-----Original Message----- From: amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@amsat.org] On Behalf Of amsat-bb-request@amsat.org Sent: Friday, February 20, 2015 6:00 AM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 10, Issue 67
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Software ? (Howie DeFelice) 2. Re: Software ? (Pedro Converso) 3. SSTV Images from ISS This Weekend (Clint Bradford) 4. Heads up East Coast: Thursday at 1818 UTC ARISS School Contact on 145.800 (JoAnne Maenpaa) 5. AMSAT-NA Fundraising (Clint Bradford) 6. AMSAT Journal (Frank Bauer) 7. TH-F6A (Lee Ernstrom) 8. Re: TH-F6A (Ronald Nutter) 9. Re: Software ? (PA3GUO) 10. Re: Software ? (PA3GUO) 11. Re: SSTV Images from ISS This Weekend (Kenneth Ransom) 12. Re: TH-F6A (Joseph Armbruster) 13. Kenwood TH-F6a (Clint Bradford) 14. Re: Kenwood TH-F6a (John Geiger) 15. Re: Kenwood TH-F6a (Clint Bradford)
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Message: 1 Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2015 17:09:19 -0500 From: Howie DeFelice howied231@hotmail.com To: PA3GUO pa3guo@upcmail.nl, "amsat-bb@amsat.org" amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Software ? Message-ID: BLU169-W127A358500BEA2CD385AEACE72C0@phx.gbl Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi Henk,
The "easy" answer is to buy an LVB tracker board but I completely understand wanting to use the hardware you put so much time and effort into building from scratch. I have done a little work with Python, which is completely cross platform, and think it would be a natural for doing the translation you need. One possibility would to have SatPC send the pointing info in "easycom" format to a virtual serial port that the Python program reads and translates then sends it out a "real" serial port to the rotor interface. As a non-programmer, that would "'my" path of least resistance.
- Howie, AB2S
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Message: 2 Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2015 21:59:58 -0300 From: Pedro Converso pconver@gmail.com To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Software ? Message-ID: CANTZqKmC1B-HPF9OF9Yaq40Nns__RO4SGdziPPu_Gis=AoOPLg@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Hello Henk,
I program in Visual Basic 2008 Express Edition, although not an expert on it.
I have VB installed and run on an old Window-XP, it works and compiles flawlesly.
I have made a satellite tracking application that doesn't use DDE, it speaks directly to com ports either legacy or also on bluetooth com ports.
I am trying to learn android to port this to an app usable on cellphones/tablets.
This aplication can be downloaded and/or executed from http://amsat.org.ar/Satrack.htm .
For your needs, perhaps you can use as guidance the CX6DD development sources in visual basic 2005 of WISPDDE available at http://www.mederoscnc.com/CX6DD/wispdde/wispdde.htm .
If you care to tell me the protocol of your rotor controller, I can add a selection to Satrack to support it.
If I can be of any help please tell me.
Best 73 from Buenos Aires, lu7abf, Pedro Converso pconver@gmail.com lu7abf@amsat.org.ar
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Message: 3 Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 07:41:59 -0800 From: Clint Bradford clintbradford@mac.com To: AMSAT BB amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org Subject: [amsat-bb] SSTV Images from ISS This Weekend Message-ID: 9D637C68-53A7-4899-BAAB-7EC764732FE6@mac.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
A reminder - this exciting project is expected to begin at 1000 UT on Saturday, February 21 until 2130 UT on Monday, February 23.
Details at the site below ... You CAN download these graphic files with equipment as simple as a handheld radio with antenna improvement, and an iOS app/device!
http://amsat-uk.org/2015/02/11/more-iss-slow-scan-tv/
Clint K6LCS
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Message: 4 Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 10:08:31 -0600 From: "JoAnne Maenpaa" k9jkm@comcast.net To: "'AMSAT-BB'" amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Heads up East Coast: Thursday at 1818 UTC ARISS School Contact on 145.800 Message-ID: 003501d04c5e$4e26b220$ea741660$@net Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Council Rock High School-South, Holland, PA on 19 Feb. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 18:18 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and K3DN. The contact should be audible over the eastern U.S 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.
