[amsat-bb] Re: Satellite Satire
At 11:57 AM 11/30/2011, Lowell White wrote: Please enlighten me if indeed there might be a way to get something up (and to stay up) more economically. Well, a bit of physics here. To get from the Earth's surface to LEO requires 10 km/S of delta-V. Even if you could get a payload to orbital altitude by some hypothetical means, you would still need to add 7.5km/S delta-V to bring it up to orbital velocity. From 30km (typical high altitude balloon), the requirement would be somewhere in between 7.5 and 10 km/S, which still means a considerable amount of fuel required. insertion? If the bird and booster weights were small enough, could a wx balloon lift them adequately? I suspect the rocket would still be very heavy. 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.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
[amsat-bb] Re: AO27 - Last Man Standing?
How strong is the birdie?...would not a nice 30dB gain preamp raise the incoming signals and noise level above it? just a thought:) 73 Graham G3VZV -Original Message- From: Ted Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 11:10 PM To: amsat...@wd9ewk.net ; amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO27 - Last Man Standing? Thanks Patrick...I just realized why I was not trying it. The downlink is right at my TS2000 birdie...oh well (as is AO27) TK -Original Message- From: amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 2:52 PM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO27 - Last Man Standing? Ted, With the demise of AO51, does this mean the only remaining FM sat in operation is AO27? There is also SO-50, which is still working. It takes a little more to hear its 250mW compared to AO-27 and (previously) AO-51, but it still works. Too many times in the past, SO-50 passes would be relatively quiet with few stations on compared to the busy passes on AO-27 and AO-51. With the unfortunate situation AO-51 is now in, maybe there will be an increase in activity on SO-50. (I thought I remembered seeing something here several months ago to the effect that the SO67 ops were trying to restart that one ??) That was correct, but there doesn't appear to be any new info on that front at the AMSAT SA web site http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ :-( Maybe one of our South African friends will be able to update us on the status of that satellite. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ ___ 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 ___ 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 Satire
On 30/11/11 01:46, Andy Kellner wrote: Hmm, unlikely I would say: A typical WX ballon goes up to about 30 km, maybe 50 km if you get a high performance one. You know, from 50km up you can see a fair chunk of the earth. While it might not be as cool as flying a satellite, a balloon-lofted repeater could be quite good fun. What next, though? Well, maybe a UAV-lofted repeater. I wonder how well a combination of a balloon for the heavy lifting with a UAV-based payload for station-keeping would work? -- Gordon JC Pearce MM0YEQ ___ 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] AO-51 End of Mission
If I may, in name of the Amateur Radio Satellite followers here in Puerto Rico, say thanks for the team and their efforts for maintaining as long as possible the operation of ECHO, nice little satellite which you know was on AOS by the fading of the noise. With it I could work from Brazil up to Canada withh all the limitations of a mountain to my north, even worked Drew on his Caribbean ventures. Field Days, JOTAS, special events and all, it gave us the taste to work fellow hams and different grids. And, I rarely used more than 1/2 watt for the QSO's. Gracias Echo de Angel Santana - WP3GW and fellow KP4s ___ 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: AO-51 end of mission
Made my first satellite contacts to K4DLG (SK), KD8CAO and N3TL in Oct of 2008 on AO-51. I have now logged 6007 contacts with 56.97% on AO-51, 28.9% on AO-27, 10.4% on SO-50.. the balance on HO-68, SO-67 and ISS. What a blast! If you can't find me ... I am probably outside trying to make a contact ... 73 from KC Gail - KB0RZD ___ 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 Satire
--- On Wed, 30/11/11, Gordon JC Pearce gordon...@gjcp.net wrote: You know, from 50km up you can see a fair chunk of the earth. While it might not be as cool as flying a satellite, a balloon-lofted repeater could be quite good fun. What next, though? Well, maybe a UAV-lofted repeater. I wonder how well a combination of a balloon for the heavy lifting with a UAV-based payload for station-keeping would work? I believe there are problems with maintaining a High Altitude Platform in position above 25 km. Current research is based on platforms between 17 and 22 km high. At that height they could provide coverage over a radius of up to 500 km. In the UK we have the drawback that aeronautical amateur radio systems are not permitted by our regulator. http://www.elec.york.ac.uk/research/comms/haps.html http://www.port.ac.uk/research/telecoms/researchareas/satellitecommunications/highaltitudeplatformnetworks/ 73 Trevor M5AKA ___ 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 Satire
On Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 08:20:11PM +1100, Tony Langdon wrote: At 11:57 AM 11/30/2011, Lowell White wrote: Please enlighten me if indeed there might be a way to get something up (and to stay up) more economically. Well, a bit of physics here. To get from the Earth's surface to LEO requires 10 km/S of delta-V. Even if you could get a payload to It is an old old idea . for one link http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/rockoon.htm I see WB8ELK has been doing it too http://hiwaay.net/~bbrown/ Still, getting the right ratio of balloon/rocket is a problem. Getting the delta V into LEO is still going to be very hard. 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com - 73 Diane VA3DB -- - d...@freebsd.org d...@db.net http://www.db.net/~db Why leave money to our children if we don't leave them the Earth? ___ 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: AO-51 end of mission
Hello I was a hardcore user of AO-13 back when I was in Puerto Rico, but AO-51 was my favorite satellite mostly brcause it was easy to work and did it from my car. Most of my QSO on it was on my drive back home from work. And it was fun to do. So sad to see it go, but it was fun and the memories and stories will be around for many years. Sent from my Adobe Flash and Java challenged iPhone On Nov 30, 2011, at 7:35 AM, Gail A Mcdaniel gmcd...@sbcglobal.net wrote: Made my first satellite contacts to K4DLG (SK), KD8CAO and N3TL in Oct of 2008 on AO-51. I have now logged 6007 contacts with 56.97% on AO-51, 28.9% on AO-27, 10.4% on SO-50.. the balance on HO-68, SO-67 and ISS. What a blast! If you can't find me ... I am probably outside trying to make a contact ... 73 from KC Gail - KB0RZD ___ 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: AO27 - Last Man Standing?
Unfortunately, no. The birdie wipes out the signal once it gets close to that frequency. Others have suggested using narrow FM, RIT, etc., but my TS2K with a good mast mounted preamp and M2 switchable polarization yagi antenna is no match for it. The easiest way to get around it, is to use one of the many inexpensive Chinese handhelds as the UHF receiver. 73 de Sebastian, W4AS On Nov 30, 2011, at 5:28 AM, g.shirvi...@btinternet.com g.shirvi...@btinternet.com wrote: How strong is the birdie?...would not a nice 30dB gain preamp raise the incoming signals and noise level above it? just a thought:) 73 Graham G3VZV -Original Message- From: Ted Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 11:10 PM To: amsat...@wd9ewk.net ; amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO27 - Last Man Standing? Thanks Patrick...I just realized why I was not trying it. The downlink is right at my TS2000 birdie...oh well (as is AO27) ___ 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 Satire
On Wed, Nov 30, 2011 at 11:40:44AM +, Gordon JC Pearce wrote: On 30/11/11 01:46, Andy Kellner wrote: Hmm, unlikely I would say: A typical WX ballon goes up to about 30 km, maybe 50 km if you get a high performance one. You know, from 50km up you can see a fair chunk of the earth. While it might not be as cool as flying a satellite, a balloon-lofted repeater could be quite good fun. What next, though? Well, maybe a UAV-lofted repeater. I wonder how well a combination of a balloon for the heavy lifting with a UAV-based payload for station-keeping would work? Gordon knows as well as I do, (Hi Gordon!) the military have been doing this for years. The commercial companies have been exploring this as well for some uses, why not amateurs? (Do a quick websearch for communications blimps) Using model aircraft electric motors and solar cells it might be possible to build something that would stay up a few months at a time that might be within reach for a club. Anyone here run the numbers already? I wonder what the civian aviation regs would be like too. ;-) -- Gordon JC Pearce MM0YEQ - 73 Diane VA3DB -- - d...@freebsd.org d...@db.net http://www.db.net/~db Why leave money to our children if we don't leave them the Earth? ___ 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] TS-2000 birdie
The easiest way to get around it, is to use one of the many inexpensive Chinese handhelds as the UHF receiver. I know at least one station is using a hamtronics 70cm to 10m converter, and listening via 10m. You can even setup SatPC32 to tune it correctly. 73, Drew KO4MA ___ 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 Satire
On 30/11/11 13:34, Trevor . wrote: Current research is based on platforms between 17 and 22 km high. At that height they could provide coverage over a radius of up to 500 km. Roughly equivalent to NVIS HF communications, then. In the UK we have the drawback that aeronautical amateur radio systems are not permitted by our regulator. Ah, but there you are making the assumption that we'd tell them what we were going to do! This is the classic mistake when dealing with Ofcom or anyone else for that matter. If Ofcom are going to get upset about airborne repeaters, then maybe before they get too involved in that they should turn their attention to some of the noisy idiots on the terrestrial ones. -- Gordon JC Pearce MM0YEQ ___ 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] It's amazing!
