
by John Brier 12 Oct '18

12 Oct '18

Thanks to Paul for getting me off my butt to finally edit this video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSeR9I9O5Gs Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, working AMSAT-OSCAR 92 (Fox-1D) in L/v mode (1267.359 MHz uplink /145.880 MHz downlink) using AMSAT's club callsign, W3ZM/8, at the 2018 Dayton Hamvention. Stations contacted: 02:30 WB8RJY 02:50 WB8OTH 03:26 NS3L 04:09 WA4SCA 04:33 KB2M 04:50 KE8FZT 06:47 W9EXP There are cameos in the background of the video by fellow AMSATers Marty N9EAT, Ruth KM4LAO, and others! Equipment used was an Alinco DJ-G7T 144/430/1200 MHz handheld transceiver for the uplink and a Kenwood TH-D74 handheld transceiver to receive the downlink. The antenna is a Comet CYA-1216E yagi with holes drilled in the boom to accommodate the three 2 meter Arrow Antenna elements. The antenna rotator system behind Paul/in front of the tent is a commercial system by Portable Rotation: http://www.portablerotation.com/product/azel-portable-rotor-system/ He was not using it for this demo but it was tracking AO-92 during that time. Aside from this L-band demo, Paul used that for all the other AMSAT satellite demos during Hamvention 2018. He had two Yaesu FT-817 radios on the table and a computer controlling the rotators/antenna. The antenna attached to it is the Alaskan Arrow II. 73, John Brier KG4AKV

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Thrust bearing question
by Hans BX2ABT 12 Oct '18

12 Oct '18

Happy happy, I finally got enough money to order a roof tower for my future satellite antenna farm. First time ever that I can have a rotatable setup and I'm tickled pink. It's a 3.3 meter tower that came with a 3 meter steel pole and this will all be mounted on top of our sheet metal roof. Friends over in Holland donated a KR-400 rotator and Yaesu GS-050 thrust bearing and I have a question about that last one. The tower's dimensions look like this (there are some photos and a pdf <http://bx2abt.com/main/data/_uploaded/file/BV6HJ-OMseriesTower.pdf> on bx2abt.com): | | 1.5 meter steel pole sticking out for 6/2/70cm yagis | | -- (1) top of tower with plateau for bearing |* |* |* |* --- (2) plateau for second bearing |** |** |** ---- (3) plateau for rotator **** **** **** Distance 1-2 is 110 cm Distance 2-3 is 50 cm The bearing plateaus have pre-drilled holes that accommodate the Yaesu GS-065 thrust bearing. The GS-050 thrust bearing I have is smaller and doesn't fit, but can be made fit without much hassle. My questions - with keeping in mind that where I live we often have very strong storm-like winds (over 100 km/hr) and more than one typhoon every year (up to and sometimes over 180 km/hr): 1 - will just a top bearing and a rotator be enough, or do I need indeed two thrust bearings? 2 - if one will do, will the GS-050 be suitable? I understand that thrust bearings are mainly used to reduce the weight of the pole on the rotator, but I am more concerned about strong winds warping the pole and putting sideways stress on the rotator. With the foul weather here everything has to be as strong as possible, but on the other hand, money has to be spend where it is needed, not where it's wasted. Hope you can give some advice to this tower newbie. Cheers, Hans BX2ABT

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Soyuz launch failure. Crew safe!
by Alan 12 Oct '18

12 Oct '18

https://www.npr.org/2018/10/11/656473889/rocket-launch-failure-forces-astron aut-and-cosmonaut-to-make-ballistic-landing https://www.space.com/42097-soyuz-rocket-launch-failure-expedition-57-crew.h tml https://spacenews.com/breaking-soyuz-launch-to-iss-aborted-after-booster-fai lure/ 73, Alan WA4SCA ----------------------------------- The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present - and is gravely to be regarded. President Dwight D. Eisenhower

