Re: [amsat-bb] Online Sat Predictions
Looks good. Doesn't seem to know what language to speak, tho. Parts in English, parts Spanish... On 08/04/2014 04:22 PM, Amsat Argentina wrote: Try http://amsat.org.ar/sat.htm just finished. Quickly provides on single screen most data required for ham sats active maps graphics. Allows select Location Sat showing in local time actual future precalculated passes. Comments, suggestions, welcome. 73, lu7abf, Pedro lu7...@amsat.org.ar ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] Current Launch Costs From Spaceflight
They're cheap. On 08/01/2014 01:01 PM, John Becker wrote: Can some explain to me and others the big deal about cube sats? I just dont get it. John ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] Current Launch Costs From Spaceflight
Absolutely! Micro-miniaturization! But some things are difficult to miniaturize -- like a 144 MHz yagi. On 08/01/2014 09:20 PM, Bryce Salmi wrote: Innovation is often driven out of necessity. I see it everyday at work. Develop a baseline system that works and then optimize it. You'd be amazed what you could do with the small of a space to pack electronics into. Bryce On Fri, Aug 1, 2014 at 6:16 PM, Gus g...@8p6sm.net mailto:g...@8p6sm.net wrote: On 08/01/2014 01:24 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: I've noticed from reading this board's current posts and archives that there is a bias against CubeSats from some due to a belief that they are somehow inherently limited in capability, unreliable, and short lived, but there is nothing inherent in the CubeSat format that makes it that way, it's simply a standardized way to build a satellite. Their size and weight limitations restrict the type of antennas they can deploy, the number of solar panels they can carry, and simply the mass of silicon they can contain. Yes, they are cheap and launches (to LEO) are frequent, but their capabilities are, surely, limited by their physical nature? -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org mailto:AMSAT-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] FM birds
On 07/27/2014 12:57 PM, Jim Sanford wrote: The other thing that is exciting about going digital, is the idea of CAT-5 (or fiber) to the box at the antenna, not coax. Yep. Rig at the mast-head, fiber (RF noise-immune) to the shack, and a control head at the operators position. Or a software-only control head, (but I like twiddling real knobbies and flipping real switches). Crunch numbers up the pole, at the desk, or both. Will I live long enough? -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] Inclusion
On 07/22/2014 11:54 AM, Kevin M wrote: I've heard comments that basically imply anyone who wants to go outside with an HT and wave a yagi around is stupid. I will respond to this because of comments I've made in the past, which may have been misunderstood. Standing outside with a yagi in hand and the monsoon trickling down my neck isn't for me. It is demonstrably a valid way to make contacts and an excellent way to demonstrate how satellite operation can occur with minimalist equipment. But as far as I'm concerned, it IS NOT the ultimate objective of a satellite operator. It is the BARE MINIMUM of satellite operation, and there is no way I'm going to be satisfied with that for more than one or two passes. To imply to the uneducated observer and potential future satellite operator, that standing in the rain is the pinnacle of hamsat ground station technology is (in my opinion) counter productive and, yes, stupid. As would be implying that a single-band, rock-bound QRP CW rig is the ultimate in ham HF technology. There is nothing wrong with QRP or broomstick-waving, far from it. And to those who enjoy it, more power to you! But if broomstick-waving is all I can hope to achieve in satellite operation, then I'll be very disappointed. -- Gus 8P6SM G-QRP 6941 The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] Amazon Smile
It isn't a lot of revenue earned but it's one more capacitor on a cubesat board, I guess. The thing is to persuade more people to sign up. On 07/22/2014 12:03 PM, Bryce Salmi wrote: Thats actually an impressive total, the percentage for AMSAT Is small but wow! Every bit counts. On Tuesday, July 22, 2014, Brenton Salmi kb1...@gmail.com wrote: Wait, if my math is right that means a total of $13,324 has gone through Amazon smile in the name of AMSAT! - Brent On Tue, Jul 22, 2014 at 7:45 AM, Martha mar...@amsat.org javascript:; wrote: To date, we have received $66.62 from Amazon Smile 73- Martha On Tue, Jul 22, 2014 at 8:35 AM, Burns Fisher bu...@fisher.cc wrote: I've also signed up, and have probably bought a few hundred dollars worth of stuff since then. .5% is not huge, and is probably more helpful to Amazon (via publicity) than to AMSAT, but it can't hurt. I would add that usually I go directly to the Smile page with my link, but on the rare occasion when I might follow another link or even type in amazon.com, Amazon reminds me that I am signed up for Smile. Not bad. Burns On Tue, Jul 22, 2014 at 2:12 AM, Bryan Herbert ke6...@gmail.com javascript:; wrote: I also signed up and have bought a few things but it is my understanding only 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products goes to AMSAT. So if you buy a DVD worth $19.99 and it's eligible for AmazonSmile, roughly $0.10 of that $19.99 will go to AMSAT but I think Amazon waits until something like $100 is collected before sending any money to AMSAT. -- Bryan Herbert - KE6ZGP Newhall, CA. DM04RJ USA http://bryanherbert.com http://twitter.com/ke6zgp ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org javascript:;. 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-BB@amsat.org javascript:;. 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 -- 73- Martha ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org javascript:;. 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-BB@amsat.org javascript:;. 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-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT where are we going for what it is worth.
On 07/22/2014 01:18 PM, Rich/wa4bue wrote: So there is a need to plan ahead for more accessible birds with more Linear transponders and other features. How do we get there? We need wideband software receivers that can look at the entire passband, detect individual signals and determine type, and translate them into the downlink passband based upon an operational ruleset that is policy driven and easily changed. Allow SSB, FM and Phil's DV at the same time if that is what we want. Or have FM only on Friday nights to encourage newcomers. Or pass SSB but simultaneously convert to FM on another part of the passband so the FM only guys can hear the action. Or whatever big imaginations and good drugs can dream up. And since HEO is apparently out of the question, we need meshed satellite groups so that what you uplink on one bird can be heard on the downlink of all of the birds in the mesh. So we can extend operating times beyond a handful of minutes. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] Amazon Smile
On 07/22/2014 01:52 PM, Bryce Salmi wrote: Capacitors are like $0.01 each nowadays. We call it HUMOR. :-) -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] Re; Inclusion
On 07/22/2014 04:09 PM, Kevin M wrote: But as far as I'm concerned, it IS NOT the ultimate objective of a satellite operator. It is the BARE MINIMUM of satellite operation, and there is no way I'm going to be satisfied with that for more than one or two passes. Fair opinion to have, you are entitled to it. However, stating it the way you do gives the impression (to me at least) that you can't see how anyone else would think any differently. When you say it is NOT the ultimate objective of a satellite operator I ask myself, 'How does he come to that conclusion? I think it goes without saying -- or should -- that any opinion I express on this forum is my own, and not fact by decree. Despite this, I explicitly stated at least twice, that I was expressing my own personal opinion. I do indeed recognize that others disagree with me and take pleasure in minimalist operations, both on satellite and for that matter, on HF. I specifically said: ... to those who enjoy it, more power to you! But personally, I prefer the shack-potato (I love that term) approach, probably because of how fondly I recall 6-8 hour passes, and the lengthy, antipodal ragchewing that could occur as a result. As far as doing demos for the uneducated, broomstick waving is an excellent introduction, highlighting the equipment simplicity and low cost. I do personally think that the shack-potato option might also appeal to /some/ of the audience, so I hope the other end of the operations spectrum is mentioned at least briefly. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] Inclusion
On 07/22/2014 06:25 PM, R.T.Liddy wrote: You may think it's stupid... Oh, for heavens sake. I DIDN'T SAY IT WAS STUPID!!! I said: To imply to the uneducated observer and potential future satellite operator, that standing in the rain is the pinnacle of hamsat ground station technology is (in my opinion) counter productive and, yes, stupid. To tell people who you are trying to entice into satellite operation that the ONLY way to operate satellite is with a broomstick, may push shack-potatoes away rather than draw them in. THAT is stupid. Because there is broomstick waving, shack-potatoing, mobileing, field-day, unattended telemetry logging and who knows what else? Any one of which might appeal to someone in the audience, and draw them in. All of these can't be demoed, but hopefully they won't be ignored of dismissed, because any one of these might be the hook that lands another satellite op. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] Re; Inclusion
On 07/22/2014 07:11 PM, Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) wrote: You would have been happy with how AMSAT presented satellite operating at the ARRL Centennial Convention that just concluded in Hartford over the weekend. Sounds like a great party! I know it wouldn't have been easy to set up, and for that reason (alas) every demo can't be as comprehensive. I do believe that the most simplistic demo could at least mention the wider spectrum of operating possibilities and leave the audience with that Tip-of-the-Iceberg feeling. Sorry you couldn't take video. Would have liked to have seen that! -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] going digital
On 07/21/2014 01:57 AM, Phil Karn wrote: On 07/20/2014 08:00 PM, Gus wrote: I'd hazard to guess that the 'average' shack has multi-mode HF capability, along with VHF/UHF FM. Some lesser number of 'average' shacks will have multi-mode VHF/UHF, or could readily acquire that capability without too much expenditure in resources (time, effort, money). When DirecTV designed their satellite broadcast system, did they worry about backward compatibility with the multitude (or so it probably seemed) of existing C-band BUD (Big Ugly Dish) owners? All of whom were then receiving analog FM, I might add. If not, then why are they still in business? Probably because they didn't design a satellite. They designed an entire system including ground station components as well as flight hardware. The ground system components were made available such that their target audience was able to upgrade their BUD installations with only reasonable expenditures of time, effort and money. But that's just a guess in my part. I'd love to chat with you on the new digital hamsat, but if it's going to require I spend $5k+ on hard-to-source, esoteric components and cobble them together with duct tape, then it'll be a while before I'm QRV. So, the first few days after launch those 60 DV channels may be a little quiet. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] going digital
On 07/21/2014 01:00 PM, Phil Karn wrote: Next questions: Does a DirecTV receiving station cost $5K? Actually, DirecTV is not available for purchase in my neck of the woods. I can get a system installed, but it wouldn't be my system to fiddle with. Are its components hard to source or esoteric? Well, I know where I could nick one, but I'd rather not. Otherwise, I guess I could source one overseas, ship it in, then bow down before the Customs Excise godlings. ham gear is 10 + 17.5% but there's no way they'd pass that as ham gear, so probably 115 + 17.5% or worse. That might satisfy Rx needs, but wouldn't include a transmitter Does that sound hard to source or esoteric? If not, what makes you think that a digital ground station for an AMSAT satellite should be? Phil, I'm not saying it /should/ be, but that if it is, you won't get many users on the system. So, part of the system design for any such bird had better include design of low cost, easy to find, simple to use hardware that will allow me -- or any other doofus like me -- to get QRV without too much hardship. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] going digital
On 07/21/2014 06:34 PM, Jim Sanford wrote: Look at what the FunCube guys did! Absolutely. Which is why I said in my initial post on this subject: ...any new, digital satellite will have to be developed in parallel with readily available ground station modules (Funcube Dongle Deluxe?) that provide the 'average' ham a path to participation. Specifically referencing the FCD as an example. The proposal for Phil's 10GHz digital sat would best to include a suitable 10GHz module for ground station use. On 7/21/2014 5:00 PM, Gus wrote: On 07/21/2014 01:00 PM, Phil Karn wrote: Next questions: Does a DirecTV receiving station cost $5K? Actually, DirecTV is not available for purchase in my neck of the woods. I can get a system installed, but it wouldn't be my system to fiddle with. Are its components hard to source or esoteric? Well, I know where I could nick one, but I'd rather not. Otherwise, I guess I could source one overseas, ship it in, then bow down before the Customs Excise godlings. ham gear is 10 + 17.5% but there's no way they'd pass that as ham gear, so probably 115 + 17.5% or worse. That might satisfy Rx needs, but wouldn't include a transmitter Does that sound hard to source or esoteric? If not, what makes you think that a digital ground station for an AMSAT satellite should be? Phil, I'm not saying it /should/ be, but that if it is, you won't get many users on the system. So, part of the system design for any such bird had better include design of low cost, easy to find, simple to use hardware that will allow me -- or any other doofus like me -- to get QRV without too much hardship. --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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] Amazon Smile
I've been meaning to ask... It's been a while now, since Amazon introduced the Smile program. Is there anyone who knows if it is paying dividends of any sort? Is it rude of me to ask? I'd like to think that anyone who supports amateur satellites would have signed up, but who knows? Maybe I'm the only one that did! (Actually, I know a couple others signed up at the same time I did, but I can't remember who.) Anyway, just wondered if the whole thing was a storm in a teapot, or if the ham satellite programme is receiving any real benefit. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] going digital
I'm all in favour of new modes and new technology. Pushing the boundaries should be a primary goal. But before any new bird is put in the sky, surely the target audience must be considered? I'd hazard to guess that the 'average' shack has multi-mode HF capability, along with VHF/UHF FM. Some lesser number of 'average' shacks will have multi-mode VHF/UHF, or could readily acquire that capability without too much expenditure in resources (time, effort, money). Accept that we want to launch boundary-expanding, technologically advanced satellites if possible. What sort of equipment should we expect to find in the shacks of those hams who are the target audience for these new satellites? How big is this suitably equipped target audience? Big enough to justify having their own satellite? How much time, effort and money will it take to upgrade an 'average' shack (like mine) to meet the requirements of being a part of the target audience? I'm really pro- and not anti- here. But it may be that any new, digital satellite will have to be developed in parallel with readily available ground station modules (Funcube Dongle Deluxe?) that provide the 'average' ham a path to participation. Again: Interested to hear roughly what capabilities would be needed to join the gang working the new digital birds, when they fly. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] myflydream for LEO?