Check this offer, whenever u get a chance http://pandasnap.com/inf.php Hope u like it :) ___ 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 Satire
Gordon, There are at least two groups that know of that launch High altitude balloons with amateur payloads. I just joined one: Arizona Near Space Research. http://www.ansr.org/ The other s in Colorado, not sure of the organization's name though. The balloons typically reach 90-100K feet in altitude and carry a Crossband repeater and several other payloads, including APRS Digipeaters SSTV. The footprint is about 300 Miles at burst altitude. I made several contacts during ANSR-65 a few weeks back. Hopefully time will allow me to participate in the next launch. Clear Skies Rick Tejera Saguaro Astronomy Club Phoenix, Arizona www.saguaroastro.org saguaroas...@cox.net K7TEJ, AMSAT 38452 -Original Message- From: amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Gordon JC Pearce Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 4:41 To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Satellite Satire On 30/11/11 01:46, Andy Kellner wrote: Hmm, unlikely I would say: A typical WX ballon goes up to about 30 km, maybe 50 km if you get a high performance one. You know, from 50km up you can see a fair chunk of the earth. While it might not be as cool as flying a satellite, a balloon-lofted repeater could be quite good fun. What next, though? Well, maybe a UAV-lofted repeater. I wonder how well a combination of a balloon for the heavy lifting with a UAV-based payload for station-keeping would work? -- Gordon JC Pearce MM0YEQ ___ 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] TS2000 ~436.798 MHz Birdie Solution
As many of you know, my satellite radio is a TS2000X. If you have visited my satellite webpage, you have seen many recordings of AO-27 and SO50 from AOS to LOS. Most of these recordings were made when I was not sitting in front of the radio. At first I used a uhf mobile to hear AO-27 and SO-50. The problem was that those radios were not computer controlled so you had to tune for the doppler. That worked fine when I was in the shack, but it didn't work when I was away. The obvious solution was another radio that didn't have the birdie problem, or a simple UHF to 10M downconverter which wouldn't have the birdie problem. Back in the day, UHF and VHF down- converters were very popular because we didn't have a lot of DC to Light radios out there. Now these converters are sitting in junk boxes and are long forgotten by their owners. One of the more popular manufacturers of these inexpensive downconverters was Hamtronics. They made all kinds of stuff for repeaters etc. At first their products were not that great, but they evolved into some better designs including their UHF to 10m downconverters. Unfortunately most downconverter manufacturers stopped making them when the devices they were using became obsolete and unavailable. The use of current production devices required a redesign of their PC boards and since the demand was no longer there, these products were abandoned. I was fortunate to find a Hamtronics converter on a qrz.com posting from several years back. It never sold back then and the owner still had it. I purchased it and ran some tests on it against the receiver in the TS2000. It turned out that the downconverter had a slightly better sensitivity than the TS2000! The big concern when using a converter or preamp is the fear of transmitting into it and smoking the front end. But the TS2000 has an auxiliary antenna jack which is receive only and perfect for a downconverter output on HF. As Drew mentioned, SatPC32 can compensate for a downconverter and tune the TS2000 for doppler in the 10m band. This allowed me to track AO-27 AO-51 and SO-50 unattended and make all those recordings without any human intervention. A coaxial transfer relay was inserted into the uhf antenna line so that when the converter was in use, the UHF antenna was switched to the downconverter input (which outputs to the aux antenna jack on the TS2000) and the UHF antenna jack on the TS2000 is switched to a dummy load. So if you transmit on UHF, power goes into the dummy load and all equipment is safe. When I want to transmit on UHF (VO-52 and AO-7 mode B), the coax relay switches the UHF antenna back to the UHF antenna port on the TS2000. The downconverter is out of the antenna circuit at this point. I did not use the downconverter when operating on FO-29 so the aux antenna jack had to be switched to normal in the tS2000, menu #18 (FO-29 is a linear bird that outputs on UHF, currently not working). Every owner of a TS2000 that operates satellites needs a UHF to 10M downconverter. Hamtronics is making a VHF to 10M downconverter now. If everyone emailed them to encourage them to make a UHF model, they might just