-- 73 de JoAnne K9JKM k9jkm@amsat.org AMSAT VP User Services
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Message: 5 Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 08:37:54 -0800 From: Clint Bradford clintbradford@mac.com To: AMSAT BB amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org Subject: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-NA Fundraising Message-ID: F18E622B-CBA3-46C0-BD18-24185821F500@mac.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
I still have two plate blocks of Apollo-Soyuz commemorative stamps from last year's fundraising effort.
Photos of them are here:
http://www.work-sat.com/Work-Sat/FUNDRAISING.html
The next two folks who contribute $20 OR MORE to AMSAT-NA, and have AMSAT-NA notify me via email with their names and mailing address, will receive this gift!
Offer expires midnight PST on Monday, February 23.
Clint K6LCS
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Message: 6 Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 14:57:28 -0500 From: "Frank Bauer" ka3hdo@verizon.net To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] AMSAT Journal Message-ID: 004801d04c7e$4d8b4ef0$e8a1ecd0$@verizon.net Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
All,
I received my AMSAT Journal today.
Those who are not AMSAT members, you are missing out on a treasure trove of information and outstanding pictures. This month's Journal alone is worth a year's membership. And I know she has more outstanding journals coming.
Thanks to JoAnne and the team on a phenomenal journal!!
73, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
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Message: 7 Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 13:11:36 -0700 From: Lee Ernstrom lee.ernstrom@rcwilley.com To: "amsat-bb@amsat.org" amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] TH-F6A Message-ID: A3F7E59A-1305-4FD7-82B7-88495822797E@rcwilley.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
GA satellite goo-roos. Today I was scanning the HRO catalogue looking for an inexpensive solution to full duplex contacts for the linear birds and I ran across the Kenwood TH-F6A hand held 144, 222, and 450 MHZ FM with SSB option on receive only. That sounds to me like a great fairly inexpensive solution.
Has anyone tried one of these yet for satellite work?
And I'm wondering if there would be a de-sense problem if used on receive with a 20 watt transmitter on a different band close to it?
WA7HQD Lee (Doc) Ernstrom Syracuse, Ut DN-31xb
Sent from my iPad
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Message: 8 Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 14:27:27 -0600 From: Ronald Nutter ron.nutter@networkref.com To: Lee Ernstrom lee.ernstrom@rcwilley.com Cc: "amsat-bb@amsat.org" amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] TH-F6A Message-ID: CAEptLKrgALs0iFqZSDUO10OGxmVdXJhSa8GQB+exkxhfxEy7mQ@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
I have used this one for many years. As long as there is some antenna separation, I wouldnt expect much if any desense.
Ron
On Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 2:11 PM, Lee Ernstrom lee.ernstrom@rcwilley.com wrote:
GA satellite goo-roos. Today I was scanning the HRO catalogue looking for an inexpensive solution to full duplex contacts for the linear birds and I ran across the Kenwood TH-F6A hand held 144, 222, and 450 MHZ FM with SSB option on receive only. That sounds to me like a great fairly inexpensive solution.
Has anyone tried one of these yet for satellite work?
And I'm wondering if there would be a de-sense problem if used on receive with a 20 watt transmitter on a different band close to it?
WA7HQD Lee (Doc) Ernstrom Syracuse, Ut DN-31xb
Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
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Message: 9 Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 21:28:57 +0100 From: "PA3GUO" pa3guo@upcmail.nl To: "'Dan Cross'" crossd@gmail.com Cc: amsat-bb@amsat.org, PA3GUO pa3guo@amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Software ? Message-ID: 000601d04c82$b0400730$10c01590$@upcmail.nl Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Hi Dan,
Thanks, I didn?t know about freepascal yet ? good to learn each day !
Henk
Van: Dan Cross [mailto:crossd@gmail.com] Verzonden: donderdag 19 februari 2015 03:39 Aan: PA3GUO CC: amsat-bb@amsat.org Onderwerp: Re: [amsat-bb] Software ?
Step 1: Install Linux. Just kidding! (Kinda.) I'm only (half) joking.
But seriously...I do think there's a solution to your problem: you said there was example code using Delphi? I agree that that's more or less on the wane (to put it mildly), but there does exist a free Pascal compiler that implements most of the functionality, without tying you to a specific vendor. Check out http://www.freepascal.org; it may just do what you need it to do.
On Wed, Feb 18, 2015 at 2:49 PM, PA3GUO pa3guo@upcmail.nl wrote:
Last December I got myself a new PC, with the ambition to upgrade all old HW & SW to the latest standards. Currently the OS is Windows 8.1, and I am planning to switch (for free) to Windows 10 by the end of this year.
