Hi Bob, it's been a while since we worked together on the AMSAT/TAPR DSP-93 :) My call was KC4EBR back then. Still one of my favorite projects :) Glad to be working on a common project again!
I will plan to try to run Falconsat-3 for about 24 hours each weekend, with specifics dependent upon the time of day it's overhead, work, and recreation! The orbit precesses about 30 mins every day, so the time of day for usable passes cycles. But basically a 24 hour uptime every weekend. There's a pass around 1222UTC today 29 Oct 202, and I'll turn it ON with battery management OFF, hoping for about 24 hours of operations. I'll continue this as long as I reasonably can. Reentry is estimated to be in April 2022. Telemetry suggests that one cell is very weak, continuous 24/7/365 operations are no longer possible.
My best advice is to follow me on Twitter! It's easy to post when I turn it ON/OFF, so lately that's been my preferred method of sharing the information.
Also, please update your keps at least once per week, maybe more often. It appears to change enough to warrant this for people using tracking/high gain directional antennas. Here is the TLE source I'm using now: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/daily.all
Hope this schedule works for the team! We have a number of users around the planet that use it, and they are happy as well to hear that operations will be scheduled. I'll copy most of this email to the AMSAT-BB soon as well.
If there are other requests for a specific day, just ask! If I can support, I will...
73!
Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] AMSAT Director and Command Station
On Thu, Oct 27, 2022 at 8:33 PM Bob Stricklin via pacsat [email protected] wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Bob Stricklin [email protected] To: "Mark L. Hammond" [email protected] Cc: "[email protected]" [email protected] Bcc: Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2022 00:33:26 +0000 Subject: [pacsat] Re: Introduction and Falconsat-3 question Mark,
Thanks for your offer to turn on Falconsat one day a week.
If you do this I will try to copy the passes I can see and will also work to upload a few messages.
If you find doing this for a full day every week is too taxing for you or for Falconsat-3 a lesser amount of on time would be fine also. Hopefully we could learn something from the effort and get some more action out of the satellite before it derbies.
Thanks,
Bob N5BRG
On Oct 25, 2022, at 10:45 AM, Mark L. Hammond [email protected]
wrote:
Hello PACSAT Team---it was great to learn about this project from
Jonathan at the recent AMSAT Symposium. I'm delighted to hear that you're working on a PACSAT version of something new...
It was the original microsats/pacsats project and launch that got me
interested in satellite communications, so I've been doing it for a while. Happy to give opinions or suggestions when needed--don't be afraid to ask.
My question--is there one day each week where you'd like me to turn ON Falconsat-3 for about 24 hours of operations? I think it'll take this
'abuse' for a while; it's predicted to reenter around April next year, so we have a few months before it's gone....
Putting the satellite on an operation schedule will help people know
when to expect it to be on. I though you all might enjoy listening/working it, making recordings, tests, whatever, while we still have it working. A challenge is that the orbit precesses like 30 mins per day, so eventually it shifts where all passes are during the sleeping hours...so there will some weeks where it might not be turned on...
So, can you all pick the day when you'd like it on? I'll do my best to
keep it going per schedule...Drew KO4MA is also on the list, and he'll help as needed I'm sure.
Both of us are interested in an outline/overview of what you all
imagine. I think I learned 1200 AFSK uplink (four frequencies/channels), 9600 baud FSK downlink. My preferred is 2M uplink, 70cm downlink (since it's so quiet). It'll take about 500mw to 1W on the downlink to be useable at 9600. Even more is desirable or necessary if you want to go higher than 9600... I think I'm one of the remaining dinosaurs that has experience and equipment to do 38k4 on the downlink...although wideband SDRs has changed that!
73!
Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] (formerly KC4EBR) AMSAT Director and Command Station
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https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]
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---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Bob Stricklin via pacsat [email protected] To: "Mark L. Hammond" [email protected] Cc: "[email protected]" [email protected] Bcc: Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2022 00:33:26 +0000 Subject: [pacsat] Re: Introduction and Falconsat-3 question
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Thanks you Mark,
Being a weekend sleepy head I missed the morning pass but there are several good ones today and tomorrow.
