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MD-DC Area Test Team ARISS L-Band Challenge
by Pat Kilroy 19 Dec '08

19 Dec '08

Hi! Anyone want to experiment with me? To try a contact through the ARISS cross- band repeater in L/V mode (see announcement below), I have an L-band antenna, feedline, and all the V-band equipment. But I need someone with a means to transmit FM voice on 1269.650 MHz. Shall we team up? Otherwise, anyone have an L-band transverter in good working condition to loan or sell soon? Cheers, Pat N8PK Sykesville, Md. 21784 (FM19mk) Carroll Co. > -----Original Message----- > From: ARRL Letter Mailing List > Sent: Friday, December 19, 2008 11:19 AM > To: pat(a)patkilroy.com > Subject: The ARRL Letter, Vol 27, No 50 (Friday, December 19, 2008) > > *************** > The ARRL Letter > Vol. 27, No. 50 > December 19, 2008 > *************** > > IN THIS EDITION: > [snip] > * + ARISS Finalizes Plans for Silver Anniversary of Amateur Radio from > Space [snip] > > +Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> > > REMINDER: There will be no ARRL Letter or ARRL Audio News on Friday > December 26, 2008 or January 2, 2009. Both the Letter and the Audio News > will return on Friday, January 9, 2009. > [snip] > > ==> ARISS FINALIZES PLANS FOR SILVER ANNIVERSARY OF AMATEUR RADIO FROM > SPACE > > The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) > <http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm> team is currently celebrating the > silver anniversary -- 25 years -- of Amateur Radio operations from > space. According to ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, > the crew on the International Space Station (ISS) has configured the > radio to support cross-band repeater operations. They have also > supported some SSTV downlinks and participated in a special test of 9600 > baud packet radio operations on the simplex frequency of 145.825 MHz. > After December 19, Bauer said he expects the ISS ham radio system to be > on the 145.825 MHz frequency supporting 1200 baud packet. If PCSAT is > configured during the week, he said double hop APRS is possible. > > "During the week of December 21-26, we plan to support the cross-band > repeater mode with a twist," Bauer said. "Our intent is to configure the > radio for 145.99 MHz uplink -- including CTCSS tone of 67.0 and 437.80 > MHz down. This will be performed in low power mode. We should also note > that an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) is planned for that week -- > Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, and Flight Engineer Yury > Lonchakov, RA3DT, plan to perform a spacewalk on December 22. As per > standard procedure, the ISS ham radio system will be turned off for the > EVA." > > Bauer said that from December 28-January 3, the cross-band repeater will > be reconfigured for what he called "a special experiment. This will be a > test of our L-Band uplink capability, which, to date, has not been > proven out. Plan for an uplink of 1269.65 MHz and a downlink on the > standard frequency of 145.80 MHz, using low power," he said. "Given the > substantial cable losses of the L-band system, we hope some 'big guns' > are able to penetrate through, keep up with Doppler and make the > connection." > > A special certificate is being developed for those who communicate with > the ISS from November 30, 2008 to January 15, 2009. This certificate > will be awarded to those who have had two-way communications with the > ISS on voice, packet (APRS) or through the voice repeater. Those who > hear the ISS from space in any of the ARISS operations modes -- voice, > SSTV, school contact, voice repeater or digital - will also be eligible > to receive a certificate. > > To receive the certificate, Bauer said to note the ARISS mode of > operation (such as SSTV, voice or school) on your QSL and whether the > contact was one-way (receive only) or two-way. "You should send your > self-addressed, stamped envelope to the normal ARISS QSL volunteer > distributor in your area of the world," he explained. "On the outside of > the QSL envelope, please include the words '25th Anniversary > Certificate.' Make sure your envelope is big enough to accept an 8.5 x > 11 inch certificate and includes the proper postage." If you do not know > where to send your QSL, check the ARISS Web site > <http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm#ARISS_Update--25th_Anniversary_of_Ha > m_Radio_in_Space> to find the one that serves your part of the world. > > "We will be sending your certificate to the volunteer distributors in > bulk after the event is over," Bauer said. "This saves workload and > money. So do not expect to see it until 1-2 months after the event > closes on January 15." > > Bauer reminded hams that due to ISS flight requirements related to > spacewalks and vehicle activity, the radio onboard the ISS may be off > for some portion of this schedule. School contacts and general QSO > opportunities by the crew will also preempt this schedule for short > periods of time. "But remember that if you hear these," he said, "you > still qualify for a commemorative certificate. Enjoy the ARISS ops on > ISS!" > > == [snip] ===== >From Weekly Satellite Report WSR-353: INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS) - ARISS Catalog number: 25544 Launch date: November 20, 1998 Status: Operational Current Active Modes: FM Repeater - U/v Voice - V/v BBS - V/v APRS - V/v 9k6 SSTV - V/v Expedition 18 Crew: Commander: Mike Fincke KE5AIT Flight Engineer: Yury Lonchakov RA3DT Flight Engineer: Sandra Magnus KE5FYE Available Modes and Frequencies: Digital/APRS: Worldwide packet uplink: 145.825 MHz FM 9k6 Worldwide packet downlink: 145.825 Mhz FM 9k6 Voice: Region 1 voice uplink: 145.200 MHz FM Region 2/3 voice uplink: 144.490 MHz FM Worldwide downlink: 145.800 MHz FM Crossband Repeater: Repeater Uplink: 437.800 MHz FM Repeater Downlink: 145.800 MHz FM SSTV Robot 36: Downlink: 145.800 MHz FM Mode and Antenna Polarization: V: Linear U: Linear Callsigns: Belgian: OR4ISS German: DP0ISS Russian: RS0ISS RZ3DZR United States: NA1SS Packet Mailbox: RS0ISS-11 Digipeater callsign: ARISS Official ARISS Webpage: http://www.rac.ca/ariss ISS Fan Club Webpage: http://www.issfanclub.com APRS tracking page: http://www.ariss.net/ ISS Daily Crew Schedule: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/timelines Remember that the crew operates on UTC time. Also, all of the time line is NOT translated from Russian and posted. [121812008] NNNN /EX