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DV QRM on SO-50
by Steve Bossert 12 Oct '18

12 Oct '18

I had plans Wednesday to record the planned ISS contact with a school in CT and work a pass of SO-50. The ISS contact got cancelled at the last minute (14 hours to be specific), but I did log some DV QRM on the down-link of SO-50 and a partial contact with K8TL. If anyone would be interested in collaborating on a way to document DV interference in the satellite sub-bands, please drop me a message off list or share some thoughts on this on the BB if warranted. Here is a picture friendly article about this recent (mis)adventure: http://notebook.hvdn.org/2018/10/sdr-lets-walk-to-space-station.html Thanks, Steve Steve Bossert K2GOG(a)yahoo.com 914-573-1799

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-10-11 23:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 12 Oct '18

12 Oct '18

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2018-10-11 23:00 UTC As you might be aware of by now, the crew Exp. 57, consisting of Aleksey Ovchinin and Nick Hague KG5TMV, had to abort their launch and made an emergency landing. The crew is safe, which is the main concern. What this means for future scheduling is uncertain at the moment. (***) Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Kursk University, direct via TBD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Sergei Propopev Contact is a go for Fri 2018-10-12 10:40 UTC Ganerben-Gymnasium Kuenzelsau + Georg-Wagner-Schule, Kuenzelsau, Germany, direct via DN6SP The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be DPØISS The scheduled astronaut is Alexander Gerst KF5ONO Contact is a go for: Tue 2018-10-16 10:28:26 UTC 63 deg Sint-Jozefcollege, Turnhout, Belgium, direct via ON4NOK/P The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Alexander Gerst KF5ONO Contact is a go for: Tue 2018-10-16 12:04:13 UTC 88 deg Valley High School, Albuquerque, NM, direct via NM5HD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Serena Aunon-Chancellor KG5TMT Contact is a go for: Thu 2018-10-18 16:25:57 UTC 29 deg If you are interested in applying for an ARISS contact, please go to http://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html The information below is from the ARISS webpage: International Space Station Astronauts are Calling CQ ARISS Students ARISS-US program’s education proposal window open Oct. 1 - Nov. 30, 2018 September 25, 2018: ARISS is seeking proposals beginning October 1, 2018 from US schools, museums, science centers and community youth organizations (working individually or together) to host amateur radio contacts with an orbiting crew member aboard the International Space Station (ISS) between July 1 and December 30, 2019. Each year, ARISS provides tens of thousands of students with learning opportunities about space technologies, communications, and much more through the exploration of Amateur Radio and space. ARISS has been pleased of late, to be one of many possibilities of interest to educators during NASA’s A Year of Education on Station, which celebrates an almost 12-month presence of a teacher aboard the ISS. The ARISS program connects students to astronauts on the ISS through a partnership between NASA, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, the American Radio Relay League, other Amateur Radio global organizations and the worldwide space agencies. The program’s goal is to inspire students to pursue interests and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and in Amateur Radio. Educators report regularly that student participation in the ARISS program stimulates interest in STEM subjects and STEM careers. One educator wrote, “Many of the middle school students who took part in and attended the ARISS contact have selected science courses in high school as a result of that contact.” Educators are setting up ham radio clubs in schools and learning centers because of students’ interest. ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed, exciting education plan. Students can learn about satellite communications, wireless technology, science research conducted on the ISS, radio science, and other STEM subjects. Students learn to use Amateur Radio to talk directly to an astronaut and ask their STEM-related questions. ARISS will help educational organizations locate Amateur Radio groups who can assist with equipment for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for students. The proposal window opens October 1, 2018 and the proposal deadline is November 30, 2018. For proposal guidelines and forms and more details, visit: http://www.ariss.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact-in-the-us.html Proposal webinars for guidance and getting questions answered will be offered October 11 and October 23, 2018, both at 8 pm Eastern Time. Advance registration is necessary. To sign up, go to: ariss-proposal-webinar-fall-2018.eventbrite.com/ 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 2018-10-11 23:00 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 1263. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1209. 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: Delaware, 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 2018-10-10 23:00 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 **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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CAS-5A/6A
by Pedro Converso 12 Oct '18