My shack is in a state of continual reconfiguration and not certain if I can make contact with Falconsat-3 today but will definitely track and listed for a signal.
Makes for a good start as well as an incentive to leave everything in place for a bit.
Jim McCullers
WA4CWI
Hi Bob, it's been a while since we worked together on the AMSAT/TAPR DSP-93 :) My call was KC4EBR back then. Still one of my favorite projects :) Glad to be working on a common project again!
I will plan to try to run Falconsat-3 for about 24 hours each weekend, with specifics dependent upon the time of day it's overhead, work, and recreation! The orbit precesses about 30 mins every day, so the time of day for usable passes cycles. But basically a 24 hour uptime every weekend. There's a pass around 1222UTC today 29 Oct 202, and I'll turn it ON with battery management OFF, hoping for about 24 hours of operations. I'll continue this as long as I reasonably can. Reentry is estimated to be in April 2022. Telemetry suggests that one cell is very weak, continuous 24/7/365 operations are no longer possible.
My best advice is to follow me on Twitter! It's easy to post when I turn it ON/OFF, so lately that's been my preferred method of sharing the information.
Also, please update your keps at least once per week, maybe more often. It appears to change enough to warrant this for people using tracking/high gain directional antennas. Here is the TLE source I'm using now:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/daily.all
Hope this schedule works for the team! We have a number of users around the planet that use it, and they are happy as well to hear that operations will be scheduled. I'll copy most of this email to the AMSAT-BB soon as well.
If there are other requests for a specific day, just ask! If I can support, I will...
73!
Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]
AMSAT Director and Command Station
On Thu, Oct 27, 2022 at 8:33 PM Bob Stricklin via pacsat <[email protected] mailto:[email protected] > wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Bob Stricklin <[email protected] mailto:[email protected] > To: "Mark L. Hammond" <[email protected] mailto:[email protected] > Cc: "[email protected] mailto:[email protected] " <[email protected] mailto:[email protected] > Bcc: Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2022 00:33:26 +0000 Subject: [pacsat] Re: Introduction and Falconsat-3 question Mark,
Thanks for your offer to turn on Falconsat one day a week.
If you do this I will try to copy the passes I can see and will also work to upload a few messages.
If you find doing this for a full day every week is too taxing for you or for Falconsat-3 a lesser amount of on time would be fine also. Hopefully we could learn something from the effort and get some more action out of the satellite before it derbies.
Thanks,
Bob N5BRG
On Oct 25, 2022, at 10:45 AM, Mark L. Hammond <[email protected] mailto:[email protected] > wrote:
Hello PACSAT Team---it was great to learn about this project from Jonathan at the recent AMSAT Symposium. I'm delighted to hear that you're working on a PACSAT version of something new...
It was the original microsats/pacsats project and launch that got me interested in satellite communications, so I've been doing it for a while. Happy to give opinions or suggestions when needed--don't be afraid to ask.
My question--is there one day each week where you'd like me to turn ON Falconsat-3 for about 24 hours of operations? I think it'll take this 'abuse' for a while; it's predicted to reenter around April next year, so we have a few months before it's gone....
Putting the satellite on an operation schedule will help people know when to expect it to be on. I though you all might enjoy listening/working it, making recordings, tests, whatever, while we still have it working A challenge is that the orbit precesses like 30 mins per day, so eventually it shifts where all passes are during the sleeping hours...so there will some weeks where it might not be turned on...
So, can you all pick the day when you'd like it on? I'll do my best to keep it going per schedule...Drew KO4MA is also on the list, and he'll help as needed I'm sure.
Both of us are interested in an outline/overview of what you all imagine. I think I learned 1200 AFSK uplink (four frequencies/channels), 9600 baud FSK downlink. My preferred is 2M uplink, 70cm downlink (since it's so quiet). It'll take about 500mw to 1W on the downlink to be useable at 9600. Even more is desirable or necessary if you want to go higher than 9600... I think I'm one of the remaining dinosaurs that has experience and equipment to do 38k4 on the downlink...although wideband SDRs has changed that!
