[amsat-bb] Re: drake 2880
At 02:26 PM 2/23/2010, Jim wrote: Has any one used the Drake 2880 downconverter on the air. I have 2 of them 1 I did the mod on and one that has not has any thing done to it. Jim K7UDG ___ Sent via amsat...@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 I have two Drakes that were used on AO-40. One is converted to 435-MHz IF and the second unmodified runs with 123-MHz IF. I feed both with a MKU-232A2 preamp directly connected to a 6-1/4 turn helical feed in front of a 85cm (33-in) offset feed dish. I have not re-installed my Drakes but the dish/preamp are ready for use. The Drakes do not have very good noise figure (~7 dB) so a low-noise preamp is mandatory. The db6nt preamp has 0.6 dBNF with 40-dB gain, easily able to feed both Drakes thru a coaxial tee. I also have a DEMI 2400-MHz preamp which I am thinking of feeding with a patch antenna. I am thinking that the patch should provide ample gain for S-band Leo satellites. The two antenna/preamps will be connected to the Drakes via a cross-over relay (not yet installed). I will need auto-tracking/tuning for S-band operation on Leo's. 73, Ed - KL7UW, WD2XSH/45 == BP40IQ 500 KHz - 10-GHz www.kl7uw.com 500-KHz/CW, 144-MHz EME, 1296-MHz EME DUBUS Magazine USA Rep dubus...@hotmail.com == ___ Sent via amsat...@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
[amsat-bb] Re: drake 2880
At 23:26 23/02/2010, you wrote: Has any one used the Drake 2880 downconverter on the air. Not been on the Sats for some time, but when AO40 was alive, I used the drake for the downlink. my experiences are shown at - http://www.g4dmf.co.uk/dish/antenna.html From what I gather, AO51 is a magnitude stronger than AO40 ever was. The Drake provided solid copy of Telemetry. There are links in the article to various pictures I took, including a screen-shot of AO40 data on screen, and links to the mod pages for some of the many modifications done to that downconvertor. RIP AO40... Praying for a Battery Event on that bird too! ___ Sent via amsat...@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
[amsat-bb] Plastic weatherproof box
Hi all, I'm in a project which needs plastic weatherproof box. No holes in the box would be ok since I can drill them, run the cables then seal it very well. Looking for 10x10x4, 12x12x4. I've checked Home Depot and they have nothing. Does anybody know would might carry such an item? You can contact me off -bb. 73, Jeff WB3JFS ___ Sent via amsat...@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
[amsat-bb] IAC 2009 Video - Space Education
A video made at IAC 2009 - Space Education through Nano/Pico Satellites - is available and features Martin Sweeting G3JYO and Roland Coelho WH7BE It can be seen at http://www.southgatearc.org/news/february2010/space_education.htm 73 Trevor M5AKA Daily Amateur Radio News (Email/RSS): http://www.southgatearc.org/ Email Your News To: editor at southgatearc.org Or Upload Using Form At: http://www.southgatearc.org/news/your_news_1.htm ___ Sent via amsat...@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
[amsat-bb] Re: drake 2880
Hi Jim, 2880 has been on the tower here since the AO-40 days. System is a G3RUH patch feed/dish. DB6NT preamp connected right to the patch feeding the 2880 which is up on the crossarm. I leave it continuously powered. Works OK on AO-51. Solid copy. 73, Mike, N1JEZ AMSAT 29649 A closed mouth gathers no feet - Original Message - From: Jim hartw...@hartwell.net Subject: [amsat-bb] drake 2880 Has any one used the Drake 2880 downconverter on the air. ___ Sent via amsat...@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
[amsat-bb] antennas for AO-51 V/S
Enjoy V/S on AO-51 Visit www.uk.amsat.org and go to the shop. There you will find an easy build complete kit for a patch antenna ideal for AO-51 73 John G7HIA ___ Sent via amsat...@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
[amsat-bb] Re: Plastic weatherproof box
Hello Jeff, Try: 1. LOWES electrical section 2. Ebay using a NEMA 4X enclosure search 3. www.teksupply.com 4. your local electrical supply house 5. Mouser and DigiKey also have weatherproof enclosures Stan, W1LE Cape Cod FN41sr Jeff Yanko wrote: Hi all, I'm in a project which needs plastic weatherproof box. No holes in the box would be ok since I can drill them, run the cables then seal it very well. Looking for 10x10x4, 12x12x4. I've checked Home Depot and they have nothing. Does anybody know would might carry such an item? You can contact me off -bb. 73, Jeff WB3JFS ___ Sent via amsat...@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 ___ Sent via amsat...@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