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Space-X presentation at NASA Goddard on Monday
by Daniel Schultz 12 Dec '08

12 Dec '08

Monday's Goddard Engineering Colloquium will feature Mr. Steve Davis, Lead Systems Engineer for the Space-X Dragon spacecraft. (Elon Musk apparently had to cancel and sent Steve instead). If any local Amsat people would like to attend, (and maybe beg him for a free satellite launch) please get in touch with me or Pat Kilroy. You will need one of us to escort you through Goddard security. I will not be at my normal work location on Monday, so call me at home before Sunday night at 301-879-8377, or call Pat at work on Monday at 301-286-1984. This offer is regrettably limited to US citizens. Dan Schultz N8FGV ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 ENGINEERING COLLOQUIUM Monday, December 15, 2008 / 3:30 PM, Building 3 Auditorium Steve Davis "Falcons and Dragons: Economical Liftoffs for Science Payloads, Cargo, and People" ABSTRACT -- A new vehicle for small payloads, the Falcon, was successfully launched in September. Designed for cost efficiency and reliability, the Falcon series of spacecraft can provide an affordable option for science and engineering researchers to get their payloads to orbit, either LEO or, with the Falcon 9, geo-synchronous. In addition to describing the Falcon spacecraft, the speaker will describe the Dragon. The Dragon spacecraft is made up of a pressurized capsule and unpressurized trunk used for Earth to LEO transport of pressurized cargo, unpressurized cargo, and/or crew members. Initiated internally by Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) in 2005, Dragon will be utilized to fulfill a NASA COTS contract for demonstration of cargo re-supply of the ISS. SPEAKER -- Mr. Davis of Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) (http://www.spacex.com) is Lead Systems Engineer for Dragon, a free-flying reusable spacecraft being developed under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program for the delivery of cargo and crew to the International Space Station (ISS). In this role, Davis is responsible for the technical management of 25 engineers, overall system and mission design, and interfacing with the ISS program to ensure ISS-Dragon compatibility. Prior to his role as Lead Systems Engineer on Dragon, Davis designed, analyzed and tested the guidance system for the SpaceX Falcon 1, the first privately-developed liquid fuel rocket to achieve Earth orbit.

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Time Is Running Out
by Martha 26 Sep '08

26 Sep '08

We are about to lose our room block at the Buckhead Doubletree in Atlanta. If you are planning to attend the 2008 AMSAT Symposium, you need to make your room reservations ASAP. Their direct phone number is 404-231-1234. The room rate is $125 per night and the Group Code is ASG. For a list of speakers, go to the AMSAT website. -- 73- Martha

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For Sale - TrakBox Rotor/Radio Controller
by Robert Felt 30 Jul '08