73!
Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] (formerly KC4EBR) AMSAT Director and Command Station
pacsat mailing list -- [email protected] mailto:[email protected] View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] https://mailman.amsatorg/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] mailto:[email protected] Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Bob Stricklin via pacsat <[email protected] mailto:[email protected] > To: "Mark L. Hammond" <[email protected] mailto:[email protected] > Cc: "[email protected] mailto:[email protected] " <[email protected] mailto:[email protected] > Bcc: Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2022 00:33:26 +0000 Subject: [pacsat] Re: Introduction and Falconsat-3 question ----------------------------------------------- pacsat mailing list -- [email protected] mailto:[email protected] View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] mailto:[email protected] Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org
Thanks Mark!
Your plan sounds fine to me. I know this will take some effort on your part and we appreciate you doing this.
I have learned there are some people that do love Falconsat-3 and will be happy to see this schedule. Let's hope the batteries are strong enough to make it though some full days of operation.
I have not been on Twitter but I have been thinking about signing up. Will look into that as well.
73,
Bob N5BRG
On Oct 29, 2022, at 7:10 AM, Mark L. Hammond <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Bob, it's been a while since we worked together on the AMSAT/TAPR DSP-93 :) My call was KC4EBR back then. Still one of my favorite projects :) Glad to be working on a common project again!
I will plan to try to run Falconsat-3 for about 24 hours each weekend, with specifics dependent upon the time of day it's overhead, work, and recreation! The orbit precesses about 30 mins every day, so the time of day for usable passes cycles. But basically a 24 hour uptime every weekend. There's a pass around 1222UTC today 29 Oct 202, and I'll turn it ON with battery management OFF, hoping for about 24 hours of operations. I'll continue this as long as I reasonably can. Reentry is estimated to be in April 2022. Telemetry suggests that one cell is very weak, continuous 24/7/365 operations are no longer possible.
My best advice is to follow me on Twitter! It's easy to post when I turn it ON/OFF, so lately that's been my preferred method of sharing the information.
Also, please update your keps at least once per week, maybe more often. It appears to change enough to warrant this for people using tracking/high gain directional antennas. Here is the TLE source I'm using now: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/keps/current/daily.allhttps://url.emailprotection.link/?b-yDO_z5GjSC6T5pZ9VDCV3Ovxt6ljbHNH6j4vGanLU2bovB2eNvQ7Rx9kWttI3UxvnwkmBjvKgbdsukWuHZoUgHWxQmu8FD__POB2B_wI5vA-EJ7in5ZyeAYvEDu90Di
Hope this schedule works for the team! We have a number of users around the planet that use it, and they are happy as well to hear that operations will be scheduled. I'll copy most of this email to the AMSAT-BB soon as well.
If there are other requests for a specific day, just ask! If I can support, I will...
73!
Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] AMSAT Director and Command Station
On Thu, Oct 27, 2022 at 8:33 PM Bob Stricklin via pacsat <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]> wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Bob Stricklin <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]> To: "Mark L. Hammond" <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]> Cc: "[email protected]mailto:[email protected]" <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]> Bcc: Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2022 00:33:26 +0000 Subject: [pacsat] Re: Introduction and Falconsat-3 question Mark,
Thanks for your offer to turn on Falconsat one day a week.
If you do this I will try to copy the passes I can see and will also work to upload a few messages.
If you find doing this for a full day every week is too taxing for you or for Falconsat-3 a lesser amount of on time would be fine also. Hopefully we could learn something from the effort and get some more action out of the satellite before it derbies.
Thanks,
Bob N5BRG
On Oct 25, 2022, at 10:45 AM, Mark L. Hammond <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]> wrote:
Hello PACSAT Team---it was great to learn about this project from Jonathan at the recent AMSAT Symposium. I'm delighted to hear that you're working on a PACSAT version of something new...
It was the original microsats/pacsats project and launch that got me interested in satellite communications, so I've been doing it for a while. Happy to give opinions or suggestions when needed--don't be afraid to ask.
