June 2007 - Sarex (INACTIVE) - mailman.amsat.org

Re: [amsat-bb] Re: ISS & Amateur Voice Comms (R
by Patrick McGrane 05 Jun '07

05 Jun '07

hello again miles- the FT8800 has a mounted fan and the FT8900 also includes 10 and 6 meters besides 2 and 70cm. There are other rigs to consider as well. 73, pat n2oeq ------- Original Message ------- >From : MM[mailto:[email protected]] Sent : 6/4/2007 6:30:01 PM To : patrick.n2oeq(a)gmail.com Cc : Patrick(a)yahoo.com; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject : RE: [amsat-bb] Re: ISS & Amateur Voice Comms (R Cross Band FM Repeaters: These are fun devices. We had a 440 repeater (mono band) on Mir that was very popular. And we have been able to on occasions enable the cross band mode on the Kenwood D700, which was also popular. There are a few issues with cross banding that need to be weighed against the popularity. A typical mobile rig in cross band mode can not handle the high duty cycle of that mode for extended periods of time. Even if you set the power to 5 watts, it would be transmitting continuously for 20 minutes straight as it passed over the USA and Western Europe. In space we do not have convection cooling, hot air does not rise. All electronics in Space on ISS will run much hotter than on Earth. For this type of job you will need commercial or similar equipment designed for 100% duty cycle and it needs to operate with the heat dissipation limitations of zero gravity inside ISS. We already had an Alleged-overheating problem with one radio on ISS and that was at less than 40% duty cycle. Other limitations: Frequency: Some countries doe not allow hams to have access to 440, which is why most of the ISS projects are being designed as Mono band projects. Space: We are short on physical space. No room for big cavity filters. Repeater suggestions: If some group has the time, effort and Money, they could try to submit a project proposals for a repeaters. Here are some ideas that may be receptive to ariss. 440 uplink, 10 meter down link repeater or visa versa: Benefits, Only minimal band pass cavities will be needed (all transmitters need to exceed commercial TX noise specifications). We have an unused 10 meter antenna presently and 3 440 antennas on the Service module. 440 mono band repeater: Uplink on 435.bottom of band and Downlink on 437.top end of band. (Satellite band on 440 is 435.000 438.000). for the Mir project the DLR team took an Icom repeater and stuffed the filters inside the box. It worked good. The project will need to fit into a small are and all filters need to be self-contained. Quiet fan cooling and food screens, etc. And you may need to build 5 to 10 working units. One unit will fly in to space the other 9 or so will be given to each one of the training and testing departments in each country. The new radio I am proposing for voice, packet and SSTV does not have dual receivers or cross band. We just had too many issues with teaching the crew how to use a true dual bander and it just is not worth going through that mess again. Keep it simple, One band active at a time. 73 Miles WF1F --- Thomas McGrane <patrick.n2oeq(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hi miles- just a short response- I no longer wait to > hear the astronauts > calling CQ and realize the future operation will be > vastly independant of > the crew. Considering the almost exclusive use of > simple digipeating packet > for several years, I have been pushing for > cross-band repeater operation to > liven things up. Does the digital radio have > crossband capability??? > > Incidentally, the radio I mentioned can be used to > monitor both VHF and UHF > simultaneously. > > Whatever you do, please consider mostly unattended > operation aside from use > by the crew. > I would rather be talking to fellow "space Cadets" > on earth than waiting > months for nothing. > > Thanks, pat > > > > On 6/4/07, MM <ka1rrw(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > Hello Patrick, > > Thank you very much for your comments on the Marex > > Project proposal. We are always interested in > hearing > > pros and cons for all projects and welcome > > constructive input. > > > > We believe in the slogan Keep It Simple (KIS). > > When it comes to projects we sometimes Dumb them > down > > to make it easier for the ISS crew. Sure these > guys > > are very smart, but they do not have time to find > and > > read the manuals for the 50+ radio, etc on ISS. > > > > Examples: > > On Mir Marex flew the Kenwood TM-D7A. This radio > was > > used to run the SSTV project and became the > primary > > Voice link. This and other Kenwood's have a row > of > > Program Mode buttons (I call them function > buttons). > > They allow you to save different modes of > operation > > and