FPV and drone ground-station antenna trackers operate by receiving a continuous stream of live GPS location data as a part of the aircraft telemetry downlink. from this, AZ/EL data is computed and the antennas pointed. For satellite tracking, AZ/EL data would have to be computed/predicted as we normally do. Most of the tracking HARDWARE I've seen are small, use R/C servos and carry usually patch antennas or small axial mode helix antennas. Don't know how these would handle larger antennas like even small yagis. R/C servos with high-torque output are available, but given that these top-end servos can exceed US$200 per axis, it isn't clear that a design based on these would offer much advantage to (say) a G5500. On 07/08/2014 01:42 PM, Bill (W1PA) wrote: Anyone aware of any projects to adapt this technology to LEO tracking? Bill W1PA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGQ-tLxafdM ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] Seeking volunteers for cooperative data reconstruction from weak signals transmitted by a deep0space craft “DESPATCH”
So, in fact it IS possible to find deep space launch opportunities for satellites 100+ times larger and 20+ times heavier than a cubesat. Perhaps we should be focusing our efforts on satellites that are shaped like Picasso's nose, and can sing a song! Flame_Filter: ON On 07/08/2014 07:42 PM, Akihiro Kubota wrote: Dear AMSAT members, Hello. the ARTSAT Project is going to launch a deep-space sculpture/spacecraft DESPACH this December. This is the first edition of the public announcement of call for receivers of cooperative reception from deep-space. https://www.dropbox.com/s/u96t1ywz97deki5/despatch_abstract_en_ver1.0.pdf If you have any comments and suggestions. Please contact us freely. Thanks in advance. All the best, ARTSAT Project Team i...@artsat.jp http://artsat.jp ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] Ubuntu, GPredict and Wine
Just installed on Slackware 14.1 and found the executable at ~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/SatPC32/SatPC32.exe YMMV. On 07/04/2014 09:03 PM, Richard Lawn wrote: A number of you have tried to help this Linux novice over recent weeks. I did successfully get HamLib, FlDigi and CQrLog all to run and talk to my FT847 using CAT. My attempts to get GPredict to work well though have failed even after compiling and installing the most recent version t A number of you have tried to help this Linux novice over recent weeks. I did successfully get HamLib, FlDigi and CQrLog all to run and talk to my FT847 using CAT. My attempts to get GPredict to work well though have failed even after compiling and installing the most recent version that addresses the earlier FT847 bugs. It now works, talking to the CAT port on my radio however the software locks up while trying to track a satellite pass. I'm thinking as some feared this old Pentium III may just not have enough horse power! I then tried Wine, thinking I might run it from within Ubuntu to then run theSatPC32.exe. I guess I don't know the correct language to fine the path and call up this exe from my Windows partition. Anyone have any suggestions in this regard? Thanks to all, I've learned a lot but may have to face the music and find a more modern computer. 73 Rick W2JAZ ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
Re: [amsat-bb] Cubesat at re-entry
According to Schrödinger, if there is nobody there to observe the event, the satellite can not re-enter. On 05/23/2014 06:01 PM, Clayton Coleman wrote: When a cubesat burns up during re-entry and no one is there to hear it, does it make a noise? 73 Clayton W5PFG ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: LituanicaSat-1 OSCAR
Not exactly critical, but now AMSAT-NA has moved, this page needs updating... On 05/02/2014 01:31 AM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: It's entirely up to the owners. It certainly meets the criteria. If they want one, they can request one: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/amsat-na/oscar.html 73, Paul, N8HM On 5/2/2014 1:25 AM, Mike Rupprecht wrote: Hi all, wouldn't it be fair to assign an OSCAR number to LituanicaSat-1? 73 Mike DK3WN ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: 13 colonies special event
Glad to heart it! We spend too much effort getting them UP there. And besides, there is always the rare chance someone would get hit on the head. On 04/03/2014 10:36 AM, Jeff Griffin wrote: It has been decided by the 13 colonies special event group that there will be no satellite precipitation in the event this year. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: W1AW/4 VA Announcements II 2014
Which four operators? On 04/02/2014 10:21 AM, Rich/wa4bue wrote: When the W1AW/4 VA operates the birds on April 8, 10. and 11, K4AMG will offer a special certificate four young ham radio operators 19 and under. T -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: N American Satellite Activity UP
On 03/28/2014 12:20 PM, Clayton Coleman wrote: I cringe at the anti-handheld in the backyard mentality because those operators are our future. A single-band CW Tx with a crystal oscillator and a simple, single-conversion Rx may be a perfect way to encourage newcomers to the world of HF. Especially as it shows that a large investment is not necessary to get started. But it would be WRONG to mislead prospective hams into believing that such a setup is the be-all and end-all of operating HF. They should be made to understand that considerable sophistication is possible when operating HF and sophisticated equipment available to suit. Similarly, a handheld in the backyard method of operating via satellite works. It has the beauty of being (comparatively) easy to set up as a demo, and promises success for the newcomer on a limited budget. But it is WRONG to suggest that this is the peak of sophistication in ham satellite operation, and that old-timers as well as newcomers should be satisfied with having to drape their equipment around their neck and run out into the backyard, rain or shine, every time they want to operate. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with handhelds in the back yard. I'm saying that as far as I'm concerned, I'm not interested. I took the training wheels off my bike a long time ago, and I wear long trousers now. (Actually, I wear shorts almost exclusively. But hopefully you get my point.) -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Amazon Smile - EXTRA $5
I was just sticking some stuff in the shopping cart when your message popped up... How did you hear about this bonus? I wonder how many people are smiling on AMSAT? I wonder if AMSAT has registered to participate with the program or not? On 03/26/2014 11:00 PM, Clint Bradford wrote: Extra $5 donation from AmazonSmile if you buy by March 31, 2014. Normally, when you buy any eligible item at AmazonSmile, your chosen nonprofit gets one-half of one percent of the purchase price. Spend $100, and they get fifty cents. With this bonus, it's the equivalent of you spending $1000! Here are the details: • One donation per customer. • Limited time offer. You must complete a purchase at smile.amazon.com including one or more items eligible for an AmazonSmile donation between 12:00 a.m. (PT) March 24, 2014 and 11:59 p.m. (PT) March 31, 2014. In addition, this promotion will expire after aggregate donations have reached $1 million. • The $5 donation will be made through the AmazonSmile program atsmile.amazon.com under the same terms and at the same time as other donations made through the program, and will be in addition to the 0.5% donation made on the purchase price of your eligible item(s). • Offer valid for customers located and with billing addresses in the United States. • Offer may not be combined with other offers. • Amazon reserves the right to modify or cancel the offer at any time. • Offer is non-transferable and may not be resold. • If any of the products related to this promotion are returned, the donation will not be made. • If you violate any of the Terms and Conditions, the promotion will be invalid. • Void where prohibited. Note that they will stop when they hit $1,000,000...so you'd better get shopping! :) I already bought something, so AMSAT has benefited! Clint K6LCS ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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] More on Smiling
The Amazon Smile program only works if you use the smile.amazon version of their website (as opposed to the WWW.amazon version). But if you follow a link you find on the net, it will probably take you to the WWW version. You can manually edit the location bar to change to the smiley version of the link, but here is a useful snippet to do it for you: javascript:void(location.href=window.location.protocol+//+ window.location.host.replace(/^www\.amazon\./,smile.amazon.)+ window.location.pathname) Create a bookmark which links to this piece of JS (all one line, no spaces, please). If you find yourself on an unsmiling Amazon page, click the bookmark, and the smiling version of the page opens in it's place. Seems to work fine on my Firefox browser. Other browsers may require tweeking, but the principle should still be valid. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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] Amazon Smile
God above, who thinks these names up? Anyway, Amazon Smile, with AMSAT as the recipient. It'll probably only result in a buck or two coming your way, but if enough people sign up, you might get $50, which apparently is all it costs to build a hamsat! -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Amazon Smile
Yes, but I keep an Amazon tab open in my browser at all times, and I've changed that to smile. instead of www. so all links followed from there will be smiley. Also, bookmarks have been altered to suit. It only remains to be seen what percentage of items are smiley. Encouraging to discover that of nearly 100 items in my wishlist, in a broad range of categories, the vast majority were smiley. (Only 4 items were not.) Smiley items include Amazon Prime items as well as items shipped from and sold by non-Amazon vendors. On 03/18/2014 04:30 PM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: By the way, you do have to use the URL smile.amazon.com when shopping or else your purchase won't count. Amazon doesn't log you into Amazon Smile automatically. 73, Paul, N8HM On Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 4:25 PM, Paul Stoetzer n...@arrl.net wrote: Wow. I had never heard of that before. Living in the city with no car, I'm a frequent Amazon shopper. Already signed up and selected AMSAT. Might net them a couple of bucks a year from me, but that's better than zero. 73. Paul, N8HM On Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 4:14 PM, Gus g...@8p6sm.net wrote: God above, who thinks these names up? Anyway, Amazon Smile, with AMSAT as the recipient. It'll probably only result in a buck or two coming your way, but if enough people sign up, you might get $50, which apparently is all it costs to build a hamsat! -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Question for the antenna gurus