[amsat-bb] Re: Plastic weatherproof box
Look in the housewares section at Walmart, K-Mart, Target, etc. There are all sorts of plastic containers for use in refrigerators and so forth. In fact, I have found similar sized plastic containers in those $1 for everything stores. Glen, K9STH Website: http://k9sth.com --- On Wed, 2/24/10, Jeff Yanko wb3...@cox.net wrote: I'm in a project which needs plastic weatherproof box. No holes in the box would be ok since I can drill them, run the cables then seal it very well. Looking for 10x10x4, 12x12x4. I've checked Home Depot and they have nothing. Does anybody know would might carry such an item? ___ Sent via amsat...@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
[amsat-bb] OSCAR-11 Report
OSCAR-11 REPORT 24 February 2010 This report covers the period from 11 January to 23 February 2010. During this time the satellite was heard from 21 to 31 January and 11 to 24February. Good signals were received, and decoded. Signals have been very strong, although frequent changes in polarisation have been observed. The satellite has only transmitted when in sunlight. The next transmissions are expected around 04 March 2010. The on-board clock was 260 days slow, when last heard on 21 February. The increasing error suggests that the clock may be stopping, when the satellite is in eclipse. Sometimes, the date counter also fails to increment. Reception reports have been received from stations located all over the world including Peter Zl3TC, Jon 2M0IBO, Mike DK3WN, Adrian LU1CBG, Robert VE2PRS, Ken GW1FKY and Alan ZL2BX. Many thanks to everyone who sent email reports, posted to AMSAT-BB or updated the KD5QGR/WB4APR satellite status website. The Beacon frequencies are - VHF 145.826 MHz. AFSK FM ASCII Telemetry UHF 435.025 MHz. OFF S-band 2401.5 MHz. OFF - RECEPTION REPORTS REQUESTED! I am particularly interested in reports of reception during the hours 23:00 to 06:00 and 12:00 to 17:00 UTC, especially near expected switch on or off dates. Please send reception reports to xx...@amsat.org (replace x by g3cwv) or post to amsat-bb. If you have a file, please do not send it but let me know what is available. You may also like to add your reception report to the live satellite status page, on the website set up by David KD5QGR and Bob WB4APR. The URL is http://oscar.dcarr.org/index.php The satellite transmits on 145.826 MHz., set receiver to NBFM. OSCAR-11 has a characteristic sound, rather like raspy slow morse code, sending di di dah dah dah dah dah dah dah sent over five seconds. If you are receiving a very weak signal, switch the receiver to CW or SSB. You should hear several sidebands around the carrier frequency, and should be able to hear the characteristic 'morse code like' sound on at least one sideband. Please note that you need a clean noise free signal to decode the signals. There is an audio clip on my website www.g3cwv.co.uk which may be useful for identification and as test signal for decoding. - The satellite is now subject to eclipses during every orbit. Long term predictions indicate that eclipses will occur until 2019, when there will be some eclipse free periods until 2023. However these very long term predictions should be regarded with caution, as large tracking errors can accumulate over long periods of time. When eclipses started around 2005 the watchdog timer often switched the transmitter off before the ten day on period had finished, during parts of the eclipse cycle. When eclipses became a permanent feature of all orbits, after April 2008, the transmitter switched off within a single orbit, thus the satellite was effectively non operational. The satellite unexpectedly started regular transmissions in November 2009. It is possible that a fault has developed, which prevents the watchdog timer resetting when the power supply fails. The transmitter switches off during eclipses, and the real time clock stops during most of the eclipse. When analogue telemetry was last received, in 2005, it showed that one of the solar arrays had failed, and there was a large unexplained current drain on the main 14 volt bus. After 25 years in orbit the battery has undergone over 100,000 partial charge/discharge cycles, and observations indicate that it cannot power the satellite during eclipses. The current status of the satellite, is that all the analogue telemetry channels, 0 to 59 are zero, ie they have failed. The status channels 60 to 67 are still working. The real time clock is showing a large accumulated error, although