can be very complicated. After reading the > > manuals several times and testing the PM buttons, > we > > decided it would be too complicated for the crew > to > > understand these buttons, so we disabled them. > > Actually I programmed all of the PM buttons to do > just > > the same two items, Go To Channel #1 and Set > Transmit > > Power to Low. That way if the crew hit a PM > button > > they did not have to worry about rebooting the > radio > > into a different configuration. > > > > Slow Scan TV: > > On ISS, Silicon Pixels custom designed software > just > > for ISS. We chose them because they had the best > > solution at the time for SSTV. However, there off > the > > shelf version of software "CPIX" wold have been > too > > complicated for the crew to understand. There > were > > many great features that the ISS crew just would > not > > have time to learn. The Silicon Pixels team > developed > > a Dumbed down version of software that had just > the > > basic features that the ISS crew would need. We > tried > > to make it as simple as possibly by deliberately > > deleting features that were not needed. And we > made > > the Buttons big so the crew could hit them easily > > while floating in Zero-G. > > > > For the new Dual band Radio proposal that Marex > has > > put forward, I wanted to again try to Keep it > simple. > > I wanted to avoid the problems associated with a > true > > Dual-Band radio, such as two volume controls, two > > squelches and a Band switch etc. The ISS crews > have > > been having problems with figuring out a "Function > > Button" radio verses a Channel knob radio. I > wanted > > to go back to 1 channel knob, 1 squelch and 1 > volume > > control. > > The Icom ID-800 seems to meet most of our > requirements > > for Keeping it Simple. Once we program the radio > on > > the ground the ISS crew only needs to know the > > following controls: > > > > Power Switch > > Channel Knob > > Volume Knob > > Squelch knob. > > > > Instructions for changing frequencies, bands or > Voice > > Modes will be as follows. > > Turn Channel knob to channel XYZ. > > > > Turning on Packet will be as simple as: > > Turn Channel knob to channel XYZ. > > Push power button on TNC and look for Green LED on > > TNC. > > > > Believe me, it's a lot simpler to use than what we > > currently have in space. > > > > Digital Voice Modes: > > The ID-800 does support digital voce modes and all > > normal Analogue FM modes. Since our goal is to > reach > > as many people as possible, the primary mode will > be > > Analog FM voice. The digital modes wold most > likely > > be used for semi-private family communications, > etc. > > > > Deliver Time Frame: > > This project is not approved at this time. We > only > > have approval to continue with the Kantronics > KPC-9612 > > Modem side the project. Back in the Old Mir days, > the > > longest it took me to Pitch a theory to Switch on > was > > 15 months (SSTV Mir, Pitch theory September 1997, > > Switch on December 1998). With ISS, it takes much > > longer. I am tying to use a radio that will still > be > > in production when we go into space. > > > > The next project proposal demonstration is > tentatively > > planned for Moscow in Late 2007 or early 2008. > > > > Thanks for your input and support. > > > > Miles > > > > www.marexmg.org > > > > > > > > --- Patrick McGrane <N2OEQ(a)aceweb.com> wrote: > > > > > Hi miles- de patrick n2oeq- nice to see you > thinking > > > of the future. I miss the MIR > > > days. I think there was a simple kenwood dual > bander > > > on the MIR. I looked at the icom > > > ID800 and my first impression was that it was > not a > > > simple radio and I am not > > > interested in buying a new digital radio to work > the > > > ISS. Since there is no rush, > > > please consider other radio models of SIMPLE > design. > > > Within the past couple of years I > > > purchased a very easy to operate Yaesu FT8800R > dual > > > band rig capable of cross-band > > > repeat, 9600 baud packet, and narrow FM > operation to > > > name a few. I looked at several > > > rigs before deciding on it. Of course, it was a > > > personal preference and others may > > > prefer other models but I found this to be my > choice > > > for satellite work etc. > === message truncated === ____________________________________________________________________________________ The fish are biting. Get more visitors on your site using Yahoo! Search Marketing. http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/arp/sponsoredsearch_v2.php _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. 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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Crew Prepares for Second Spacewalk, Shuttle Visit
by Arthur Rowe 04 Jun '07