Thank you again, Dom. Just ordered Big Ear. $3.96 2nd hand. It'll be several weeks before it reaches me. On 03/13/2014 01:42 AM, i8cvs wrote: - Original Message - From: Gus g...@8p6sm.net To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2014 2:20 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Question for the antenna gurus Thanks for all info, Dom. to construct a large (2M) helix with light weight, a non-traditional design of some sort might be tried. Perhaps paint the helix on the surface of an inflatable cylinder, with conductive paint? Hi Gus, 8P6SM In my opinion it is best to use for the helix a thick annealed aluminum pipe because an inflatable cylinder for 2 m and 70 cm with conductive paint has been experimented for high frequencies but the tube is extremely large in diameter for 2m and 70 cm. Also, what if the coils/turns are something other than circular? perhaps rectangular or triangular? If you use a coils/turns rectangular shape elements with a proper reflector and feed system you make a Qubical Quad The brain has been tossing out crazy ideas recently, but in my experience, crazy ideas are not always crazy... If the ideas are supported by a right theory they are not crazy ideas as it was demonstrated by Dr. John Kraus W8JK the inventor of the axial-mode helix antennas. I suggest you to read the book BIG EAR by John Kraus edited by Cignus Quasar Books Chapter 13 CORKSCREWS containing the Kraus idea on how borned in his brain the idea to invent the axial-mode helix antenna. In a separated email I have sent to you the article The advantages of circular polarization by K4KJ that explain the above matter with many drawings and pictures. Have fun. 73 de i8CVS Domenico On 03/12/2014 04:49 PM, i8cvs wrote: Hi Gus, 8P6SM Mounting 3 turn helix antenna for 2400 MHz concentrically inside a 3 turns helix antenna for 1268 MHz was used as a feed both wounded LHCP to illuminate a ground station prime focus dish for RHCP uplink and downlink on Mode-L/S for AO40 and it worked very well. If you plan to build a 10 turns RHCP helix antenna for 70 cm conentrically into a 5 or 6 turns RHCP helix antenna for 2 meters in my opinion it should work as well but the weight of this antenna will be very very hight and not practical to be used in comparison with yagi antennas. 73 de i8CVS Domenico - Original Message - From: Gus g...@8p6sm.net To: AMSAT-BB@amsat.org Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 9:33 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Question for the antenna gurus Regarding axial-mode helix antennas, what happens if you build a helix for each of two different bands (like 2M/70cm), and mount them concentrically, on the same backplane? -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: lotw
On 03/11/2014 11:12 PM, Bruce wrote: i have only logged the rx frequency, not the tx frequency In MY country, the ham license mandates that a log be kept, including the TX frequency. They really don't care who you listen to, or whether you listen to anyone at all. But if you're going to generate RF on the band, they want you to log it, whether you are simply running a TX test, or making a (subsequently) unanswered CQ. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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] Question for the antenna gurus
Regarding axial-mode helix antennas, what happens if you build a helix for each of two different bands (like 2M/70cm), and mount them concentrically, on the same backplane? -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Question for the antenna gurus
Thanks for all info, Dom. to construct a large (2M) helix with light weight, a non-traditional design of some sort might be tried. Perhaps paint the helix on the surface of an inflatable cylinder, with conductive paint? Also, what if the coils/turns are something other than circular? perhaps rectangular or triangular? The brain has been tossing out crazy ideas recently, but in my experience, crazy ideas are not always crazy... On 03/12/2014 04:49 PM, i8cvs wrote: Hi Gus, 8P6SM Mounting 3 turn helix antenna for 2400 MHz concentrically inside a 3 turns helix antenna for 1268 MHz was used as a feed both wounded LHCP to illuminate a ground station prime focus dish for RHCP uplink and downlink on Mode-L/S for AO40 and it worked very well. If you plan to build a 10 turns RHCP helix antenna for 70 cm conentrically into a 5 or 6 turns RHCP helix antenna for 2 meters in my opinion it should work as well but the weight of this antenna will be very very hight and not practical to be used in comparison with yagi antennas. 73 de i8CVS Domenico - Original Message - From: Gus g...@8p6sm.net To: AMSAT-BB@amsat.org Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 9:33 AM Subject: [amsat-bb] Question for the antenna gurus Regarding axial-mode helix antennas, what happens if you build a helix for each of two different bands (like 2M/70cm), and mount them concentrically, on the same backplane? -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Tracker for use with Arrow
On 02/27/2014 09:12 AM, Alan wrote: If you are willing to do a little construction, WA8SME has a very nice design which appeared in QST, called WRAPS. Completely shameless plug! You can order the key circuit board, bare, and programmed PIC chip on the AMSAT Store: It seems the construction article is available to ARRL members only. Or is it legitimately available from another source? -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Tracker for use with Arrow
On 02/27/2014 11:01 AM, Burns Fisher wrote: The Amsat store also has a link to QST-in-depth, where you find the construction details on the member's pages, but you still need to log in, either as a member or a guest. Thanks! I didn't realize that guest-login was possible. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Distributed Ground Station Network For CubeSat Communications
On 02/20/2014 01:26 PM, M5AKA wrote: Paper by Zachary J. Leffke KJ4QLP http://amsat-uk.org/2014/02/20/distributed-ground-station-network-for-cubesat-communications/ Oooh! Dark gray letters on a black background! I love it when k00l web design takes precedence over legibility! -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: FUNcube Warehouse Upload Ranking Changes
On 02/20/2014 03:57 PM, Bill Bordy, NJ1H wrote: Am I the only one wondering why any user felt the need to have a column showing rankings added? You aren't the only one. There are glory-hounds everywhere, and ham radio is not exempt. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Small-beam Syndrome
A bigger beam is useful when boasting to your friends, but when it comes to racking up contacts or pulling a rare one, it isn't the size that counts. What really matters is how skilled you are at USING your beam, and your understanding of the needs of the DX. On 02/15/2014 09:14 AM, Jeff Griffin wrote: My 2m satellite beam is almost 20 feet long, so there... :-) 73 Jeff kb2m -Original Message- From: amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org] On Behalf Of K5OE Sent: Saturday, February 15, 2014 7:48 AM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Small-beam Syndrome Cliff, Having suffered from this malady for many years, I simple came to the conclusion that no matter how big your beam is, you can never have a beam too big. I believe this view is held by many, including the ARRL, who publish a Handbook every year with many articles devoted to encouraging you to employ an ever-bigger beam. These article are replete with pictures, of course, leading to an even more widespread condition: beam envy. 73, Jerry, M0GOE ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: FOX-2 Information (was: Flying repeater inquiry)
On 02/14/2014 08:00 PM, Bryce Salmi wrote: I'd be interested to know if there is going to be any technical challenge to working Fox 2 or if it will just be yet another ones of Clint's Easysats. Now, the actual important comment in this sentence is the reference that Fox-1 being an FM bird is assumed to be easy to build. Actually, I didn't get that at all. I read the original message (and your quote) and they clearly indicated that the question was about the technical challenge of WORKING the bird. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Another Great Tech Tuesday Net
On 02/13/2014 11:05 AM, Anthony Monteiro wrote: Since you stated that you were not willing to do what is expected of an Area Coordinator... Just out of interest, what IS an AC expected to do? That must be published somewhere. Can you provide a link? -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: 150 cubesats to provide global WIFI multicasting
On 02/08/2014 09:24 AM, Robert Bruninga wrote: Any ham wanting to collect this content simply puts his 96000 baud radio listing to that repeaer INPUT to join the net! An AP runs together building a buffer of that 70 megabytes of ham radio content per day, which is then instantly accessible at any time with is browser. Again, we have the sites, the atnennas, the freqs and the radios. But for the life of me, I can't think where we could find 70 megabytes of ham radio content. Not useful content, anyway. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: perl script to manipulate keps
This is what I use:
---8--
#!/usr/bin/perl -w
use FileHandle;
use LWP::Simple;
@keps_wanted = qw( amateur.txt cubesat.txt weather.txt );
$keps_source = http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements;;
$keps_local = $ENV{HOME}/keps;
@sats = qw( VO-52 AO-7 AO-73);
$verbose = 1; # set to 0 to eliminate chatter
@interesting = ();
foreach $file (@keps_wanted) {
@keps = fetch_keps( $keps_source/$file );
next unless scalar(@keps);
save_file( $keps_local/$file, @keps );
foreach $sat (@sats) {
for ($i=0; $i=$#keps; $i++) {
$keps[$i] =~ /\b$sat\b/ do {
($name, $line1, $line2) = cleanup_elements( @keps[$i..$i+2] );
$verbose print $name\n$line1\n$line2\n\n;
}
};
}
#save interesting elements
save_file( $keps_local/interesting.txt, @interesting );
} # we're done
#-#
# read keps directly, no need for wget or other externals #
#-#
sub fetch_keps {
my $url = shift;
my $txt = get( $url );
! defined $txt do {
print STDERR Can't retrieve \$url\\n;
return undef;
};
$txt =~ /titleUntitled Document\/title/m do {
print STDERR No such file: \$url\\n;
return undef;
};
$verbose print Got \$url\ OK!\n;
return split /\n/, $txt;
}
#--#
# write array to file -- first element is filename #
#--#
sub save_file {
my $where = shift;
my $out = new FileHandle $where;
if (! defined $out) {
print STDERR Can't open \$where\ for output\n;
return;
}
foreach (@_) {
$out-print( $_\n );
}
$out-close();
}
#---#
# cleans up elements. currently collects elements for #
# sats of interest, but could also fix checksums, look #
# for duplicates, etc, etc #
#---#
sub cleanup_elements {
my ($name, $line1, $line2) = @_;
# make corrections here
push @interesting, ($name, $line1, $line2);
return ($name, $line1, $line2);
}
---8--
Somewhat more verbose, but it doesn't use the external utilities so it
is more OS agnostic.
