ISS D700 condition
Greetings to the group
I have a question beyond the current state of the D700 Programming; Can the radio be set manually to communicate beyond school contacts? In essence, can it be set to run either cross-band repeat or packet without a reprogramming with a laptop?
It doesnt make sense for the radio to be off between school contacts.
On another note, we lost wally shira this week at the age of 86 from natural causes. We should all have such a great life. Regards to nasa
Thanks for information, pat n2oeq
The radio might be able to be operated in packet by setting everything up manually but that is very time intensive for the crew (I'm guessing it would be about 30 steps) and it would have to be done before and after every school contact. Manually changing all those settings greatly increases the likelihood of having a school contact fail due to human error.
Kenneth - N5VHO
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From: sarex-bounces@AMSAT.Org on behalf of Patrick McGrane Sent: Fri 5/4/2007 11:20 PM To: sarex@AMSAT.Org Subject: [sarex] ISS D700 condition
Greetings to the group
I have a question beyond the current state of the D700 Programming; Can the radio be set manually to communicate beyond school contacts? In essence, can it be set to run either cross-band repeat or packet without a reprogramming with a laptop?
It doesnt make sense for the radio to be off between school contacts.
On another note, we lost wally shira this week at the age of 86 from natural causes. We should all have such a great life. Regards to nasa
Thanks for information, pat n2oeq
---- Sent via sarex@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/sarex
Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] schrieb:
The radio might be able to be operated in packet by setting everything up manually but that is very time intensive for the crew (I'm guessing it would be about 30 steps) and it would have to be done before and after every school contact. Manually changing all those settings greatly increases the likelihood of having a school contact fail due to human error.
Kenneth - N5VHO
And how was it before the "human error" ? I'm wondering why an astronaut can not handle an amateur transceiver. If the user interface is too complicate it would be a good idea to give him a dedicated notebook so he can click in a menu for Packet, school contact, repeater, SSTV aso. If this problem is not solved, it is fruitless to discuss about new modes. My 2 cents about this theme.
Mit freundlichen Grüssen, Regards, 73 Thomas Frey, HB9SKA ______________________________________________________________________
Thomas Frey, Holzgasse 2, CH-5242 Birr, Tel. + Fax: 056 444 93 41 http://home.datacomm.ch/th.frey/ Packet Radio (AX.25): HB9SKA @ HB9PD.CHE.EU
When the radios are properly configured, it takes very little time to setup and reduces the chance of human error. They just press a couple of buttons and select the necessary channel. Most crew members are trained as "users" which means they get minimal training on the hardware. Only a few have taken the time to understand the full capabilities of the amateur radio hardware. To manually configure the Kenwood radio for other operations would require significantly more crew time to execute and (as already demonstrated) they can input the wrong frequencies. You can understand how very hard it is to have a contact when both parties are not using the same set of frequencies.
Your idea to fly a computer with a simplified interface to a new radio system has some merit (Phase III plans called for such a system to be in the now defunct habitat module). Retrofitting an existing module to support the system might be possible if space is available. Building our own module to replace the habitat module might also work but that is expensive plus all the Shuttles are booked until 2010 so we would have to find another way to get it up there. Either way, the system would need strong financial support to build, certify and fly.
Speaking of building, the internal system for the Columbus module is still in the development phase so feel free to make your donations and your suggestions for the planned L/s system known now. http://www.ariss-eu.org/columbus.htm
Kenneth - N5VHO
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From: Thomas Frey [mailto:th.frey@tiscalinet.ch] Sent: Sat 5/5/2007 12:55 PM To: Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] Cc: sarex@AMSAT.Org Subject: Re: [sarex] Re: ISS D700 condition
Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] schrieb:
The radio might be able to be operated in packet by setting everything up manually but that is very time intensive for the crew (I'm guessing it would be about 30 steps) and it would have to be done before and after every school contact. Manually changing all those settings greatly increases the likelihood of having a school contact fail due to human error.
Kenneth - N5VHO
And how was it before the "human error" ? I'm wondering why an astronaut can not handle an amateur transceiver. If the user interface is too complicate it would be a good idea to give him a dedicated notebook so he can click in a menu for Packet, school contact, repeater, SSTV aso. If this problem is not solved, it is fruitless to discuss about new modes. My 2 cents about this theme.
Mit freundlichen Grüssen, Regards, 73 Thomas Frey, HB9SKA ______________________________________________________________________
Thomas Frey, Holzgasse 2, CH-5242 Birr, Tel. + Fax: 056 444 93 41 http://home.datacomm.ch/th.frey/ Packet Radio (AX.25): HB9SKA @ HB9PD.CHE.EU
Kenneth-
A very apropos comment. These astronauts are the most highly trained process individuals. Operating and setting the radio should be a cake walk. I am truly surprised that we make this out to be difficult (and I own a D700). Forget sending a PC (one more thing to breakdown, store, etc.) and let's prepare a crib sheet, coat it with a station-approved laminate, and send it with the next upload. Print it in all languages for the astronauts.
Seems like we are making a truly simple task very complex.