04 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 Crew Prepares for Second Spacewalk, Shuttle Visit Expedition 15 spacewalk Image above: Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov (left) rides on the Strela crane with a bundle of debris panels as Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin operates the controls. Image credit: NASA TV TO VIEW IMAGE GO TO: SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 Crew Prepares for Second Spacewalk, Shuttle Visit Expedition 15 spacewalk Image above: Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov (left) rides on the Strela crane with a bundle of debris panels as Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin operates the controls. Image credit: NASA TV International Space Station cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov spent much of Monday preparing for their second spacewalk in eight days. On Wednesday, Commander Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Kotov are scheduled to begin their mission’s second spacewalk. They will install cable, install additional debris panels and deploy a scientific experiment. Yurchikhin and Kotov completed their first spacewalk on May 30. + Read more about the June 6 spacewalk Space Shuttle Atlantis and the STS-117 crew will visit the International Space Station on June 10 after launching June 8. Atlantis is delivering the S3/S4 truss segment, a new set of starboard solar arrays and batteries. Shuttle crew member Clayton Anderson will replace Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Suni Williams. Williams will return home aboard Atlantis. + Expedition 15 Spacewalk Briefing Materials, May 23, 2007 + Read more about Expedition 15 + View crew daily timelines International Space Station cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Oleg Kotov spent much of Monday preparing for their second spacewalk in eight days. On Wednesday, Commander Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Kotov are scheduled to begin their mission’s second spacewalk. They will install cable, install additional debris panels and deploy a scientific experiment. Yurchikhin and Kotov completed their first spacewalk on May 30. + Read more about the June 6 spacewalk Space Shuttle Atlantis and the STS-117 crew will visit the International Space Station on June 10 after launching June 8. Atlantis is delivering the S3/S4 truss segment, a new set of starboard solar arrays and batteries. Shuttle crew member Clayton Anderson will replace Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Suni Williams. Williams will return home aboard Atlantis. + Expedition 15 Spacewalk Briefing Materials, May 23, 2007 + Read more about Expedition 15 + View crew daily timelines

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Re: [amsat-bb] Re: ISS & Amateur Voice Comms
by Patrick McGrane 03 Jun '07

03 Jun '07

Hi miles- de patrick n2oeq- nice to see you thinking of the future. I miss the MIR days. I think there was a simple kenwood dual bander on the MIR. I looked at the icom ID800 and my first impression was that it was not a simple radio and I am not interested in buying a new digital radio to work the ISS. Since there is no rush, please consider other radio models of SIMPLE design. Within the past couple of years I purchased a very easy to operate Yaesu FT8800R dual band rig capable of cross-band repeat, 9600 baud packet, and narrow FM operation to name a few. I looked at several rigs before deciding on it. Of course, it was a personal preference and others may prefer other models but I found this to be my choice for satellite work etc. I think it would be safer to consider a rig that has been around a while that has been refined in production and proven in use. Most important is that it be as simple as possible so as not to be disinteresting to the crew. Well, its all academic since it has to be approved but I'm happy to see you working on it. Thank you!!!!! Take care, pat ------- Original Message ------- >From : MM[mailto:[email protected]] Sent : 6/2/2007 7:46:10 PM To : sraas(a)optonline.net; amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Cc : Subject : RE: [amsat-bb] Re: ISS & Amateur Voice Comms The Amateur Radio stations on board ISS have not been open to regular public access since August 2006. There have only be a few random days when the crew from ISS has been heard calling CQ since then. If you look back in the Amsat Archives, look for message from Ken Ransom for an explanation of the issues. The Marex team is working on proposals to replace the existing ISS ham system with a new simpler to use system. (We have found that on the Space Station Mir projects, some consumer grade ham gear seemed to only have a life span of 2-3 year in 24/7 service while orbiting in space. All of the ham gear on ISS is over 3.5 years old) The unapproved Marex proposals would be comprised of the following hardware if approved. Icom ID-800 Dual band Kantronics KPC-9212 TNC Slow Scan TV (Off the shelf VOX box, multiple brands are currently being tested for SSTV) Marex welcomes your support www.marexmg.org --- Steve Raas <sraas(a)optonline.net> wrote: > Has any one been lucky enough to work the ISS on 2m > voice as of late? I call > NA1SS on every pass that Im available to and so far > no dice. ( 3 days 4 or 5 > passes ) > > > > Thanks! > > > > N2JDQ > > Steven J. Raas > > Locator FN20vg > > QRV 2/432 , V/U U/V Sats & WSJT > > Home Page & Sked Requests @ > http://n2jdq2007.tripod.com/ > > AMSAT Member # 36396 > > > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are > those of the author. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the > amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: > http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. 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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ISS Status Report: SS07-30
by Arthur Rowe 01 Jun '07