I keep meaning to expand that final function
On 01/30/2014 05:50 AM, Andrew Rich wrote:
Slight mod
system(wget http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/amateur.txt -O
/maint/scripts/keps/amateur.txt);
system(wget http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/cubesat.txt -O
/maint/scripts/keps/cubesat.txt);
system(wget http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/weather.txt -O
/maint/scripts/keps/weather.txt);
- Original Message -
From: Andrew Rich
To: amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2014 7:35 PM
Subject: perl script to manipulate keps
Enjoy - just keep adding subs for each bird
#!/usr/bin/perl
system(rm /maint/scripts/keps/*.txt);
system(wget http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/amateur.txt;);
system(wget http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/cubesat.txt;);
system(wget http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/weather.txt;);
system(cat /maint/scripts/keps/*.txt /maint/scripts/keps/total_keps.txt);
open (outfile, /maint/scripts/keps/final_keps.txt);
open (keps,/maint/scripts/keps/total_keps.txt);
while (keps)
{
if (m/VO-52/)
{
print outfile $_;
$next_line = keps;
print outfile $next_line;
$next_line = keps;
print outfile $next_line;
}
}
close (outfile);
___
Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
--
Gus 8P6SM
The Easternmost Isle
___
Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: status/rant
Michael, I also miss the HEO days, and have no interest in juggling multiple radios and antennas in the dark in the rain, simply to scream my callsign and gridsquare into the pileup and consider it an achievement if I can copy someone else doing the same. I don't suppose we will ever see another HEO hamsat, unless someone with real money gets bitten by the bug. I assure you, if I had a spare 10 megabux laying around, I'd pay for a launch... but I don't and so I can't. I like to ragchew. Even on HF, I like to talk to people around the world, to find out what type of car they drive, what their dog is called, what is their favourite beer, etc. I've been ridiculed for saying that I want to ragchew rather than simply exchange grids. Now, some people actually like waving a broomstick beam around, and some people are thrilled to have worked X-hundred gridsquares with people who they know nothing about. More power to them! But for me, these things are not exciting nor fulfilling. I want to sit in the comfort of my shack, and ragchew. And I certainly think I deserve as much consideration as the grid-chaser with the handheld beam. Fortunately, we seem to be getting more SSB capable equipment going aloft, with more useable bandwidth. So I'm even considering the expenditure of some hard-earned gelt to put a satellite station on the air. As soon as I am comfortable spending the money. As for hamfest demos, I have no problem with a show of operating with absolute basic gear, like the HTs and handheld beams. It seems to me, however, that a demo of a PRACTICAL minimalist station might also be in order. (I don't consider all that juggling to be practical, other than for proving a point.) A modest multiband radio of some sort, a small, affordable rotator perhaps controlled via bluetooth, from an android phone or tablet (which also does orbit prediction/tracking), and an antenna designed for satellite work, but with less than 22 elements on V and 40 on U. Some of this equipment may still be awaiting development. And if we are never again going to get a HEO satellite in space with a visible window of several hours, then we need a lot of LEOs instead, so I can switch from bird to bird and continue ragchewing! I'll probably get slagged off for making some of these remarks, so I may as well get hung for a sheep as for a lamb: I don't know why people refer to certain satellites as amateur satellites when all they do is send telemetry in the ham band(s). As far as I'm concerned, if you can't have a QSO through it, it isn't an amateur satellite. If you don't require a ham license to use it, then it isn't one of ours! Regards to all, On 01/26/2014 07:32 PM, Michael wrote: I think we should be striving for something more than trying to show everyone how easy it is to operate sats. Again, if you actually enjoy juggling an antenna , HT and a speaker mic with only two hands then more power to you. I think that's too much like work and would much rather operate from the comfort of my shack but even if I were going to operate out on my back deck, I'd rather do it with a small table and a laptop and a tripod with a small motorized tracking system controlling the antenna. -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: status
Wow! Note to self: Humor not appreciated On 01/25/2014 05:28 PM, John Becker wrote: gordon...@gjcp.net has been added to the delete from server with reading or downloading file. Dont need a smart ass like that. On 1/25/2014 2:34 PM, Gordon JC Pearce wrote: Sure, I'll have one up by the end of August for you. That'll be 15 million quid please, cash up front. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: G3RUH plan 13 algorithm help
Yes, but one thing I've never quite understood was how to convert RAAN into Longitude. All the neat explanations on non-earthly frames of reference and vernal equinoxes stop short of explaining how to start with RAAN (in a set of elements) and compute forward in time from the epoch to get the longitude of the ascending node of the current orbit. Anyone with a link to an online resource that can help make this clear? On 01/24/2014 05:38 AM, David Johnson wrote: HI, Right Ascention of the Ascending node. The point in the orbit at which it crosses the equator going northbound. Here 's a good example: http://www.pe0sat.vgnet.nl/satellite/ 73 Dave, G4DPZ On 24/01/14 08:59, Lizeth Norman wrote: *HI all,Found this at this page:http://www.amsat.org/amsat/articles/g3ruh/111.html http://www.amsat.org/amsat/articles/g3ruh/111.htmlOrbit Plane:* Fixed (almost) with respect to the stars, in orientation defined by argument of perigee, inclination and RAAN. Origin: Earth's centre. X: Directed towards perigee Y: 90 degrees from perigee round the orbit in direction of satellite's motion Z: Perpendicular to orbit plane I think I understand most of the math in the algorithm. In the above context, what does RAAN mean? Sorry for being obtuse! Norm n3ykf ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: DTMF on HF?
Unfortunately, in some cases the differences are very close. C and 3 have pairs with a differential only 1 Hz apart. Perhaps some heuristic approach which examines several consecutive tone-pairs, looking for a single offset that would make them all valid? On 01/10/2014 06:31 PM, Joe Leikhim wrote: Since DTMF has two tones for each number, it would seem possible that you could have some DSP detect the difference frequency of each pair and then either adjust its decoders or QSY the receiver's VCO to get a lock. There are a ton of small development boards like Raspberry PI that have hardware that might be able to do this. Has anybody got the AMSAT-bb daily digest to work through their e-mail provider other than Gmail? -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Finding yourself on the linear transponders
Tx to FM mode, mouth closed (no modulation), PTT is your key. On 01/08/2014 01:53 AM, Roger Kolakowski wrote: Honestly...I wonder how many of the operators have keys to send those dits... Roger WA1KAT On 1/7/2014 7:59 PM, Ronald G. Parsons wrote: Perhaps it’s just me, but it seems like an increasing number of operators are trying to find their downlink by speaking into their mic while tuning up and down the band, often plus or minus 20-30 kHz. Not only is this disruptive to existing QSOs, it is not the most effective way to do it. My receiver has a panadapter with a 40 KHz bandwidth, and I can see these SSB signals swishing up and down, over and over. If you don’t have computer control of your frequency, set up a switch by which you can send a SHORT series of dits. Then don’t swish. Adjust your transmitter is steps of about 3 kHz. Send a burst of dits at low power and listen. If you don’t hear yourself, tune up or down. This way you will have an effective way to find yourself and you won’t interrupt other QSOs repeatedly. Once you find yourself, make sure you are not interfering with an existing QSO. Then refine your tuning until your frequency is nearly right. If you are operating CW, your done. If you are operating SSB, try holding a tone generator near your mic and adjust your transmitter or receiver until the tone on the downlink matches the tone generator. There is probably a free tone generator available for your smart phone. Better yet, try computer control of your transmitter and receiver. You can easily find an Elmer on the air if you need help. But, PLEASE. don’t swish! Ron W5RKN ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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-BB@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 -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: AMSAT-NA Keps Page
On 11/28/2013 08:57 AM, Alan wrote: The AMSAT service is tightly focused on satellites of interest to amateurs, and in fact began life when Keps were sent out by snail mail, and then packet. In the AMSAT format, which to be honest, I preferred to TLE! -- Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: de W4BUE INFO PLEASE
Amazing what passes for a HamSat these days. Anybody with a browser, Ham or otherwise, can submit messages which (provided they are approved) will be uploaded FOR you. Also, anyone with a suitable UHF receiver can listen to the downlink! Why, the only way this could get better is if the downlink were available directly via the browser, so we could use this satellite without the bother of setting up any sort of station at all! On 11/20/2013 08:39 AM, Paul Stoetzer wrote: Rich, Here is the website for TJ3SAT built by students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, VA. http://www.tjhsst.edu/students/activities/tj3sat/ 73, Paul, N8HM On Wed, Nov 20, 2013 at 7:32 AM, Rich/wa4bue richard.s...@verizon.net wrote: I understand that Wallops Island sent up a CUBE SAT fabricated by a high school. I would like to know if there are any articles about this, pictures etc. that I can bring back to our school system. God Bless Rich W4BUE Pres K4AMG.org Trustee W4FOS ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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-BB@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 -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: so long
John, 1) I too pine for the HEO birds. 2) I have little interest in single-channel FM-only satellites But! 1) LEO birds are better than no birds at all. The early OSCARS were all LEO and without the learning curve they provided, we would probably never have launched AO-10 and AO-13. The challenges nowadays may be different (financial rather than technological) but in time we will hopefully overcome them. 2) From what I gather simply by reading this list, the majority of transponders flying are linear (NOT single-channel FM) and the same is true for the majority of transponders in the pipe. I respect your decision to drop out of the list and wish you well. Regards... -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. On 09/17/2013 02:58 PM, John Becker wrote: I have decided to leave the list till something changes with this FM only satellite attitude only changes. That was the reason for me as well as other joining AMSAT in the first place. Please inform me if anything such as a replacement for AO 40 happens. John ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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-BB@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: Downloading SatPC 32
Download without a hitch here. On 09/13/2013 07:19 PM, carl creamer wrote: I have been try to download SatPC32 from http://www.dk1tb.de/downloadeng.htm North American Version and it starts to download a few mega bites and stops. I have tried this over the past several days and the same result. Any suggestions? Thanks Carl ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: A0 40 replacement
On 09/04/2013 02:26 AM, Brenton Salmi wrote: Let's put it in another possible context: Create an extremely dense and reliable LEO platform in cube-sat form that weigh's a fraction of AO-40's weight using today's high-density components/systems and create a reliable and feature rich HEO cubesat. The only problem with this, is that certain components can't be miniaturized. Example: Antennas. And HEO satellites need more sophisticated antennas. Pity the cube-sat idea didn't finish up with a ten INCH cube... -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: A0 40 replacement