do it. The only other solution is to make one yourself, or find a used downconverter or transverter that is gathering dust on someone's shelf. I now have an IC910H and am doing comparisons against the TS2000. My first impression it that I prefer the TS2000 but that might be because I'm so familiar with it. I use another TS2000 in the mobile sat truck but don't have a downconverter for it. I simply use a uhf mobile for receive on AO-27 and SO-50 since I'm in front of the radio and don't run it unattended. I have a coax switch to switch the UHF antenna from the TS2000 to the UHF mobile. Now that AO-51 is silent, all of the FM operation is on SO-50 and AO-27. If you have a TS2000, you'll want to investigate the use of a downconverter. 73, John K8YSE ___ 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 Satire
Hi! There are at least two groups that know of that launch High altitude balloons with amateur payloads. I just joined one: Arizona Near Space Research. http://www.ansr.org/ The other s in Colorado, not sure of the organization's name though. Edge of Space Sciences. http://www.eoss.org/ The balloons typically reach 90-100K feet in altitude and carry a Crossband repeater and several other payloads, including APRS Digipeaters SSTV. The footprint is about 300 Miles at burst altitude. Actually, the footprint has a diameter of several hundred miles. For the ANSR launches from locations in central Arizona, the footprints easily cover almost all of Arizona along with portions of several neighboring states and northwestern Mexico. The following link is a bit old, but the coverage maps at different altitudes are still good and show this better than a text description: http://balloon.wd9ewk.net/ 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ ___ 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 Satire
Thanks for filling in the holes, Patrick. I'll see you Saturday at the hamfest. 73 Clear Skies Rick Tejera Saguaro Astronomy Club Phoenix, Arizona www.saguaroastro.org saguaroas...@cox.net K7TEJ, AMSAT 38452 -Original Message- From: amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org] On Behalf Of Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 8:55 To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Satellite Satire Hi! There are at least two groups that know of that launch High altitude balloons with amateur payloads. I just joined one: Arizona Near Space Research. http://www.ansr.org/ The other s in Colorado, not sure of the organization's name though. Edge of Space Sciences. http://www.eoss.org/ The balloons typically reach 90-100K feet in altitude and carry a Crossband repeater and several other payloads, including APRS Digipeaters SSTV. The footprint is about 300 Miles at burst altitude. Actually, the footprint has a diameter of several hundred miles. For the ANSR launches from locations in central Arizona, the footprints easily cover almost all of Arizona along with portions of several neighboring states and northwestern Mexico. The following link is a bit old, but the coverage maps at different altitudes are still good and show this better than a text description: http://balloon.wd9ewk.net/ 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ ___ 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: TS2000 ~436.798 MHz Birdie Solution
Hi John, Thanks for writing that up. With a simple diagram, it would make an excellent Journal article (hint hint). I should also point out that High Sierra Microwave makes a UHF to HF converter, the 435M7 near the bottom of the page at http://www.hsmicrowave.com/page12.html . It outputs to 10 to 13 Mhz, but that should be no different than 10m for newer rigs like the TS-2000. The noise figure looks really good, and I expect the quality to be much better than the Hamtronics. The owner is a big AMSAT supporter too. 73, Drew KO4MA -Original Message- From: John Papay j...@papays.com Sent: Nov 30, 2011 10:49 AM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] TS2000 ~436.798 MHz Birdie Solution As many of you know, my satellite radio is a TS2000X. If you have visited my satellite webpage, you have seen many recordings of AO-27 and SO50 from AOS to LOS. Most of these recordings were made when I was not sitting in front of the radio. At first I used a uhf mobile to hear AO-27 and SO-50. The problem was that those radios were not computer controlled so you had to tune for the doppler. That worked fine when I was in the shack, but it didn't work when I was away. The obvious solution was another radio that didn't have the birdie problem, or a simple UHF to 10M downconverter which wouldn't have the birdie problem. Back in the day, UHF and VHF down- converters were very popular because we didn't have a lot of DC to Light radios out there. Now these converters are sitting in junk boxes and are