01 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 > June 1, 2007 > > John Yembric > Headquarters, Washington > 202-358-0602 > > John Ira Petty > Johnson Space Center, Houston > 281-483-5111 > > STATUS REPORT: SS07-30 > > INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORT: SS07-30 > > HOUSTON - The Expedition 15 crew completed the first of three planned > spacewalks this week and prepared for the upcoming arrival of space > shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station. > > On Wednesday, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg > Kotov stepped outside the station and installed five additional > debris protection panels on the conical section of the Zvezda Service > Module, the area between its large and small diameters. The aluminum > debris protection panels are designed to shield the module from > micro-meteoroids. > > Also during the spacewalk, the cosmonauts relocated a Global > Positioning System (GPS) antenna cable. The cosmonauts moved the GPS > cable to assist the rendezvous and docking of the European Automated > Transfer Vehicle later this year. > > On June 6, Yurchikhin and Kotov are set to wear Russian spacesuits > again and install 12 additional protection panels on Zvezda. They > also will install a section of an Ethernet cable on the Zarya module > and a Russian experiment called Biorisk on the Pirs Docking > Compartment. > > During the second spacewalk, Flight Engineer Suni Williams will remain > aboard the station as the spacewalk choreographer, as she did this > week, advising and keeping the spacewalkers on schedule. > > Additionally this week, Williams packed science payload and personal > items she will bring with her when she returns to Earth at the end of > the upcoming STS-117 shuttle mission, scheduled for launch Friday, > June 8 at 7:38 p.m. EDT. > > Williams collected her fifth and final set of blood and urine samples > for the Nutritional Status Assessment, which measures physiological > changes in the human body during spaceflight. The samples are stored > at minus 80 degrees Celsius in the Minus-Eighty Laboratory Freezer. > The experiment will help researchers understand bone metabolism, > oxidative damage, vitamin and mineral status and hormonal changes and > how they relate to stress, bone and muscle metabolism. The results > should provide a better understanding of what happens > physiologically, and when it happens, to crew members on > long-duration space missions. > > Science activities on the International Space Station are coordinated > by NASA payload teams at Johnson Space Center, Houston, and Marshall > Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. Marshall is the home of the > Payload Operations Center linked to Mission Control in Houston. > > For more about the crew's activities and station sighting > opportunities, visit: > > http://www.nasa.gov/station > > > -end- > > > > > >

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NASA Starts Space Shuttle Atlantis Countdown June 5
by Arthur Rowe 01 Jun '07