Truly. However, to include operators with modest shacks, you need to allow operation on modes A, B and/or J. A satellite operating on 24.0 GHz won't be of interest to the average ham. Not until the average ham has 24.0 GHz capable antennas, feedlines, amplifiers, transceivers, etc, in his shack. It's a vicious circle. Smaller satellites are easier to launch, but support smaller antennas. This means higher frequencies, which excludes more potential users. Reduction in potential user-base leads to reduced support (financial) from said user-base. With less money to spend, it becomes more difficult to obtain a launch, and to build the highly miniaturized spacecraft in the first place. On 09/04/2013 11:31 AM, Bryce Salmi wrote: Yea but increasing frequency helps with that. With directional antennas the satellite would need attitude control which would benefit greatly from miniaturization. For the most part, miniaturization would come from incorporating systems on chips. Most op amps and microcontrollers are much smaller than their packages so including those systems on a single die in a single package are capable of massive savings in space. This is what made smart phones even possible . Gus 8p...@anjo.com wrote: On 09/04/2013 02:26 AM, Brenton Salmi wrote: Let's put it in another possible context: Create an extremely dense and reliable LEO platform in cube-sat form that weigh's a fraction of AO-40's weight using today's high-density components/systems and create a reliable and feature rich HEO cubesat. The only problem with this, is that certain components can't be miniaturized. Example: Antennas. And HEO satellites need more sophisticated antennas. Pity the cube-sat idea didn't finish up with a ten INCH cube... -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: A0 40 replacement
On 09/04/2013 03:06 PM, John Becker wrote: On 9/4/2013 12:43 PM, Gus wrote: Truly. However, to include operators with modest shacks, you need to allow operation on modes A, B and/or J. A satellite operating on 24.0 GHz won't be of interest to the average ham. Not until the average ham has 24.0 GHz capable antennas, feedlines, amplifiers, transceivers, etc, in his shack. Are you trying to say that if one can not stand in their yard with a HT they will not use it? I hope that is not the case. I do think that the average ham station has an HF rig and a VHF/UHF rig in it. With feedlines and antennas to suit. Using an FM rig in CW mode, the average ham could operate A, B and J on CW with the equipment in hand. With antennas, feedlines, etc already in place, SSB capability comes at the cost of only a VHF/UHF all-mode rig, or perhaps only a transverter. Once the bug has bit, they might begin to acquire gear for mode L, S, and the rest of the alphabet! But for the initial dipping of the toes into the satellite waters, it helps if the operator has all (or most of) the gear already to hand! If your saying it's a money thing. You have got to pay to play. Everyone should know it's not or ever has been a poor man's hobby. Starting with no gear, it's going to cost money, no matter what mode you try to operate. But to persuade the average op to give satellites a try, it can only help to tell him that it will cost him (little or) nothing. You cant get a toy-auto to go 120 but my mustang will. 1964 BMC Mini, A-Series 850cc, big-valve head, sodium-filled exhaust valves, pocketed line-bored block for road-race cam, twin SU's, 3-2-1 extractor, Cooper S ignition, duplex timing chain, co2 welded aluminum tappets, high-capacity oil pump oil cooler... Back then my balls were bigger but my brain was smaller. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: HEO satellite Haiku poem
Crossed yagis aloft elements corrode slowly old logs dampen eyes. (First attempt.) On 09/04/2013 07:15 PM, Clayton Coleman wrote: AO-40 premature death Sob-sob Boo-hoo I want, I want, I want. (amateurish, I know) 73 Clayton W5PFG ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Help with 75 mtr Qrn problem
Had a similar problem once. Got a friend to listen in the shack while I walked around the neighborhood with a sledgehammer. Every time I came to a utility pole i gave it a good whack. One particular pole, when ever I whacked it, there was a blip in the noise. Took the number of the pole, called the utility company and reported seeing sparks. On 08/02/2013 06:23 PM, Dave Larsen PhD wrote: I have 2 dipoles up at 60+ ft - one set running East-West other North South .. From 2.6 to 5 Megs I have a S-7 Qrn lev at 4 Am .. buy noon I have a 10-20 over QRN Lev .. I live on 10 acres and have turned off main power to house and still have QRN .. so not coming from anything in house .. This one has me stumped .. 6 moths ago my Qrn was a S-2 .. waiting for a G6 radio to try and track this down but does anybody else have any idea's ? Tnx Dave N6CO ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: APRS Twitter
On 07/10/2013 12:41 AM, Rizwan 'Drake' Merchant wrote: I am interested in information on how to set up our satellite to tweet over APRS to a specific twitter account. O death, where is thy sting? -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Timing on VUCC Upgrade Processing
On 06/10/2013 06:24 PM, Jim Walls wrote: I have not been satellite active for several years (mostly because of no birds to actually talk through for more than 3 seconds at a time). Ditto. LOTW was fairly new when I stopped operating satellite, but at that time the general comment from those that were using LOTW was that particularly for satellite operations, LOTW was such a pain to use, and really did not support satellite ops without putting in incorrect data (it did not understand our cross band operation or that there are actually more than one satellite in use). Maybe someone who is using it currently can advise if works better for satellite operations now. As far as I can figure out, all LOTW does is make it easier/faster to apply for awards that I'm not even slightly interested in applying for, while guaranteeing that I'll never get a 'real' QSL card for the contact. While I'm not really a collector of cards, I QSL in reply 100% (green stamp appreciated but NOT necessary) and it IS nice to have that concrete reminder of a QSO. Whereas the only award I've ever applied for is the ZRO, and you can't even do that any more. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Trouble found, help no longer required
On 05/19/2013 02:21 PM, Robert C. Campbell wrote: I am now working on my celebratory bean and spinach soup... How can you celebrate with bean and spinach?!?? Unless working on it means adding bacon, melted cheese and rum... -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Path to HEO
On 04/29/2013 03:50 PM, Patrick Strasser wrote: Speed from radius and time for one orbit (1 day=84600 sec)... Uh, 86400 sec... But the difference isn't particularly significant. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: satellite los footprints
I would suggest you go with #1 or #2. The added complexity of method #3 probably won't pay any significant dividends in practical terms. You could always implement #3 for version II. :-) Will you be considering squint? Frankly, I'm not sure any current satellites are using antennas where squint would play a part. Regards... On 03/25/2013 11:15 AM, Joseph Armbruster wrote: I can not decide how to implement ground footprints with my google earth satellite tracker. I figured, since I can't make up my mind, I should get a second (and third, and fourth) opinion. For this thread, I would like to discuss how satellite ground-footprints should be implemented. A quick brainstorm led me to three possible implementations (I am leaning towards 3). For each of these, I assume that a geographic line-of-sight footprint is desired with no RF characteristics taken into consideration: option 1 : assume a spherical earth model and project a polygon downwards towards the footprint - note: this is obviously the easiest approach but will result in the most error option 2 : assume an ellipsoidal earth model and project an irregularly shaped polygon downwards towards the footprint - note: this is arguably more difficult than option 1 and would result in less error option 3 : use a digital elevation model and an ellipsoidal model to cull-out regions that are not visible due to geographic features and project an irregularly shaped polygon downwards towards the footprint - note: In this case, our footprint polygon would have holes cut out for the regions that are culled out by mountain ranges, canyons / etc... Obviously, this would be the most difficult to implement but would likely be the best visual representation. The problem is, I would never dream of distributing DEMs for the entire Earth with my tool, even DTED0 would be absurd in my opinion. I could make the elevation queries accessible using a web-service, but then the user would be tied to the internet. The other option would be to allow the users to download their elevation data into a cache, then the tool would just load / use it. This way the user would only have to obtain the elevation data for their region of interest. Maybe that would be the best approach? I am open to suggestions! If you have any experience visualizing footprints, please let me know. I would be interested in hearing your lessons-learned. These are what the line-of-sight indicators look like right now: Google Earth Satellite Tracker - Line of Sight Update I am open to comments and suggestions, Joseph Armbruster ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: TeikyoSat-3 – Slime Mold from Space
On 03/15/2013 07:15 PM, Trevor M5AKA wrote: Students from Teikyo University plan to transmit images of Slime Mold growth from space using amateur radio. Wait! I've seen this movie! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066769/ -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Unix command line Kepler manager
Here is a bash script that might be of help:
8
#!/bin/bash
CAT=/usr/bin/cat
RM=/usr/bin/rm
WGET=/usr/bin/wget
GREP=/usr/bin/grep
VERBOSE=1
# change these to suit your taste
OUTPUT=${HOME}/MySatellites.tle
MATCH=${HOME}/Sats_I_Like.txt
# delete existing output file
if [ -f ${OUTPUT} ]; then
[[ $%{VERBOSE} ]] echo Deleting ${OUTPUT}
${RM} ${OUTPUT};
fi
# heredoc contains URLs of interest. Edit to suit yourself
[[ $%{VERBOSE} ]] echo Fetching elements from www.celestrack.com
${CAT} EOF | while read URL
http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/amateur.txt
http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/weather.txt
http://www.celestrak.com/NORAD/elements/visual.txt
EOF
do
[[ $%{VERBOSE} ]] echo -- ${URL}
${WGET} -q ${URL} -O - | ${GREP} -A 2 -f ${MATCH} ${OUTPUT}
done
[[ $%{VERBOSE} ]] echo Done.
8
This will fetch one or more element files from celestrack (you say which
URLs to use in the heredoc) and pick out satellites of interest to you
by name, combining the results into a single output file. You specify
the satellites you want in a match-file (name defined at the top of the
script) and similarly the name of the file where you want the results put.
Two cautions: 1) be careful with your matches. AO-7 matches with
AO-71 too. And 2) if a satellite appears in more than one input file,
it will appear more than once in the output. (Example, ISS (ZARYA)
appears in amateur.txt and visual.txt.)
You could change a few things -- select by satellite number designator
rather than name, for instance, or read URLs from an external file. Or
have the heredoc also specify the name of the output file for each input
URL. But for anything much fancier than this (like sorting the output
by satellite name, skipping duplicates, anything but the simplest of
command-line arguments, etc) I'd go with a perl script.
On 03/13/2013 03:00 AM, PE0SAT | Amateur Radio wrote:
Hi Gus,
As I mentioned I thought to give the list a try before if go the
script way
Do you have such a script?
Make an input variable with the desired SATS read from input files and
output to
my own output file that I can use with my favorite tracking software.
73 Jan PE0SAT
On 12-03-2013 23:22, Gus wrote:
What exactly do you need to do?
Download the elements from celestrack with wget or Perl's
LWP::Simple. Use grep with the --files option to select satellites of
interest and write them out to whatever destination you want. What
else do you need?
A modest Perl script would go a long way...
On 03/12/2013 05:29 PM, PE0SAT | Amateur Radio wrote:
Hi,
Thanks for reading this message.
Can somebody help me with a command line Kepler manager for Unix?
The idea is to create my own TLE files where source files come from
Celes-track and
Space-track.
I thought to give the list a try before if go the script way ;)
73 Jan PE0SAT
--
73, de Gus 8P6SM
Barbados, the easternmost isle.