30 Jul '08

Wednesday 7-30-08 To All: For Sale - "TrakBox" Satellite tracker, antenna rotor controller for stand alone operation. (JARL design, TAPR kit) The trakbox is a self-contained, stand-alone rotor/radio control for use with your satellite stations. Select the satellite you wish to track from a front panel control and the TrakBox will steer your antennas in both azimuth and elevation to track the selected satellite when it is or above your horizon. In addition, if you have a radio with a computer interface, the TrakBox will tune your transmitter and receiver and correct them for doppler shift. TrakBox is set up to directly interface to Kenpro, Emmoto, and Yaesu dual-axis rotators which include a computer interface. Trakbox includes a serial port to allow you to set the real-time clock (which is battery backed), your station location (latitude, longitude and elevation) and the keplerian elements for the satellites you are interested in (up to 40 satellites may be loaded, and the elements may be uploaded in ASCII in either the AMSAT or NASA formats). A two-line LCD display is updated every second, showing the azimuth and elevation of a satellite, along with the satellite ID and GMT. See Complete description and docs at TAPR web page: http://www.tapr.org/kits_trakbox.html I built this kit from TAPR back in the late 1990's. It provided excellent service. Still works fine. Asking $130.00, OBO Thanks, //Bob// Robert Felt --KB5YZG-- 1403 5th Ave West Hendersonville, NC 28739 tel 828-696-4103

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AMSAT Pocomoke Lab schedule
by Robert Davis 02 Jul '08

02 Jul '08

Dear prospective lab volunteers, I've decided to enjoy Washington DC for the weekend of 4th of July. This is a change from my earlier tentative schedule. Sat July 5 - Closed Sat July 12 - Open 9-5 Sat July 19 - Open 9-noon (tentative); We're at the Salisbury Barnes & Noble for a kids' (& parents') technology day at 2pm! This outreach to kids is partially based on "A Dangerous Book for Boys" which mentions Morse code. Sat July 26 - Open 9-5 (tentative) For directions, map to the intersection of Pocomoke Belt & Broad St in Pocomoke City, MD 21851 (the actual address maps incorrectly). Or GPS N 38 03.381, W 75 33.651. I don't require (but do appreciate) an RSVP by email or phone. My cell is 443-783-7794. We've been working on the ground station plan and Eagle satellite mechanical design. I have materials for both that I can email upon request. 73 bob Robert Davis KF4KSS

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AMSAT Pocomoke Lab schedule
by Robert Davis 09 Jun '08

09 Jun '08

Prospective lab volunteers, The AMSAT Lab in Pocomoke has the following schedule: Sat June 14 - Open 9-5 Sat June 21 - Open 9-5 Sat June 28 - Closed Sat July 5 - Open 9-5 (tentative) Sat July 12 - Open 9-5 (tentative) Sat July 19 - Closed; We're at the Salisbury Barnes & Noble for a kids' (& parents') technology day! For directions, map to the intersection of Pocomoke Belt & Broad St in Pocomoke City, MD 21851 (the actual address maps incorrectly). Or GPS N 38 03.381, W 75 33.651. I don't require (but do appreciate) an RSVP by email or phone. My cell is 443-783-7794. We've been working on the ground station plan and Eagle satellite mechanical design. I have materials for both that I can email upon request. 73 bob Robert Davis KF4KSS

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Obituaries for Ron
by Daniel Schultz 15 May '08

15 May '08

Obituaries for Ron http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/14/AR200805140… http://www.gazette.net/stories/051408/burtnew230217_32358.shtml

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WA4SIR Final Arrangements
by wmt9b 12 May '08

12 May '08

>From http://www.arrl.org/sections/MDC.html ..................... Ron made his home in Silver Spring, Maryland, loved amateur radio and was a member of the Goddard [Space Flight Center] Amateur Radio Club (GARC). Friends may call at Collins Funeral Home, 500 University Blvd. West, Silver Spring, MD from 2 pm to 4 pm and 7 pm to 9 pm on Friday, May 16th. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Resurrection Church, 3315 Greencastle Road, Burtonsville, MD on Saturday, May 17 at 10 am Interment will be at Burtonsville Union Cemetery.

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AMSAT/ARISS photos from Space Day by W4ART
by Perry Klein 11 May '08

11 May '08

Art Feller, W4ART has posted photos from AMSAT/ARISS participation at Space Day at the National Air and Space Museum to http://picasaweb.google.com/oojimoe/2008SpaceDayNASM Thanks, Art! Perry, W3PK

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AMSAT Lab in Pocomoke
by Robert Davis 10 May '08

10 May '08

To all prospective lab volunteers, The AMSAT Lab in Pocomoke will be closed the following Saturdays: May 17 because of the Dayton Hamfest in Ohio! May 24 because of the it's Memorial Weekend! We'll probably be open May 31, but I'll decide later! More schedule update before then! Today, J.C. and I put together the beginnings of the full-scale engineering unit of the Eagle satellite structure. This consists of only the inner 4 honeycomb panels where electronics are mounted. We also mounted four channels and two electronics boxes. At the moment it's all held together with a few rivets and bubble gum. When it returns, we'll continue to work on it. We want to finish it, because this is our practice unit. Ray will take the full-scale engineering unit and the half-scale model of Eagle, along with some photos and stuff, to the Dayton Hamfest. http://www.hamvention.org/ I'll have another update before May 31st. 73 bob Robert Davis KF4KSS

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