long forgotten by their owners. One of the more popular manufacturers of these inexpensive downconverters was Hamtronics. They made all kinds of stuff for repeaters etc. At first their products were not that great, but they evolved into some better designs including their UHF to 10m downconverters. Unfortunately most downconverter manufacturers stopped making them when the devices they were using became obsolete and unavailable. The use of current production devices required a redesign of their PC boards and since the demand was no longer there, these products were abandoned. I was fortunate to find a Hamtronics converter on a qrz.com posting from several years back. It never sold back then and the owner still had it. I purchased it and ran some tests on it against the receiver in the TS2000. It turned out that the downconverter had a slightly better sensitivity than the TS2000! The big concern when using a converter or preamp is the fear of transmitting into it and smoking the front end. But the TS2000 has an auxiliary antenna jack which is receive only and perfect for a downconverter output on HF. As Drew mentioned, SatPC32 can compensate for a downconverter and tune the TS2000 for doppler in the 10m band. This allowed me to track AO-27 AO-51 and SO-50 unattended and make all those recordings without any human intervention. A coaxial transfer relay was inserted into the uhf antenna line so that when the converter was in use, the UHF antenna was switched to the downconverter input (which outputs to the aux antenna jack on the TS2000) and the UHF antenna jack on the TS2000 is switched to a dummy load. So if you transmit on UHF, power goes into the dummy load and all equipment is safe. When I want to transmit on UHF (VO-52 and AO-7 mode B), the coax relay switches the UHF antenna back to the UHF antenna port on the TS2000. The downconverter is out of the antenna circuit at this point. I did not use the downconverter when operating on FO-29 so the aux antenna jack had to be switched to normal in the tS2000, menu #18 (FO-29 is a linear bird that outputs on UHF, currently not working). Every owner of a TS2000 that operates satellites needs a UHF to 10M downconverter. Hamtronics is making a VHF to 10M downconverter now. If everyone emailed them to encourage them to make a UHF model, they might just do it. The only other solution is to make one yourself, or find a used downconverter or transverter that is gathering dust on someone's shelf. I now have an IC910H and am doing comparisons against the TS2000. My first impression it that I prefer the TS2000 but that might be because I'm so familiar with it. I use another TS2000 in the mobile sat truck but don't have a downconverter for it. I simply use a uhf mobile for receive on AO-27 and SO-50 since I'm in front of the radio and don't run it unattended. I have a coax switch to switch the UHF antenna from the TS2000 to the UHF mobile. Now that AO-51 is silent, all of the FM operation is on SO-50 and AO-27. If you have a TS2000, you'll want to investigate the use of a downconverter. 73, John K8YSE ___ 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.
[amsat-bb] FO29 status
Is there any hope for FO29 to come back to life, or is it dead for good? It was the only linear Mode J, and would be great to come back to life. 73s John AA5JG ___ 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: TS2000 ~436.798 MHz Birdie Solution
Hi John, I had heard of the down converter solution before and purchased a used down converter. Unfortunately it seemed to pick up the TS- 2000 bird nearly as well as the TS-2000. I just lashed the setup together so maybe taking more care to isolate the converter from the TS-2000 might improve my results. I'll have to give it a try again. Mike kc9doa On 30 Nov 2011 at 10:49, John Papay wrote: As many of you know, my satellite radio is a TS2000X. If you have visited my satellite webpage, you have seen many recordings of AO-27 and SO50 from AOS to LOS. Most of these recordings were made when I was not sitting in front of the radio. At first I used a uhf mobile to hear AO-27 and SO-50. The problem was that those radios were not computer controlled so you had to tune for the doppler. That worked fine when I was in the shack, but it didn't work when I was away. The obvious solution was another radio that didn't have the birdie problem, or a simple UHF to 10M downconverter which wouldn't have the birdie problem. Back in the day, UHF and VHF down- converters were very popular because we didn't have a lot of DC to Light radios out there. Now these converters are sitting in junk boxes and are long forgotten by their owners. One of the more popular manufacturers of these inexpensive downconverters was Hamtronics. They made all kinds of stuff for repeaters etc. At first their products were not