___
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[amsat-bb] Re: Unix command line Kepler manager
Hmmm. I don't know how or why, but all my VERBOSE shell variables seem to have acquired an unnecessary percent sign. The script will still run as-is, but please remove those unwanted %age symbols if you decide to try this script. Thanks... -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Satellite hit by debris from weapon test
I've got no problem with Trevor's posts. I would prefer they continue rather than stop. But for those who AREN'T interested, perhaps Trevor could add some easily recognizable mark to the news posts, to make it easier to filter them out while not blocking his other posts? Like adding FYI:: to the subject or something? If Trevor decides to do something like that to accommodate those who don't want the news, they should consider that he is paying them a courtesy. If it were me, I sure wouldn't bother. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Unix command line Kepler manager
What exactly do you need to do? Download the elements from celestrack with wget or Perl's LWP::Simple. Use grep with the --files option to select satellites of interest and write them out to whatever destination you want. What else do you need? A modest Perl script would go a long way... On 03/12/2013 05:29 PM, PE0SAT | Amateur Radio wrote: Hi, Thanks for reading this message. Can somebody help me with a command line Kepler manager for Unix? The idea is to create my own TLE files where source files come from Celes-track and Space-track. I thought to give the list a try before if go the script way ;) 73 Jan PE0SAT -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems
Phil, I'm glad you find the idea of interest, because I'm sure you could greatly contribute towards the idea. Please note that we haven't simply been thinking of designing a better 5400/5500. We've also been thinking about a design that could be used in the field and after a disaster/in an emergency. And a design that could be replicated in countries around the globe. Hence 12v automotive motors and bicycle sprockets were all part of the brainstormed recipe! Your 9dof IMU idea is sexy! Just think -- with TWO of them, you could compensate for the motion of the station, when operating from, say, a boat or a vehicle under way. (Nobody say GPS please!) One RTC chip, a USB interface to the laptop or bluetooth interface to the Android tablet... But it sounds less and less like you will be able to source much of it in the third world. Which is where I happen to live. Still, it sure sounds interesting! What do you think it would cost to put one together? On 03/08/2013 02:35 AM, Phil Karn wrote: Just noticed this thread and caught up. While rotor controllers are indeed a dime a dozen, I think we could do a lot better than any of them. Your typical Yaesu/Kenpro rotor uses a 24V AC 2-phase induction motor. The control box applies 50/60 Hz AC directly to one winding and to the other through a capacitor. The capacitor creates a phase shift in the current through the second winding, creating a rotating magnetic field within the motor that drags the rotor in one direction or the other. You reverse the motor by applying AC directly to one winding or the other. Although this design is extremely common, it has several highly non-ideal features. First, the current through the second winding isn't actually in phase quadrature (90 degrees) with the first. It's somewhat less due to the series resistances of the winding and capacitor. Second, the current amplitudes in the two windings are not the same, and for the same reason -- series resistances. This means less torque and more motor heating than could otherwise be produced for the same input voltage. Third, the motor has only one synchronous speed: 50 or 60 Hz. Stalled rotor torque is rather low, especially for a non-ideal supply. What you *really* want is a variable frequency, variable voltage (VFVV) inverter producing two phases in exact quadrature (same amplitude, 90 degrees with respect to each other). You can smoothly vary the speed from a dead stop to faster than 60 Hz and with more torque at every speed, making it easy to track a continuously moving satellite with a narrow antenna. And you don't wear out the brakes and constantly flex the masts and booms until the clamps all work loose. You can even use the motors as brakes by sending a small amount of DC current through them. It doesn't take much, as this essentially creates a DC generator with a shorted output, and that torque is amplified by the gear train. The necessary waveforms could be generated with the PWM channels in an Arduino or similar microcontroller and amplified with the power MOSFET H-bridges common in robotics. I do see several rotors using DC motors, plus several people suggesting them here. While they're somewhat easier to vary in speed (you just vary the average DC voltage with a PWM drive) you have to remember these motors contain brushes rubbing on commutators, and that makes them far less reliable than AC induction motors, which are famously simple, rugged and reliable. There's a reason AC motors are universal in the modern generation of hybrid and battery electric vehicles even though most hobby conversions still use DC motors. As for position feedback, what about one of the cheap, modern IMU devices, like the Pololu MinIMU-9. I've been playing with this particular board, which contains a 3-axis accelerometer, magnetometer and rotational gyro. Just mount one on the antenna boom and directly measure the antenna position. The accelerometer will give elevation without any calibration at all. The magnetometer can read azimuth with a lookup table for your local magnetic declination, and any local magnetic distortions could be removed with a one-time calibration. And the gyro will quickly tell you if the antenna is out of balance or has stalled. --Phil ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems
On 03/08/2013 01:46 PM, Phil Karn wrote: On 03/08/2013 12:08 AM, Gus wrote: Still, it sure sounds interesting! What do you think it would cost to put one together? Dunno. I'd have to build one. Willing to have a go at it? I'd contribute towards parts for a prototype... Also dunno why you would need two IMUs. Because I foolishly thought to compare data from the antenna and the base, to get pointing angles. Only after posting did I realize that one IMU would give antenna position data in the earth frame of reference (not the vehicle frame of reference). Platform acceleration (not mere motion) might be a problem but I'd have to think about how to compensate for it. Are you familiar with the UAV Dev Board? They do all manner of clever tricks and don't even have a magnetometer! Other than that, the only thing I'm concerned about is RFI from the transmitter getting into the sensor. You could simply not read it when transmitting. Won't the IMU work in a Faraday cage? Yes, but power has to get in and sensor data has to get out, so RF will still be a problem. What about auto-sensing the RF and delaying the output from the IMU or telling the CPU not to read them? Could be a problem for big-mouthed rag-chewers like myself. Also, in a Field Day type environment with several nearby transmitters operating, your tracker could be offline for an entire pass. Of course! Fibre optic control cable! Obvious, isn't it? :-) A GPS will still be almost mandatory for both satellite antennas and telescopes for accurate time and location. This is needed not only for the pointing calculations but also to look up magnetic declination and inclination to interpret the magnetometer data. Then the magnetometer and accelerometer together give you a 3-axis orientation in space without calibration, assuming you don't have anything nearby to distort the earth's magnetic field. I've got a couple uBlox 5's around here somewhere... -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems
On 03/02/2013 06:55 AM, Robert C. Campbell wrote: My thought would be to count the pulses instead of a pot. I think we will be stuck with gear motors if the goal is to go small and have lots of torque. Counting pulses will only be practical if there is a direct correlation between pulse count and angular displacement. That means you are pulsing a stepper and counting those pulses, or you are activating an ordinary motor and the pulse train is coming back from some sort of shaft encoder. But I prefer this approach (digital) to reading the voltage on a pot (linear/analog). I am mentally working on a straightforward, easy-to-build shaft-encoder. But how accurate do we need to be, if we're building a system for small antennas with reasonable wide beam-widths? I am coming to the conclusion that for a globally ubiquitous supply of second hand motors, we will have to turn to the automobile junk yard. Windshield wiper motors and window wider motors spring instantly to mind. Newer cars have motors everywhere. Repositioning seats, adjusting rear view mirrors, opening and closing tailgates. Perhaps central locking mechanisms can be adopted to lock the rotors in position between moves to prevent weather-cocking. I'm fairly sure that virtually anywhere in the world you could get your hands on two wiper motors from a junk yard without breaking the bank. I would like to move away from stops and find another way to establish 0~360az and 0~90/180ex indication so as to enable continuous rotation to do continuous sky scan or search and rescue with out having to wind up and damage my coax. Continuous rotation probably requires some sort of coaxial slip-ring system. Google coax rotary joint. They look expensive, and I can't help worrying about insertion loss. But perhaps limit switch is the wrong word. But with a cam on your shaft and a micro-switch, you have hard position-detection of two places on the circle: when the switch goes ON and when the switch goes OFF. (In theory, enough switches and cams and you could detect any number of places on the circle.) I think it's useful, e3specially with a pulse counting system, to be able to confirm your position at least a couple points around your circle. This would allow your controller to calibrate itself when ever it needed to, and possibly to double-check itself during normal operation. Whether or not you choose to wire a hard-shutoff based on the output of these switches depends on whether you have a continuous-rotation coax joint or not. I am not sure what battle ship radar uses for constant rotation but that would be the ticket. Bob Campbell KB3PMR -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems
On 03/01/2013 02:17 AM, Lizeth Norman wrote: Three turn pots are necessary unless we want to limit rotation to 360 degrees. Easy enough to in satpc32. Also, not all pots rotate 360. Some only 320, some less. The more expensive pots have much greater possible feature set. Unless we want lightning fast antenna rotation, we're going to need some sort of gearbox with virtually any motor we're likely to find. We could gear the drive to a simpler pot as well. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems
On 02/28/2013 11:24 PM, Lizeth Norman wrote: A stepper still needs some sort of position feedback.. Not really. Steppers rotate a predictable amount with each step. To calibrate, the software only needs to count steps from one limit switch to the other. Then, by keeping track of step count (+/-), it will always know exactly how far round the turn it is. It can store last position in NV RAM or EEPROM, so as to avoid the need to recalibrate on every startup. Unfortunately, I can't think of a common source for surplus steppers of useful size. And driving them is slightly more complicated than firing a relay to a DC motor. OK, why do we have to use A multi-turn pot? Why not just an ordinary linear pot? -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems
The control hardware (Arduino based or otherwise) will be the simplest part of any design. I recently bought all the components to make four 'Uno' (which should be more than capable) for less than $10 each, and I didn't shop around. No, the hardest part will be the actuators (IOW, the motors and motor control) and the sensors (IOW position detection and limit switches). These are also likely to be the most expensive components. In order to keep cost and complexity down, I am proposing that we DON'T try to replicate the G5400/5500, etc. We don't need to swing huge arrays of long yagis any more, and won't need to until a HEO satellite appears in our sky. So we can limit ourselves to smaller antenna systems like the Arrow, the Cushcraft antennas I spoke of, and similar. I have nothing against the K5OE antennas (they look pretty nice!) except they were designed for P3D, and are probably more than needed to reliably use the current fleet of satellites. In any case, we have to decide what amount of maximum torque we want to handle, so we can go looking for suitable candidate motors. We want to keep these motors as small as possible to keep their cost (and that of their driver circuitry) to a minimum. We'll also need to work out whether we want direct drive or geared, brushed, brushless, stepper, etc. And speed of rotation and so forth. Stepper motors can produce lots of torque and their speed is controllable. They usually operate in steps of less than 2 degrees. And since the control hardware can count steps, we probably wouldn't need any position-sensing hardware at all, other than simple limit switches. But I'm not aware of any common source of surplus stepper motors. Ordinary motors on the other hand, are available in windshield wipers, window winders, starting motors, etc. But position sensing these will need additional hardware. Personally, I'd like to see a system that runs entirely on 12 volts. This will make field day operation, emergency operation, car-park demos, rag-chewing while watching the windsurfing competition and bikini parade at the beach, etc, possible without the need for an inverter. Base station use should present no problems because 12v PSUs abound in all shapes and sizes and current limits, and most shacks already contain at least one 12v PSU already. On 02/27/2013 09:56 PM, Lizeth Norman wrote: Gus and the gang, What about K5OE's array here: http://rfanat.ru/s8/P3D_yagi.htm Still think that using: 8x4 aluminum tube stock 1 aluminum round stock 1 arduino 4 relays a 24 v ps some limit switches fuses, of course two of the appropriate value pots and maybe some gearing and a few gears, bearings and motors for the drivetrain, should give us a complete -5400 or -5500 clone. Norm n3ykf On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 8:30 PM, Gus 8p...@anjo.com wrote: Returning to this topic... I'm thinking about a rotator that can handle a small system like the Arrow, or the Cushcraft A270-6s or even the A270-10s. NOT big boomers like the KLM 22/40 el CP yagis! So we're looking at 1½ - 2 sq. ft of windloading, and maybe 10 lbs of weight. (Including some sort of crossboom, clamps, coax and counterweights. Rear mounted antennas like the Arrow will need a rear-mounted counterweight.) Anybody qualified to say what that adds up to in terms of TORQUE required from the motors? With a little extra thrown in for a safety margin, maybe? I think a simple, low-cost, easily reproducible design is probably doable, if we combine our ingenuity and expertise. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems
I particularly like the idea of using bicycle gears/chain for gearing. Whatever we come up with, I'd prefer if the bulk of it was available locally, wherever you live. There are no Home Depots in my country, but there are lots of bicycles. Perhaps we can use the frame of the bicycle to provide materials for the main structural component too! So, one old bicycle could provide gears, bearings, structural components, and more perhaps? :-) I'm fine with the Arduino as a platform for the software. The multi-turn pot would obviously work, but I'm a little dubious about it. They aren't that easy to source, and would have to be connected to the rotating shafts somehow that there would be very little backlash and no creep/slippage. I'd thought of the sensors from a couple old optical mice, mounted right over the shaft, and detecting rotation directly, but after a bit of googling, I'm not sure we can easily pull off movement info. Then I thought about a hall-effect switch mounted near one of the (bicycle?) gear wheels, detecting the passage of each tooth. An optical sensor, looking through your bicycle chain, detecting the passage of each link? Or a simple micro-switch, being bumped to produce a pulse for each link in the chain? But how would you determine direction of motion? Perhaps a design that can accommodate either a voltage variable position sensor, OR a pulse train, making it easier to build the machine with whatever parts are available? I'm chucking out a lot of silly ideas in the hope that someone can use them as the starting point, and come up with something practical. On 02/28/2013 12:49 AM, Lizeth Norman wrote: Gus, I like your thinking. Simply put we need to make feedback position sensor with associated motor/motor control stuff. The motor rpm's and gear ratio are functions of the number of degrees per unit of time, as you say. One simple solution that I was going to try was a reversible dc gear motor being polarity switched by a dpdt relay, and a three turn pot for position sensing. The pot is 16$US. Per copy. Need two as well as the associated hardware. Scaling the dac on the uP is a nit. Then again, since we can fiddle with the values in software, so our inputs can be anything (from a hardware standpoint) of reasonable accuracy. Just thinking, why use gears and gear motors?? Why not a dc motor, bicycle chain and sprockets? The HD bearings for the shaft are $6.95 as I recall, a piece. Still set on using stock sizes/materials if I can. This would give me a start modelling this stuff with CAD and make it easier to source. A note regarding your comment on the Arduino. It really does not matter what we use in terms of antenna rotators at this point. I think that if we coherently model the design process, someone in cost reduced circumstances could reproduce whatever we decide with far more basic tools than available to us. The key is that there is a microcontroller with tons of IO attached to a serial port... Or then again, CO7WT is bit banging the parallel port. Now that's the way to go. blah, blah, blah, Norm n3ykf -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: AMSAT Website page error
Alan, I knew the site was experiencing difficulties. I was not aware of the nature or extent of these difficulties. My post was not in the nature of a complaint. I was just drawing attention to an error which I thought /might/ have gone so far unnoticed. Good luck to the development team -- I look forward to the new and enhanced site. Regards... On 02/26/2013 09:38 AM, Alan wrote: Gus, Most (all?) pages which at one time linked to other data bases are broken in this way. There is, behind the scenes, a major effort to migrate to a new platform, and this is certainly an important function which will be there. Judging by the calls and emails to the AMSAT office, this feature is probably the one most people miss. It will take more time to do this, but the results will be a more modern, capable, and maintainable web site. We regret the delay and inconvenience. 73s, Alan WA4SCA AMSAT-NA Board Member -Original Message- From: amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Gus Sent: Monday, February 25, 2013 11:20 PM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] AMSAT Website page error I know that there have been issues with the website recently, but this page: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/predict/ gives an error: *** Database Error - sql - InitDB line 14 Especially with new launches, this page is a useful resource. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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] AMSAT Website page error
I know that there have been issues with the website recently, but this page: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/predict/ gives an error: *** Database Error - sql - InitDB line 14 Especially with new launches, this page is a useful resource. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems
Thanks, Tom! On 02/24/2013 10:22 AM, Thomas Doyle wrote: Gus, Check this out. http://www.tomdoyle.org/simplesattracker/SimpleSatTracker.html 73 W9KE tom... On Sat, Feb 23, 2013 at 8:35 PM, Gus 8p...@anjo.com mailto:8p...@anjo.com wrote: I think AMSAT-UK even has software available. And with the addition of a bit of EEPROM, you could even pre-load the controller with ephemeris data for several satellites for several days in advance. Emergency / field-day / portable operation without needing a computer. Add a bluetooth module and an Android app, and you could have an all singing, all dancing, full-featured satellite station in a briefcase. I'D buy one... On 02/23/2013 10:01 PM, Lizeth Norman wrote: Samudra and the gang, The bee's knees would be an Arduino Mega 2560 talking over one of it's serial ports to the pc. Using the output of the Orbitron (or insert your fave rave software here) DDE server to drive the microcontroller. There are enough digital/analog pins to drive/slave anything from there. Simple serial port setup. Repeatable. Extensible. The chip has several other HARDWARE (i.e has it's own hardware buffers for i/o) serial ports for more and more fun stuff. Have a look on youtube or google for code to drive steppers / selsyns.. Norm n3ykf ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org mailto:AMSAT-BB@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 -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@amsat.org mailto:AMSAT-BB@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 from my computer. tom ... -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Pendulum type elevation measurement
On 02/24/2013 06:45 PM, Doug Faunt N6TQS +1-510-717-1197 wrote: These days, hacking an electronic level makes more sense, I think. Come to think of it, if the sensor in a new optical mouse can detect when it moves, even fractionally, over a surface, couldn't the same sensor, mounted close to a vertical mast or horizontal cross-boom, detect when those shafts rotated? -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Curious Question About Satellite BBS
Operating the microsats was a completely hands-free procedure. You told your groundstation what sort of files you were interested in, and went out to lunch. While you were away, the bird came up over the hill, rotors rotated, frequencies dopplered, and by the time you got back, the pass was over, your outgoing files were gone, your inbox was full of interesting stuff, and your gear was idle. Once you were all set up, it was brilliant. No 'operating' in the conventional sense, but absolutely effortless transfer of files and messages. But transfer rates were relatively low, passes were short, and it could take several passes for in/outbound files to complete. And the birds had huge data capacities, like 4 megabytes total. Yes, meg. So you had to keep your files small. But they could be anything you like, text or binary. Images, software, etc. I met and became friends with a guy in England via the microsats, and when he was coming to 8P he sent me a JPEG so I would recognize him at the airport. There were other types of BBS flying, too. The Fuji birds were pretty much exactly like terrestrial packet boards. Once you got ***CONNECTED you could ask for a menu and issue commands in the normal way. On 02/25/2013 01:15 AM, Bryce Salmi wrote: Hey All, I want to throw out a question about the Bulletin Board Systems that have flown on several amateur radio satellites in the past. A majority of these flew prior to my involvement in ham radio (licensed in 2004) and for many years I haven't had a great setup for satellite work, largely due to funds as a high school student back in the day and nowadays since I move around quite often from home to college. I would like this conversation to stay on-topic since I realize this could stray pretty easily! What was it like to have an orbiting BBS? What types of files/information were sent and how convenient was it? Was it just text or could people send small images? I may not be aware of a currently working BBS, the last one I know of off-hand was on AO-51 if I am not mistaken. I am simply fascinated with the ability to send and receive data to and from an orbiting satellite in this fashion. I look forward to hearing any responses. Bryce KB1LQC ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems
Given the shortage of LEO birds, exactly how much antenna do we need to rotate? Hams operate satellite successfully with hand-held antennas, which have low wind-loading and are light in weight. With R/C servos available producing 6½ ft. lb of torque for less than 150 bucks, I'm surprised a light weight, portable, DC-operated satellite system complete with antennas and AZ/EL rotors hasn't materialized before now. On 02/23/2013 07:59 PM, Samudra Haque wrote: Hi, about two years ago, I started a design for a robotics class project of a AZ-EL rotator controller system, and a hardware package for the mechanism for rotating an antenna in any direction subject to mechanical stops. The system would have been able to handle regular and flip modes. I didn't do anything more than calculations, and moved on to building a classroom instructional robot then. Lately, as I am setting up (K3GWU, the George Washington University Amateur Radio Club and Research Station) I find that the price of az-el systems such as G5500 + Yaesu AZ-EL rotors are expensive, and are not typically available on an affordable basis on Ebay or eham.net etc. Well, of course, expensive is a relative term, for a student hobby organization, it's a lot, and I guess for small ham operators it is also moderately expensive. This may be a frequently asked topic: does any one have experienced with (tested) kit designs for AZ-EL rotors that can be made with parts from current suppliers ? I know there are a number of controller designs, but I am interested to know if there are any options for suppliers of the required gears/motors etc. I have located several large AC motors / DC motors at my university mechanical engineering workshop, but they are not all guaranteed the same specs. I now realize if I do embark on a actual design process with my model/simulation/hardware, it would be nice to build several of these all at once to share the development cost over the production run, and ensure those who want a cheap AZ-EL system can get one. Otherwise the production cost of one heavy duty system is going to be quite high. I hope some of you may have suggestions for me, both (+) and (-) or perhaps (~) in nature. I thought amsat / amateur radio folks have a common need to encourage homebrew activity to keep their brain cells in working condition? I'm opening this question up to the national US audience, and welcome any discussion on the challenges of making the ever-so-important azimuth-elevation rotor. I've studied some of the alternatives: Alliance U100 and Yaesu G-5500. I think we can do better in 2013. But ideally, to allow the wide adoption of AMSAT ground stations, what price point would the system have to be to make it worth building ? 73 de N3RDX George Washington University ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: inquiry about homebrew az-el systems
I think AMSAT-UK even has software available. And with the addition of a bit of EEPROM, you could even pre-load the controller with ephemeris data for several satellites for several days in advance. Emergency / field-day / portable operation without needing a computer. Add a bluetooth module and an Android app, and you could have an all singing, all dancing, full-featured satellite station in a briefcase. I'D buy one... On 02/23/2013 10:01 PM, Lizeth Norman wrote: Samudra and the gang, The bee's knees would be an Arduino Mega 2560 talking over one of it's serial ports to the pc. Using the output of the Orbitron (or insert your fave rave software here) DDE server to drive the microcontroller. There are enough digital/analog pins to drive/slave anything from there. Simple serial port setup. Repeatable. Extensible. The chip has several other HARDWARE (i.e has it's own hardware buffers for i/o) serial ports for more and more fun stuff. Have a look on youtube or google for code to drive steppers / selsyns.. Norm n3ykf ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Small satellites to be launched from military fighters
On 01/22/2013 05:09 AM, ka5...@tx.rr.com wrote: The satellites go by the acronym of SeeMe for Space Enabled Effects for Military Engagements Of course they do. They decided against Impossibly Delicate, Interesting Orbiting Technology in Space. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: G-5500 frozen
I got a flat-sided plastic dustbin deep enough to shield both AZ and EL rotors, when placed upside down over them. Two holes were cut and the cross-boom fed through. It is not enough to keep the rotors completely dry, but sufficient to keep 98% of the lashing, tropical deluge off. Added bonus: by tucking the AG-25/35 preamps right up under the AZ rotor, it offered them some protection as well. 73, de Gus 8P6SSM On 01/12/2013 02:40 PM, Bob- W7LRD wrote: For those waiting for the on going rotor drama at the LRD compound. Tipped tower over, removed all antennas, rotor etc. took in shop opened case, one big ice cube inside. The gears can not move through ice! I will clean it up, dry it out, does anyone have any experience with sealing this thing up, making gasket etc ? It is the Yaesu G-5500 elevation rotor. It does rain here a bit (Seattle) hihi 73 Bob W7LRD ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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 -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: North Korea
On 12/12/2012 12:30 AM, Ben Jackson wrote: PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – North American Aerospace Defense Command officials acknowledged today that U.S. missile warning systems detected and tracked the launch of a North Korean missile Just out of curiosity, when is the next US, Russian, European, Indian, Chinese or Japanese 'missile' going to be launched, carrying a payload into orbit? -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM Barbados, the easternmost isle. ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Orbitron help please