James N0JSR
-----Original Message----- From: sarex-bounces@AMSAT.Org [mailto:sarex-bounces@AMSAT.Org] On Behalf Of Thomas Frey Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 1:55 PM To: Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] Cc: sarex@AMSAT.Org Subject: [sarex] Re: ISS D700 condition
Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] schrieb:
The radio might be able to be operated in packet by setting everything up
manually but that is very time intensive for the crew (I'm guessing it would be about 30 steps) and it would have to be done before and after every school contact. Manually changing all those settings greatly increases the likelihood of having a school contact fail due to human error.
Kenneth - N5VHO
And how was it before the "human error" ? I'm wondering why an astronaut can not handle an amateur transceiver. If the user interface is too complicate it would be a good idea to give him a dedicated notebook so he can click in a menu for Packet, school contact, repeater, SSTV aso. If this problem is not solved, it is fruitless to discuss about new modes. My 2 cents about this theme.
Mit freundlichen Grüssen, Regards, 73 Thomas Frey, HB9SKA ______________________________________________________________________
Thomas Frey, Holzgasse 2, CH-5242 Birr, Tel. + Fax: 056 444 93 41 http://home.datacomm.ch/th.frey/ Packet Radio (AX.25): HB9SKA @ HB9PD.CHE.EU
---- Sent via sarex@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/sarex
I think the topic is getting a bit off track. Hopefully this brief background will help clarify.
The radio is very easy to use when it is properly programmed. The crew has crib sheets (procedures) to follow for a properly configured radio. The current status is the radio is NOT properly configured. One of the fault signatures is that the preset memories appear to be non accessible (not much fun doing everything with the VFO only). During the 45 minutes I have with a crew member over a year before their mission, manually configuration of all the specialty modes is not discussed. Given the current state of the radio, I'm not even sure that the radio can support anything other than voice but I am investigating.
Kenneth - N5VHO
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From: James Dean [mailto:jcdean@sover.net] Sent: Sat 5/5/2007 9:25 PM To: 'Thomas Frey'; Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] Cc: sarex@AMSAT.Org Subject: RE: [sarex] Re: ISS D700 condition
Kenneth-
A very apropos comment. These astronauts are the most highly trained process individuals. Operating and setting the radio should be a cake walk. I am truly surprised that we make this out to be difficult (and I own a D700). Forget sending a PC (one more thing to breakdown, store, etc.) and let's prepare a crib sheet, coat it with a station-approved laminate, and send it with the next upload. Print it in all languages for the astronauts.
Seems like we are making a truly simple task very complex.
James N0JSR
-----Original Message----- From: sarex-bounces@AMSAT.Org [mailto:sarex-bounces@AMSAT.Org] On Behalf Of Thomas Frey Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 1:55 PM To: Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] Cc: sarex@AMSAT.Org Subject: [sarex] Re: ISS D700 condition
Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] schrieb:
The radio might be able to be operated in packet by setting everything up
manually but that is very time intensive for the crew (I'm guessing it would be about 30 steps) and it would have to be done before and after every school contact. Manually changing all those settings greatly increases the likelihood of having a school contact fail due to human error.
Kenneth - N5VHO
And how was it before the "human error" ? I'm wondering why an astronaut can not handle an amateur transceiver. If the user interface is too complicate it would be a good idea to give him a dedicated notebook so he can click in a menu for Packet, school contact, repeater, SSTV aso. If this problem is not solved, it is fruitless to discuss about new modes. My 2 cents about this theme.
Mit freundlichen Grüssen, Regards, 73 Thomas Frey, HB9SKA ______________________________________________________________________
Thomas Frey, Holzgasse 2, CH-5242 Birr, Tel. + Fax: 056 444 93 41 http://home.datacomm.ch/th.frey/ Packet Radio (AX.25): HB9SKA @ HB9PD.CHE.EU
---- Sent via sarex@amsat.org. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/sarex
The problem is not that it's too complicated to operate. The problem is that having a human astronaut interact with any piece of equipment has to be scheduled far in advance, through the PAO if I recall correctly. Whereas a system set up to operate autonomously or accept ground commands can be considerably more agile in its operation. There's a human error factor involved, but only because the humans in question are doing a lot of other jobs in addition to operating ham equipment and time and attention are on a very short budget.
I do agree that it's worth documenting it all in detail organized by task/procedure, that's a familiar format for the astronauts to deal with. A good model for the documentation would be the normal and emergency operations checklists for any airplane's pilot's operating handbook. :)
On May 5, 2007, at 12:55 PM, Thomas Frey wrote:
The radio might be able to be operated in packet by setting everything up manually but that is very time intensive for the crew (I'm guessing it would be about 30 steps) and it would have to be done before and after every school contact. Manually changing all those settings greatly increases the likelihood of having a school contact fail due to human error.
Kenneth - N5VHO
And how was it before the "human error" ? I'm wondering why an astronaut can not handle an amateur transceiver. If the user interface is too complicate it would be a good idea to give him a dedicated notebook so he can click in a menu for Packet, school contact, repeater, SSTV aso. If this problem is not solved, it is fruitless to discuss about new modes. My 2 cents about this theme.
"Thank you all for coming around to the self-evident point I made five minutes ago." -- Toby Ziegler
participants (5)
-
Bruce Bostwick -
James Dean -
Patrick McGrane -
Ransom, Kenneth G. (JSC-OC)[BAR] -
Thomas Frey