12 Oct '18

It seems new HF Chinese satellites are in orbit, wonder if active. http://amsat.org.ar/pass?satx=cas5a,cas5b,cas6a 73, LU7ABF, Pedro

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Re: [amsat-bb] SO-50
by Roy Dean 11 Oct '18

11 Oct '18

I caught an exchange between K3RRR and N2F at about 20:50 on my satnogs station: https://network.satnogs.org/observations/280230/ Not sure if there was a pass after that, though. If there was, it was too low for my stations. -Roy K3RLD This last pass of SO-50 , The transponder turned on and I gave my call > sign. Thereafter the transponder was intermittent . I heard partial > callsigns but for the most part all that was present was the normal noise > level. I tried several times to get into the transponder with negative > results. I tried several times to turn the transponder on with the pl tone > but no luck. This happened during the complete pass of which I had a > maximum elevation of 42degrees. Did anyone else experience the same > condition ?? Thanks JACK KC7MG

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SO-50
by alex weimer 11 Oct '18

11 Oct '18

This last pass of SO-50 , The transponder turned on and I gave my call sign. Thereafter the transponder was intermittent . I heard partial callsigns but for the most part all that was present was the normal noise level. I tried several times to get into the transponder with negative results. I tried several times to turn the transponder on with the pl tone but no luck. This happened during the complete pass of which I had a maximum elevation of 42degrees. Did anyone else experience the same condition ?? Thanks JACK KC7MG

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STARS-Me Mother identified
by Nico Janssen 11 Oct '18

11 Oct '18

All, Detailed doppler measurements show that STARS-Me Mother is object 43640 (1998-067PQ). STARS-Me Daughter has not yet separated from STARS-Me Mother and is not yet transmitting. Unfortunately RSP 00 is not transmitting any downlink signals. 73, Nico PA0DLO

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9.6k woes and FoxTelem
by Kevin Zari 11 Oct '18

11 Oct '18

I’m pulling out what little hair I have left. I have borrowed a friend’s IC-910, and want to feed the output of the radio to both a signalink USB and also to the direct Line-in of the laptop to receive the 9600 bps signal off of the 9600 pin 4 of the Data mini DIN. So here is what I did: First, I took a cable that was straight through all 6 pins and added a RJ-45 connector on the end, in such a way that pin 1 of the mini DIN was pin 1 of the RJ45 connector, pin 2 was pin 2, ... pin 6 to pin 6, etc... I created a patch panel with two patches, one that is straight through, and one that crosses pins 4 and 5. More about that in a bit. The signalink was wired in such a way that it is expecting the input on pin 5, and ground on pin 2. So in this case when I connect up the cable to the signalink with a straight through cat 5e cable, it gets the audio out of the rig at 1200 bps (pin 5). When I want to use the 9600 bps out, I unplug the cable from the patch panel and connect it up to the other patch, where it takes pin 4 (9600 bps) and throws it on pin 5 of the patch panel output. I then have a cable that takes pin 5 and brings it to the tip of a TS 3.5mm mono cable. Pin 2 (GND) goes to the sleeve. I then plug this into the mic input of an older Apple MacBook Pro. I remembered to set the IC-910 to 9600 mode. I start FoxTelem and set the input to the Mac’s wired mic input, but I never decode anything. One thing that is odd to me is that when I toggle the 9600 mode on the IC-910, I do not see / hear a difference. I would imagine it should toggle some signal on and off the pin 4. Any ideas would be highly appreciated. I have also just tried a simple cable with pin 4 to the tip and pin 2 to the sleeve, and have seen similar results. I appreciate any ideas, criticism, etc... -Kevin (KK4YEL) ----- The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence.

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