Almost all software is migrated from the old PCs to the new computer - it all went smooth (and runs faster now). Almost all: I still have on an old Windows2000 PC the software running that controls my antennas. This software is all Pascal, and under Windows2000 you could still directly write to serial ports. That changed as of Windows XP.
In the new setup SATPC32 is the central software for satellite tracking (position & doppler). Kenwood TS2000 as well as eg SDR# are connected just fine. So? the only thing to be done is hooking up SATPC32 to my rotor controller (http://pa3guo.com/zb_rtr_ctrl.html).
Of course my rotor controller doesnt talk any of the standard interface protocols, so I cannot use the default set of outputs of SATPC32. Basically I just need to read from the SATPC32 DDE the string that includes the azimuth & etc, do a minor edit to it and send it to a USB COM port. Fortunately SATPC32 comes with example code for this (Delfi and VB). Unfortunately, Delfi (replaces Pascal) is an outdated standard, and so I opted for the VB example.
Now, the Visual Basic IDE doesn't really exist anymore. Microsoft has now Visual Studio Express, which is impressive btw. Issue though is, the included SATPC32 VB examples use DDE constructs that were supported in the VB IDE , but are not in Visual Studio anymore. So what I *could* do is hack the VB example to make it work in Visual Studio, but it seems not that straightforward. To add to this: SDR# is C# and talks to SATPC32's DDE. So C# must be DDE capable, but I haven?t seen simple example code for that either.
In short: I just need to read from the DDE , do a minor processing on the string (kind of convert degrees into integer + offset) and send the result to a com port.
How would you do this ? Do you program in C# or Visual Basic ? In case of Visual Basic, do you use Visual Studio Express ?
Thanks, Henk - PA3GUO
_______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
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Message: 10 Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 21:35:24 +0100 From: "PA3GUO" pa3guo@upcmail.nl To: "'Howie DeFelice'" howied231@hotmail.com, amsat-bb@amsat.org Cc: PA3GUO pa3guo@amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Software ? Message-ID: 000d01d04c83$971002a0$c53007e0$@upcmail.nl Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Hi Howie,
That may indeed be the simplest (and therefore best) solution (redirecting & modifying the the easycom format).
And yes, either Visual Basic or C# or Python could do that. Like you I have positive experiences with Python (using scripts for RAX, MCUBED and now GRIFEX from MXL).
Certainly a very useful suggestion!
Thanks!
Henk
Van: Howie DeFelice [mailto:howied231@hotmail.com] Verzonden: woensdag 18 februari 2015 23:09 Aan: PA3GUO; amsat-bb@amsat.org Onderwerp: RE: [amsat-bb] Software ?
Hi Henk,
The "easy" answer is to buy an LVB tracker board but I completely understand wanting to use the hardware you put so much time and effort into building from scratch. I have done a little work with Python, which is completely cross platform, and think it would be a natural for doing the translation you need. One possibility would to have SatPC send the pointing info in "easycom" format to a virtual serial port that the Python program reads and translates then sends it out a "real" serial port to the rotor interface. As a non-programmer, that would "'my" path of least resistance.
- Howie, AB2S
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Message: 11 Date: Thu, 19 Feb 2015 15:19:59 -0600 From: Kenneth Ransom n5vho.ken@gmail.com To: Clint Bradford clintbradford@mac.com Cc: AMSAT BB amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] SSTV Images from ISS This Weekend Message-ID: CAB5cSv=j3gC+QDeh65HKvcm652QYWL1Qi0hekdMttSo6TOaP7g@mail.gmail.com Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Looks like the SSTV activity will have to wait a bit. The planned EVA has been delayed one day and the amateur radios are required to be powered down during EVA activity. More info on the EVA at https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2015/02/19/first-of-three-spacewalks-now -set-for-saturday/
On Thu, Feb 19, 2015 at 9:41 AM, Clint Bradford clintbradford@mac.com wrote:
A reminder - this exciting project is expected to begin at 1000 UT on Saturday, February 21 until 2130 UT on Monday, February 23.
Details at the site below ... You CAN download these graphic files with equipment as simple as a handheld radio with antenna improvement, and an iOS app/device!
http://amsat-uk.org/2015/02/11/more-iss-slow-scan-tv/
Clint K6LCS _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb