- Amsat-florida (INACTIVE) - mailman.amsat.org

Net
by Andrew Glasbrenner 31 Dec '09

31 Dec '09

Just a reminder, no net tonight unless Cameron wants to do it. Drew

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XW-1 15Dec2009 1702Z Signal Report
by John Papay 15 Dec '09

15 Dec '09

XW-1 was again heard over western North America with an excellent signal. The new keps provided by Nigel G8IFF/W8IFF were used for Object A and found to be spot on. I set SatPC32 for automatic operation with the TS2000 in the CW mode and the computer clock synchronized with NIST. I never touched the radio dial or the antennas during the entire pass and as you will hear on the recording, the CW tone never changed. The TS2000 was updating the frequency every second. Again I found polarization shifts but the bird did best on Left Hand during most of the pass. This was a 22 degree pass for me to the west. One of the three letter code groups changes on every string of CW starting with BJ1SA XW XW etc and ending with XW XW. For example, the 3 letter groups for some successive transmissions were: TNE TDT AAE ATE 4VE A6E TBT 4VE T6E ATE. Every other code group in the string stayed the same, at least during this pass. I started the recording late. It is much better than my first recording with the older keps on the amsat webpge. http://www.papays.com/XW-1_15Dec2009_170842z.mp3 Let's hope we can start using the v/u transponders for voice/cw soon. Thanks again to all who were involved with this satellite. It is operating very well. 73, John K8YSE EN91dh

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XW-1 over North America 15Dec2009 1517z
by John Papay 15 Dec '09

15 Dec '09

The XW-1 CW Beacon was heard over North America this morning with an excellent signal and tone quality. It sends a long string which changes a bit on every transmission. The keps are a bit off since the bird went over the horizon prior to the prediction. I lost it when it was still at 2.7 degrees according to SatPC32. The doppler correction is off as well indicating changing keps. Hopefully we will get some better keps soon. A recording of XW-1 is on my webserver: http://www.papays.com/XW-1_15Dec2009_1517z.mp3 At one point the antenna had to turn around. I had some copy on this bird while the antennas came around 180 degrees indicating a strong signal. I noted that there were polarity shifts between right and left hand circular. At one point I tuned to the packet frequency to see if there was any activity. I heard none but only listened for a short time before returning to the beacon frequency. Congratulations to the Chinese Team that designed, built and launched this satellite. It is off to an excellent start. We look forward to having it operational soon and for many years to come. 73, John K8YSE EN91dh John Papay john(a)papays.com

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XW-1 Beacon
by Scott Schmautz 15 Dec '09

15 Dec '09

Nice strong signal from the XW-1 CW beacon, 1520 UTC, 435.790 Mhz. Scott/WB2UZR

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XW-1 Satellite Launched
by Scott Schmautz 15 Dec '09

15 Dec '09

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2009/12/china-completes-2009-schedule-by-lau… >From NASA Spaceflight.com. Scott/WB2UZR

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Net tonight
by Andrew Glasbrenner 03 Dec '09

03 Dec '09

To all AMSAT-Florida net participants: Recently, the KG4YZY repeater that provided the Echolink connection into the wide area NI4CE repeater system was permanently disconnected from the network, and temporarily removed from service. As the AMSAT-Florida net relied on that Echolink connection as the hub for all our participating repeaters from Miami to Gainesville, as well as worldwide individual participants, we are left in quite a jam until we reestablish a hub system. Further complicating the situation is that the three active net control stations rely on being able to use a real RF connection to run the net, assisted by Echolink in the background. For tonight's net I propose that Echolink users connect to K4ZPZ-R 44310 in Orlando, 443.100 on RF. Our Orlando NCS is unavailable tonight, so depending on conditions I will attempt to be NCS either via RF or Echolink. This might get very "interesting", and the net will likely be more informal than usual. We can reevaluate and reintegrate NI4CE when they restore Echolink connectivity. What I do not think should happen is the net splitting into two entities. That, IMO, is a recipe for failure and burnout. So, please join us on K4ZPZ-R tonight for the AMSAT-Florida net, Echolink node # 44310, RF 443.100 MHz. 73, Drew KO4MA

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Fw: ISS
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 30 Nov '09

30 Nov '09

----- Original Message ----- From: Aa4mi(a)aol.com To: bobmahon06(a)yahoo.com Cc: aa4kn(a)amsat.org Sent: Saturday, November 28, 2009 2:57 PM Subject: ISS THE FOLLOWING ISS SIGHTINGS ARE POSSIBLE FROM FRI NOV 27 TO SAT DEC 12 FOR FLORIDA IN GENERAL. [BE SURE TO UPDATE YOUR TRACKING PROGRAM'S KEP ELEMENTS AS THE LATER DATES BECOME AVAILABLE JUST IN CASE THE ISS HAS HAD ANY CORRECTION BURNS THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF DECEMBER] SATELLITE LOCAL DURATION MAX ELEV APPROACH DEPARTURE DATE/TIME (MIN) (DEG) (DEG-DIR) (DEG-DIR) ISS Fri Nov 27/07:06 PM 3 27 10 above WNW 23 above SSW ISS Sat Nov 28/05:53 PM 5 48 11 above NNW 10 above ESE ISS Sun Nov 29/06:16 PM 5 28 10 above WNW 10 above S ISS Sat Dec 05/06:11 AM 1 18 11 above S 18 above SE ISS Sun Dec 06/06:33 AM 5 73 11 above SW 10 above NE ISS Mon Dec 07/05:22 AM 2 18 11 above S 18 above SE ISS Tue Dec 08/05:46 AM 3 78 69 above WSW 10 above NE ISS Wed Dec 09/06:09 AM 1 16 16 above NNW 11 above N