On 10/27/2012 07:31 PM, John Heath wrote: Hi All, Just updated keps for noaa weather satellites from Celestrak and find the the file contains mostltly birds that are no longer operational. How can I delete the unwanted birds. Using GNU grep 2.5.4 on Linux: grep -F -f wanted.sat -A 2 weather.txt use_this.tle The file 'wanted.sat' is a simple text file with a list of desired satellites, one per line. Example (using amateur satellites): 8-8-- OSCAR 7 EYESAT-1 JAS-2 PCSAT HAMSAT 8-8-- Grep picks any satellites that matches your listed names, and outputs the name and the two-line data immediately following. It adds a separator line between each, but I've never had a problem. AAMOF (and correct me if I'm wrong) but the TLE format is specifically supposed to ignore additional lines that don't conform to the TLE format. Not running Linux? Start today! ;-) Or, look for 'grep' for Windows here: http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/grep.htm -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: In space no one can hear you scream
On 10/26/2012 04:39 PM, Trevor . wrote: The UK STRaND-1 Nanosat being built by volunteers in Guildford will host a several Android Apps. One of the Apps was developed by Cambridge University Spaceflight, see http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=11267 Angry birds? -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: fund raising for Fox
On 10/20/2012 06:46 PM, K4FEG wrote: The fee schedule would be as follows: Members; $1.00 per post, Non-members; $1.50 per post, a monthly charge for members of $60.00 per month for unlimited posts for that month and non-members a monthly charge $100.00 for the same unlimited monthly posting. Then there could be an annual charge to members of $500.00 for 1 year of unlimited postings or for non-members an annual charge of $750.00 for unlimited postings. This begs the question (one that is of interest for more than this reason): Who is a member, as far as this list is concerned? I mean, would members of AMSAT-DL have to pay the member rate, or the non-member rate? AMSAT-UK? AMSAT-NZ? AMSAT-VK? CAMSAT? What if I form AMSAT-BB? I realize that the list is operated by AMSAT-NA, but it doesn't call itself the AMSAT-NA-BB. So is this list supposed to be for all AMSAT members, globally? Or are members of other AMSAT groups to consider themselves outsiders, from the point of view of posting privileges, fees, credibility, etc, etc? -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: CAS-2A1 and CAS-2A2 Linear Transponder Amateur Radio Satellites
On 10/18/2012 04:45 PM, Trevor . wrote: I like the look of these two satellites. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=11108 This pair would give a theoretical max comms distance of around 13,430 kliometers or 8,345 miles. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: OH2AUE P3E transponder demo video
On 10/18/2012 02:47 AM, Gordon JC Pearce wrote: On 18/10/12 03:28, Gus 8P6SM wrote: On 10/17/2012 05:38 PM, Gordon JC Pearce wrote: We're going to have to try coming up with clever satellites, rather than flying a bent-pipe box the size of a fridge. No-one is going to want to lift that, without us paying full price. I may not be 100% on the 'bent pipe' definition, but if it means hams 'talk' on the UP and other hams 'listens' on the DOWN, then that's what What I am referring to is linear transponders. They're heavy and consume a lot of power. We need to either devise a new way of doing that, that doesn't involve heavy inefficient linear amplifiers, or stick to something like FM or GMSK where a little lightweight PA that doesn't dissipate most of the input power as heat will do the job. A full-duty-cycle FM transponder that eats up the entire bandwidth of the satellite to allow a single ham to communicate strikes me as far less sensible than an efficient linear transponder that allows multiple simultaneous contacts and does not run the PA at full duty cycle. But never the less, I don't really care what the operating mode for communication is, so long as there actually *IS* an operating mode for communication. Satellites that DON'T allow hams to communicate are not of any interest to me, and (IMHO) are not relevant in any discussion of AMATEUR satellites. we need. Whether it be the size of a fridge of a matchbox, if ham radio operators can't use it to communicate, then it's pretty pointless. It If it's big it won't fly, unless you pay for the whole flight. Have you noticed how airlines have stopped carrying children for free, too? And most people have long ago stopped whining about it and now simply pay for their children to fly. So let's pay for a flight and stop whinging about how we can't get a free one. don't matter how much telemetry it sends, how many LEDs it blinks, how clever the beacons, or what purty pictures it downlinks. If hams can't use it to QSO, then why bother? It depends what you're trying to achieve. I'll respond to Domenico's comments here, too. Most satellites are not built by radio amateurs. They're not there so you can talk to your friends. They are built so the engineering students that will build the satellites and spacecraft of the future. Most satellites have nothing whatsoever to do with the engineering students of the future. But we don't get all goo-goo eyed over the launch of some military spy-sat because it has nothing to do with amateur radio. And neither do most of the cubesats. Like it or not, amateur radio is a secondary service on 70cm. We don't own that chunk of band. If you want to work a band free from beep sats, stick to 2m and good luck with your build. Uh-oh! As a recent posting leads us to understand, UMSATS TSat-1 uses 437 *and* 145 MHz amateur radio bands. Is the 2 meter band a secondary service as well? -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: shoe box sats
On 10/18/2012 06:55 AM, Nick Pugh wrote: I believe the amateur community is well served by the shoe box designers. If we want amateur payloads we should do 1. Have off the shelf radios in their form factor that are very cheap I agree. I'd even say very cheap as in completely free. 2. Be ready to mentors most school lack radio resources I agree again. Sign me up. 3. Team up with schools that are developing propulsion systems ( our ride to HEO) Three times is a charm! -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: CAS-2A1 and CAS-2A2 Linear Transponder Amateur Radio Satellites
On 10/18/2012 04:45 PM, Trevor . wrote: I like the look of these two satellites. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=11108 Me too! I especially like the idea of the 1260/2400 MHz transponder with 200 kHz of bandwidth! -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: LEO to HEO
On 10/18/2012 06:16 PM, STeve Andre' wrote: It absolutely could be done -- with the right amount of money. I'm not sure that a kick motor would ultimately be cheaper than a flight designed to get something into HEO, nor as safe. I think the problem with traditional kick motors is that they're big and heavy. Pretty much mandating a Fridge-Sat, not a Rubik-Sat. Other propulsion systems may be better suited to a small format. I wonder what would happen if you electrically detonated a large firearms cartridge in a small satellite. I mean, exactly how much of a 'kick' do you need to get a small satellite up to a reasonable height? Perhaps this is an experiment some university should conduct. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: OH2AUE P3E transponder demo video
On 10/17/2012 05:38 PM, Gordon JC Pearce wrote: We're going to have to try coming up with clever satellites, rather than flying a bent-pipe box the size of a fridge. No-one is going to want to lift that, without us paying full price. I may not be 100% on the 'bent pipe' definition, but if it means hams 'talk' on the UP and other hams 'listens' on the DOWN, then that's what we need. Whether it be the size of a fridge of a matchbox, if ham radio operators can't use it to communicate, then it's pretty pointless. It don't matter how much telemetry it sends, how many LEDs it blinks, how clever the beacons, or what purty pictures it downlinks. If hams can't use it to QSO, then why bother? -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM, Evil DXing ragchewer! ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: space rated thread lock
On 10/14/2012 10:23 PM, Howie DeFelice wrote: Can someone suggest a thread locking liquid that can be used in space and possibly a source. Not trying to be funny, but what about solder? Or some sort of adhesive like epoxy or CA? I mean, it's not like you're going to need to unfasten it (whatever) at some later date, right? -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: OH2AUE P3E transponder demo video
On 10/15/2012 05:55 PM, Clayton Coleman wrote: I don't agree with these elitist arguments for intentionally making things difficult. This anti-easy-sat mentality doesn't buy us anything. Let the dead horse decompose. I don't think anybody actually wants to make things deliberately harder. But hams have always pushed the boundaries. Going further with less power and less bandwidth. Fooling around with useless frequencies above 1 MHz. And so forth. And the satellite operator is no different. It may be easy to reliably work a future generation of satellites with an HT and a rubber duckie. But that won't be challenging. And we (the operators) won't be learning anything new. Driving innovation and spawning a new generation of experimenters is a more realistic vision. Create opportunities for people to step outside their box and homebrew equipment. That excites people. Which is a long way of saying I want hard sats! :-) -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: OH2AUE P3E transponder demo video
sound all that hard! -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Newbie in Satellite for Amateur Com
On 10/10/2012 02:19 AM, situs...@bshellz.net wrote: Hi, I'm a newbie for amateur satellite stuff, and I want to gain a deep knowledge and experience in it. It's very old and hard to find, but The Satellite Experimenters Handbook by Martin Davidoff K2UBC will give you fundamental knowledge on satellites, orbits, tracking, antennas, feedlines, etc. The book is old, but the laws of celestial mechanics haven't changed. I have a 2-meter band VHF transceiver handheld radio, and has 5 watt for the output power. Can I use the radio to communicate with any satellites that support VHF? You will need to operate on two bands, to work satellite. I can't think of any satellites offhand that operate on a single band. You will use one band to transmit TO the bird (uplink) and a separate band to receive sigs FROM the bird (downlink). Can you get some 70cm gear? If you can transmit/receive both VHF 2M and UHF 70cm, you can operate Mode-B (70cm UPlink and 2M DOWNlink) or Mode_J (2M UPlink and 70cm DOWNlink). Some birds operate FM, some use a linear transponder for use with CW/SSB. It's *possible* to run FM through a linear transponder but it's frowned upon because it hits the satellite batteries harder, not to mention bogarts the passband. Failing this, if you have an HF rig and know CW, you could try AO-7 via Mode-A (VHF 2M up, HF 10M down). Put a key across the PTT line of an FM rig, disconnect the mic (no modulation of the carrier) and you have a poor-man's CW rig on 2M. Listen to your sigs and hopefully a few replies on your HF rig. And please direct me to the resource that I need to start building my first small station. Thank you in advance. Well, once you have gear for two bands, you will need antennas. A rubber duckie is workable, but far from ideal. Popular these days are small, hand-held yagis, of various designs. But you could experiment with other designs, such as the quadrifilar helix, the turnstile, the lindenblad, and so forth. How do you wish to operate? Portable, from all over the place? From your own back yard? Out of your shack? -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: EU members - UHF contest tonight?
On 10/09/2012 04:13 PM, Andrew Glasbrenner wrote: Just now on AO-7 I heard a terrestrial station (DL on LSB) working a contest of some sort. He was pretty weak here, but thought I copied G4VF? His frequency would have been 432.160 or so. Always interesting hearing the unintentional sat ops...reminds me of RS-12/13. 73, Drew KO4MA I can recall (many years ago) during a perigee pass of AO-13 over SA, I could clearly hear SA stations working terrestrial UHF FM, mobile, with the satellite on the omni antennas. Perhaps I should have sent out QSL cards with SWL reports, just to encourage those operators to consider the possibility of raising their eyes above the horizon. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: [Bod] Experimental COMMERCIAL spacecraft on 2meters
On 10/03/2012 08:52 PM, Andrew Glasbrenner wrote: http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=220 And evidently coordinated by IARU! Sent from my iPhone On Oct 3, 2012, at 8:47 PM, Andrew Glasbrennerglasbren...@mindspring.com wrote: https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/els/reports/STA_Print.cfm?mode=currentapplication_seq=50076RequestTimeout=1000 Am I reading this right? A commercial s/c operating on 145.825 This is the camels nose under the tent, using our own packet network for automated telemetry? I can understand the uni cubesats on UHF, butthis is OUR primary allocation. We really need to protest this vehemently if they were approved. 73, Drew KO4MA Sent from my iPhone ___ Via the BOD mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/bod Seems like we're all about to receive an education! -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: maximum AO-7 distance
On 10/01/2012 02:47 AM, Bob- W7LRD wrote: to my AO-7 afictionados...what is the maximum distance one can work edge to edge, and how did you figure that out? 73 Bob W7LRD Maximum communications distance: MCD = 2 R arccos [ R / (R + h) ] where R = Radius of earth (Spherical earth: 6371 Km) h = Height at apogee (Eq 12.4, Sat. Experimenters Handbook 2nd Ed; Davidoff) All you need is the apogee height for the satellite in question, and a calculator. For AO-7 the apogee height USED to be 1460 Km, and probably hasn't altered much over the years. Therefore: MCD = 2 * 6371 * arccos [ 6371 / (6371 + 1460) ] = 12756 * arccos [ 6371 / 7831 ] = 12756 * arccos [ 0.8135614864 ] = 12756 * 0.620545318575 = 7915.7 Km (4918.59 miles) What is the official distance? With a good station, the non-spherical earth working for you at your QTH and hoping for some sub-horizon love, who knows? -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: maximum AO-7 distance
On 10/01/2012 02:47 AM, Bob- W7LRD wrote: to my AO-7 afictionados...what is the maximum distance one can work edge to edge, and how did you figure that out? 73 Bob W7LRD Did you spot the error in my math, deliberately made to test you? :) No? Well Steve did. Hard to believe I actually used a calculator and STILL got that multiplication wrong. Thanks, Steve! The correct calculations are: MCD = 2 * 6371 * arccos [ 6371 / (6371 + 1460) ] = 12742 * arccos [ 6371 / 7831 ] = 12742 * arccos [ 0.8135614864 ] = 12742 * 0.620545318575 = 7,906.98 Km (4913.16 miles) -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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: Launch Costs (was-re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol. 7, Issue 312)
On 09/26/2012 10:06 AM, Trevor . wrote: Ion motor, see http://www.uk.amsat.org//p=5153 This 404'd. -- 73, de Gus 8P6SM The Easternmost Isle ___ Sent via AMSAT-BB@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