01 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 > June 1, 2007 > > John Yembrick > Headquarters, Washington > 202-358-0602 > > George Diller > Kennedy Space Center, Fla. > 321-867-2468 > > > > NASA STARTS SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS COUNTDOWN JUNE 5 > > CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA will start the launch countdown for space > shuttle Atlantis' STS-117 mission at 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday, June 5, at > the T-43 hour point. The countdown includes 27 hours, 32 minutes of > built-in hold time leading to a preferred launch time at > approximately 7:38 p.m. EDT Friday, June 8. The launch window extends > an additional five minutes. > > During the 11-day mission, Atlantis' crew will resume construction of > the International Space Station, working with the station crew to > install the girder-like S3/S4 truss segment, unfold a new set of > solar arrays and retract one array on the starboard side of the > station. > > A detailed list of launch countdown milestones and times is available > at: > > http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news/index.html > > This mission is the 118th space shuttle flight, the 28th flight for > Atlantis and the 21st U.S. flight to the International Space Station. > STS-117 is scheduled to land at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on > Tuesday, June 19. > > Atlantis' last mission was STS-115 in September 2006. For the upcoming > STS-117 mission, Atlantis rolled out to Launch Pad 39-A from > Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building on May 15. Atlantis originally > was targeted for launch in March, but a hail storm damaged foam > insulation on the shuttle's external fuel tank and forced managers to > roll the spacecraft back into the Vehicle Assembly Building to make > repairs. With the refurbishment of Pad 39-A, this launch will be the > first from the pad in four years. > > STS-117 Commander Rick Sturckow, Pilot Lee Archambault and mission > specialists Jim Reilly, Patrick Forrester, Steven Swanson, John > "Danny" Olivas and Clayton Anderson are scheduled to arrive at the > Kennedy Space Center on June 4. > > Expedition 15 Flight Engineer Sunita Williams will return to Earth > from the space station aboard Atlantis. The flight will carry > Expedition 15/16 Flight Engineer Clayton Anderson to the station. He > will return home aboard space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-120. > > For more information about the STS-117 crew and mission to the space > station, visit: > > http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle > > > -end- > > > > > >

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NASA Updates Space Shuttle Atlantis Prelaunch Events
by Arthur Rowe 01 Jun '07

01 Jun '07

SUBMITTED BY ARTHUR N1ORC - AMSAT A/C #31468 > June 1, 2007 > > John Yembrick > Headquarters, Washington > 202-358-0602 > > George Diller > Kennedy Space Center, Fla. > 321-867-2468 > > > NASA UPDATES SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS PRELAUNCH EVENTS > > CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - News conferences, events and operating hours > for NASA's Kennedy Space Center News Center are set for the scheduled > June 8 launch of space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-117 mission to the > International Space Station. Liftoff is slated for 7:38 p.m. EDT. > > On Monday, June 4, the seven Atlantis crew members are scheduled to > arrive at the Kennedy Space Center at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Media planning > to cover the event must be at the News Center by 5 p.m. for > transportation to the Shuttle Landing Facility. Commander Rick > Sturckow will make a brief statement to the media. NASA Television > will air live coverage of the arrival and Sturckow's remarks. > > NASA TV also will broadcast live countdown status briefings and news > conferences June 5-8. Complete listings of news briefing times, > participants, Kennedy News Center and media credentialing hours of > operation are available in the online version of this media advisory > at: > > http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news/index.html > > For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, > visit: > > http://www.nasa.gov/ntv > > For the latest information about the STS-117 crew and mission, visit: > > http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle > > > -end- > > > > > >

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2007-06-01 16:15 UTC
by AJ9N＠aol.com 01 Jun '07

01 Jun '07

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2007-06-01 16:15 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Colegio La Salle, San Bernardo, 9, Palencia E-34002, Spain, telebridge via W6SRJ (***) Fri 2007-06-08 10:55 UTC 33 deg (***) Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 300. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 1. QSL information may be found at: http://www.arrl.org/ARISS/arissfaq.html http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm#QSL's ISS callsigns: DP0ISS, NA1SS, RS0ISS ***************************************************************************** The schedule page has been updated as of 2007-06-01 16:30 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.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2007-05-31 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_correctio… tf 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 ***************************************************************************** There has been a rumor that the ISS was having direct contacts on the 40 meter band. There is no HF radio equipment on board and available yet. The HF antenna is mounted. Sometimes WA3NAN will retransmit shuttle audio. ***************************************************************************** Expedition 14/15 on orbit: Sunita Williams, KD5PLB Expedition 15 on orbit: Fyodor Yurchikhin RN3FI Dr. Oleg Kotov Expedition 15 future: Clayton Anderson KD5PLA Daniel Tani KD5DXE ***************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

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