My question--is there one day each week where you'd like me to turn ON Falconsat-3 for about 24 hours of operations? I think it'll take this 'abuse' for a while; it's predicted to reenter around April next year, so we have a few months before it's gone....
Putting the satellite on an operation schedule will help people know when to expect it to be on. I though you all might enjoy listening/working it, making recordings, tests, whatever, while we still have it working. A challenge is that the orbit precesses like 30 mins per day, so eventually it shifts where all passes are during the sleeping hours...so there will some weeks where it might not be turned on...
So, can you all pick the day when you'd like it on? I'll do my best to keep it going per schedule...Drew KO4MA is also on the list, and he'll help as needed I'm sure.
Both of us are interested in an outline/overview of what you all imagine. I think I learned 1200 AFSK uplink (four frequencies/channels), 9600 baud FSK downlink. My preferred is 2M uplink, 70cm downlink (since it's so quiet). It'll take about 500mw to 1W on the downlink to be useable at 9600. Even more is desirable or necessary if you want to go higher than 9600... I think I'm one of the remaining dinosaurs that has experience and equipment to do 38k4 on the downlink...although wideband SDRs has changed that!
73!
Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] (formerly KC4EBR) AMSAT Director and Command Station
pacsat mailing list -- [email protected]mailto:[email protected] View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]https://url.emailprotection.link/?b5qYATJ4AvjJ05toBkiiLaMPlv1Y3QPE5U0sxMp-jMc3ECRZriWX_0f2xf9Eh9bJTVVC-691in_3uk1tjBYI3aAofBZgvlREmYoFYgIb7FgJx-YaXSXKZqf_n1wCWb0Uf To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]mailto:[email protected] Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.orghttps://url.emailprotection.link/?bO71JCUf8Kb7txAlIoAarNqcIdQhyb8VQQIN4j0Gik24jnwI-Byk6ZVn92BYiD7Bxz61XZBoNoJE1TKqdfKnwFw~~
---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Bob Stricklin via pacsat <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]> To: "Mark L. Hammond" <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]> Cc: "[email protected]mailto:[email protected]" <[email protected]mailto:[email protected]> Bcc: Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2022 00:33:26 +0000 Subject: [pacsat] Re: Introduction and Falconsat-3 question ----------------------------------------------- pacsat mailing list -- [email protected]mailto:[email protected] View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]https://url.emailprotection.link/?b5qYATJ4AvjJ05toBkiiLaMPlv1Y3QPE5U0sxMp-jMc3ECRZriWX_0f2xf9Eh9bJTVVC-691in_3uk1tjBYI3aAofBZgvlREmYoFYgIb7FgJx-YaXSXKZqf_n1wCWb0Uf To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]mailto:[email protected] Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.orghttps://url.emailprotection.link/?bO71JCUf8Kb7txAlIoAarNqcIdQhyb8VQQIN4j0Gik24jnwI-Byk6ZVn92BYiD7Bxz61XZBoNoJE1TKqdfKnwFw~~
Mark,
Wanted to let you know I acquired the Falconsat-3 signal on two passes this morning.
The first pass was tracking only and on the second I attempted to make contact but failed due to configuration problems between Chris’s program, Direwolf, SignalLink and the receiver.
I might do something profound tonight like read the manuals!
I’m not certain if the satellite will shutdown before tomorrow morning passes but I will be listening.
This is the first time I’ve tried this combination and the result is not unexpected.
Over the week I’ll dial it in better for next weekend.
Thanks very much for activating Falconsat-3.
Jim McCullers
WA4CWI
Hi Jim, glad you're giving it a go on the air! I just checked passes for tomorrow (remember, they come 30 mins earlier every day!). I see a good pass about noon time Eastern time, so that'll be the one I'll try to catch to turn OFF the TX.
Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] AMSAT Director and Command Station
On Sat, Oct 29, 2022 at 1:32 PM Jim McCullers [email protected] wrote:
Mark,
Wanted to let you know I acquired the Falconsat-3 signal on two passes this morning.
The first pass was tracking only and on the second I attempted to make contact but failed due to configuration problems between Chris’s program, Direwolf, SignalLink and the receiver.