during ten minute passes the clock increments correctly to within one second. The day of the month has a bit stuck at 'one' so the day of the month may show an error of +40 days for some dates. The time display has switched into 12 hour mode. Unfortunately, there is no AM/PM indicator, since the time display format was designed for 24 hour mode. The spacecraft computer and active attitude control system have switched OFF, ie. the satellite' attitude is controlled only by the passive gravity boom gradient, and the satellite is free to spin at any speed. The watchdog timer now operates on a 20 day cycle. The ON/OFF times have tended to be very consistent. The average of many observations show this to be 20.7 days, ie. 10.3 day s ON followed by 10.4 days OFF. Listeners to OSCAR-11 may be interested in visiting my website. If you need to know what OSCAR-11 should sound like, there is a short audio clip for you to hear. The last telemetry received from the satellite is available for download. The website contains an archive of news
[amsat-bb] Re: Plastic weatherproof box
Look at an electrical supply house such as Grainger or Graybar... those sizes are common, and someplace like that should have them. George, KA3HSW / WQGJ413 - Original Message From: Jeff Yanko wb3...@cox.net To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Wed, February 24, 2010 4:41:27 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Plastic weatherproof box Hi all, I'm in a project which needs plastic weatherproof box. No holes in the box would be ok since I can drill them, run the cables then seal it very well. Looking for 10x10x4, 12x12x4. I've checked Home Depot and they have nothing. Does anybody know would might carry such an item? You can contact me off -bb. 73, Jeff WB3JFS ___ Sent via amsat...@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
[amsat-bb] FT857/ft897 on FM sats
Is anyone on the list using a Yaesu FT857D or FT897D on the FM satellites? If so, could you please email me direct as I have a couple of questions I want to ask about them. 73s John AA5JG ___ Sent via amsat...@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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO-51 V/S
Angelo and All: Equipment here similar to Angelo's and perhaps common to many other operators. For S band downlink, I use the grill dish and the K5GNA AIDC 3731 downconverter directly behind feed. Receive downlink at 145Mhz IF then feeds an FT897D. RG6 coax works fine through a bias T for 13.8Vdc. S meter will easily reach full scale. FT736R operates 2M uplink. SATPC32 for doppler tuning and Unitrack for rotor G5500 control. No desense issues or front end overload with this crossband operation. For AO-40, I had a 3', off-set dish with helix feed for S band operation. However, that size dish had too much wind load. Also, found in my brag file: I use Keyspan and Prolific serial to USB adapters as these products seem to handle data packet transfer better than other adapters I've used. An Ultra 7 port USB hub from Tigerdirect handles the above operations as well as CAT control for all radios and PK232 TNC packet and Morse code operation. 73, Ron, n6paa *** The equipment is very modest. A bbq grill dish 2x3 feet, the downconverter is the K5GNA with RG-6 running about 50 feet long. No additional preamp needed with the K5GNA downconverter. The noise level in the shack is about S3. I use two rigs when operating the V/S mode. With SatPC32, I have a second configuration setup. The IF is going to be rig #1 (Kenwood TS-2000) which is connected to the K5GNA downconverter. Rig #2 is connected to my ICOM 910 as the transmitter. SATPC32 also control the rotor system with the G8LVB tracker connected to the Yaesu G-5500. The dish and downconverter I paid if I recalled correctly was about 175.00 plus shipping for K5GNA. I do not know if he still makes the packages available anymore. I know he was waiting for Eagle or P3D to lauch before he goes back to selling them. Enjoy, 73 de Angelo ___ Sent via amsat...@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
[amsat-bb] patch antenna for AO-51
Can't find it on the UK web site. ??? ___ Sent via amsat...@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
[amsat-bb] Re: patch antenna for AO-51
--- On Wed, 24/2/10, aa...@aol.com aa...@aol.com wrote: Can't find it on the UK web site. ??? Hardware page http://www.uk.amsat.org/content/view/245/142/ G7HIA 2.4 GHz Patch Antenna Kit http://www.uk.amsat.org/content/view/700/ 73 Trevor M5AKA ___ Sent via amsat...@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