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AMSAT at the Tampa Bay Hamfest, Dec 5-6
by Andrew Glasbrenner 30 Nov '09

30 Nov '09

Hi All, This is just a reminder and request for assistance for the AMSAT booth and forum at the Tampa Bay Hamfest this coming weekend, Dec. 5th and 6th, at the Manatee Civic Center in Palmetto, FL. We have a scheduled AMSAT forum at 10:30AM on Saturday, and we will have a booth with AMSAT books, software, and goodies. We are also planning on doing a variety of demonstrations, including AO-27 and SO-67 on FM, VO-52 on SSB, and maybe even listen to some of the more interesting cubesats like CO-66. During the forum we'll talk about the status of current AMSAT projects around the world, and where we are headed. If you are a current AMSAT member, or plan on joining or renewing at the hamfest, we could use some help behind the table throughout the day. Please drop me an email at ko4ma(a)amsat.org if you can help out. You don't have to be a satellite expert, just interested in helping is all. 73, Drew KO4MA

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The Florida AMSAT net is in trouble
by Andrew Glasbrenner 25 Nov '09

25 Nov '09

We've got a real problem coming up. The KG4YZY repeater is going to be removed from the NI4CE system no later than January 31, 2010. YZY-R is the Echolink source for NI4CE, and from what I've been told there are no plans to replace Echolink on NI4CE. The majority of our checkins are from the NI4CE system by a very wide margin. KG4YZY-R may be relocated to a lower site, or it may go QRT by that date. Further compounding the problem is our continued unanswered need for additional net control stations. As some of you know, I have a baby coming next month, which is only going to make it harder to be net control. With the number of check-ins we have, I'm amazed we cannot find one or two motivated individuals to step up and be net control once a month or so. As I see it there are a few ways forward. NI4CE can simply be dropped from the net, and Echolink connections can be shifted to the ZPZ repeater in Orlando. We can find another wide area Tampa repeater that will host here, or the net can continue without Tampa. This is problematic since two of the three net controls are outside of the Orlando repeater range. I'm open for suggestions. 73, Drew KO4MA

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[Fwd: [Sumbandila: 160] SO-67 activation schedule: 13-15 Nov 2009]
by Andrew Glasbrenner 13 Nov '09

13 Nov '09

Gentlemen, This is a new satellite from South Africa. It has a VERY strong downlink, easily copyable on an unsquelched HT. Take a listen at the UTC times listed for USA (East) below, starting at about 435.355, and tuning down through 435.335 by the end of the pass. I'd recommend listening to a pass to get the hang of things before trying to transmit, and use narrow FM or speak softly on the uplink. I'll be happy to field questions about satellite related stuff, and invite everyone interested in AMSAT to join us on the NI4CE system Thursday nights at 730PM for the Florida AMSAT net. 73, Drew KO4MA -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [Sumbandila: 160] SO-67 activation schedule: 13-15 Nov 2009 Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:36:38 +0200 From: Jan-Albert Koekemoer <jan.koekemoer(a)sunspace.co.za> Reply-To: sumbandila(a)googlegroups.com To: <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> CC: <sumbandila(a)googlegroups.com> Hello It will be a busy weekend on SO-67 as we intend to schedule the FM V/U cross-band repeater on Sumbandila as listed below (all times in UTC; all activations 15 minutes duration). We appreciate all feedback, which you're welcome to post on AMSAT-BB, or alternatively on the Sumbandila Google Group (http://groups.google.com/group/sumbandila). For progress made during commissioning of the satellite, please see http://sumbandilamission.blogspot.com . Fri 13 Nov 2009 21:16 - RSA 22:17 - Australia (East) 23:35 - Japan 23:49 - Australia (Central) Sat 14 Nov 2009 01:25 - Australia (West) 06:11 - RSA 07:30 - Europe (East) 07:46 - RSA 09:02 - Europe (West) 12:22 - Brazil 13:50 - USA (East) 15:21 - USA (Central) 16:56 - USA (West) 17:49 - RSA 18:30 - Alaska 19:20 - RSA 20:26 - New Zealand 20:54 - RSA 21:57 - Australia (East) 23:16 - Japan 23:28 - Australia (Central) Sun 15 Nov 2009 01:04 - Australia (West) 05:51 - RSA 07:10 - Europe (East) 07:25 - RSA 08:41 - Europe (Central) 10:17 - Europe (West) 12:03 - Brazil 13:28 - USA (East) 15:01 - USA (mid-East) 16:35 - USA (mid-West) 18:12 - USA (West) The CTCSS tone for the transponder is 233.6 Hz. Uplink: 145.875MHz Downlink: 435.345MHz Additional recommendations: Use only narrow FM Switch off compression Speak softly (mic gain down) Satellite characteristics: All antennas are linear vertically polarized (1/4 wavelength) Sat Tx power = 5W Sat Rx sensitivity = -116.5dBm for 12dB SINAD Max antenna gain = 4dBi Note that the satellite is currently in a controlled sun tracking mode with antennas Nadir pointing. Apologies again for the late notification, but we're still in the commissioning phase and can therefore not guarantee the SA-AMSAT payload service far ahead in time. Regards Jan-Albert Koekemoer (ZR1JAK) Sumbandila Ground Control Team E-mail Disclaimer http://www.sunspace.co.za/emaildisclaimer.htm

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