I might do something profound tonight like read the manuals!
I’m not certain if the satellite will shutdown before tomorrow morning passes but I will be listening.
This is the first time I’ve tried this combination and the result is not unexpected.
Over the week I’ll dial it in better for next weekend.
Thanks very much for activating Falconsat-3.
Jim McCullers
WA4CWI
pacsat mailing list -- [email protected] View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org
I see a couple of earlier passes that look good from my QTH (Birmingham, Alabama) so I’ll give them a try before shutdown pass.
Good signal on the last pass this morning.
73
Jim McCullers
WA4CWI
Hi Jim, glad you're giving it a go on the air! I just checked passes for tomorrow (remember, they come 30 mins earlier every day!). I see a good pass about noon time Eastern time, so that'll be the one I'll try to catch to turn OFF the TX.
Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]
AMSAT Director and Command Station
On Sat, Oct 29, 2022 at 1:32 PM Jim McCullers <[email protected] mailto:[email protected] > wrote:
Mark,
Wanted to let you know I acquired the Falconsat-3 signal on two passes this morning.
The first pass was tracking only and on the second I attempted to make contact but failed due to configuration problems between Chris’s program, Direwolf, SignalLink and the receiver.
I might do something profound tonight like read the manuals!
I’m not certain if the satellite will shutdown before tomorrow morning passes but I will be listening.
This is the first time I’ve tried this combination and the result is not unexpected.
Over the week I’ll dial it in better for next weekend.
Thanks very much for activating Falconsat-3.
Jim McCullers
WA4CWI
----------------------------------------------- pacsat mailing list -- [email protected] View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] mailto:[email protected] Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org
For what it's worth, Falconsat-3's official ARRL logbook of the world name is FS-3. Macdoppler changes the satellite names from the way they are listed in nasabare keps to the ARRL name so it will match up when you log it. Worse, though, it used to call it FalconSat-3. So that name is still in there, but has no associated keps. You have to find FS-3 and then add the appropriate modes to it.
This is all MacDoppler, but perhaps there are others with similar issues.
73,
Burns Fisher, WB1FJ *AMSAT(R) Engineering -- Flight Software*
On Sat, Oct 29, 2022 at 1:52 PM Jim McCullers [email protected] wrote:
I see a couple of earlier passes that look good from my QTH (Birmingham, Alabama) so I’ll give them a try before shutdown pass.
Good signal on the last pass this morning.
73
Jim McCullers
WA4CWI
Hi Jim, glad you're giving it a go on the air! I just checked passes for tomorrow (remember, they come 30 mins earlier every day!). I see a good pass about noon time Eastern time, so that'll be the one I'll try to catch to turn OFF the TX.
Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]
AMSAT Director and Command Station
On Sat, Oct 29, 2022 at 1:32 PM Jim McCullers [email protected] wrote:
Mark,
Wanted to let you know I acquired the Falconsat-3 signal on two passes this morning.
The first pass was tracking only and on the second I attempted to make contact but failed due to configuration problems between Chris’s program, Direwolf, SignalLink and the receiver.
I might do something profound tonight like read the manuals!
I’m not certain if the satellite will shutdown before tomorrow morning passes but I will be listening.
This is the first time I’ve tried this combination and the result is not unexpected.
Over the week I’ll dial it in better for next weekend.
Thanks very much for activating Falconsat-3.
Jim McCullers
WA4CWI
pacsat mailing list -- [email protected] View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org
pacsat mailing list -- [email protected] View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org
Sadly, my 9600 baud station is not yet operational but all this discussion around Falconsat-3 is exactly the motivation I need!
Thank you,
Jonathan
On 10/29/22 07:10, Mark L. Hammond wrote:
I will plan to try to run Falconsat-3 for about 24 hours each weekend, with specifics dependent upon the time of day it's overhead, work, and recreation!
participants (5)
-
Bob Stricklin -
Burns Fisher (AMSAT) -
Jim McCullers -
Jonathan Brandenburg -
Mark L. Hammond