that great, but they evolved into some better designs including their UHF to 10m downconverters. Unfortunately most downconverter manufacturers stopped making them when the devices they were using became obsolete and unavailable. The use of current production devices required a redesign of their PC boards and since the demand was no longer there, these products were abandoned. I was fortunate to find a Hamtronics converter on a qrz.com posting from several years back. It never sold back then and the owner still had it. I purchased it and ran some tests on it against the receiver in the TS2000. It turned out that the downconverter had a slightly better sensitivity than the TS2000! The big concern when using a converter or preamp is the fear of transmitting into it and smoking the front end. But the TS2000 has an auxiliary antenna jack which is receive only and perfect for a downconverter output on HF. As Drew mentioned, SatPC32 can compensate for a downconverter and tune the TS2000 for doppler in the 10m band. This allowed me to track AO-27 AO-51 and SO-50 unattended and make all those recordings without any human intervention. A coaxial transfer relay was inserted into the uhf antenna line so that when the converter was in use, the UHF antenna was switched to the downconverter input (which outputs to the aux antenna jack on the TS2000) and the UHF antenna jack on the TS2000 is switched to a dummy load. So if you transmit on UHF, power goes into the dummy load and all equipment is safe. When I want to transmit on UHF (VO-52 and AO-7 mode B), the coax relay switches the UHF antenna back to the UHF antenna port on the TS2000. The downconverter is out of the antenna circuit at this point. I did not use the downconverter when operating on FO-29 so the aux antenna jack had to be switched to normal in the tS2000, menu #18 (FO-29 is a linear bird that outputs on UHF, currently not working). Every owner of a TS2000 that operates satellites needs a UHF to 10M downconverter. Hamtronics is making a VHF to 10M downconverter now. If everyone emailed them to encourage them to make a UHF model, they might just do it. The only other solution is to make one yourself, or find a used downconverter or transverter that is gathering dust on someone's shelf. I now have an IC910H and am doing comparisons against the TS2000. My first impression it that I prefer the TS2000 but that might be because I'm so familiar with it. I use another TS2000 in the mobile sat truck but don't have a downconverter for it. I simply use a uhf mobile for receive on AO-27 and SO-50 since I'm in front of the radio and don't run it unattended. I have a coax switch to switch the UHF antenna from the TS2000 to the UHF mobile. Now that AO-51 is silent, all of the FM operation is on SO-50 and AO-27. If you have a TS2000, you'll want to investigate the use of a downconverter. 73, John K8YSE ___ 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: FO29 status
It has been revived before, when the solar illumination percentages get better. 73, Drew -Original Message- From: John Geiger aa...@fidmail.com Sent: Nov 30, 2011 12:10 PM To: AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] FO29 status Is there any hope for FO29 to come back to life, or is it dead for good? It was the only linear Mode J, and would be great to come back to life. 73s John AA5JG ___ 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: FO29 status
- Original Message - From: John Geiger aa...@fidmail.com To: AMSAT-BB amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 6:10 PM Subject: [amsat-bb] FO29 status Is there any hope for FO29 to come back to life, or is it dead for good? It was the only linear Mode J, and would be great to come back to life. 73s John AA5JG Hi John, AA5JG FO29 is not the only linear mode satellite and you can actually use OSCAR-7 and VO52 in Mode-B with great signals in 2 meters. Day after yesterday on the ascending orbit Nr 35527 I was in contact with IW6OVD chatting in SSB for 12 minutes only with him the full orbit like on the telephone. IW6OVD posted a mp3 file of the above QSO at the following address: http://hamradio.selfip.com/iw6ovd/VO-52.mp3 If you haven't worked either of these two historic satellites,AO7 and VO52, do it NOW! 73 de i8CVS Domenico ___ 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] IC-9100 with SatPC32
I'm just getting started setting up my IC-9100. I tried to control it with SatPC32 last night via the USB cable.I couldn't get this to work. I'm seeing the virtual comports in WIN7 device manager, but SatPC32 doesn't work at all with them. The USB port works fine with the RT systems memory programming s/w so I'm assuming my Icom drivers are installed and working correctly. My question, does anyone have the 9100 working with SatPC32 via the USB cable? Or do I have to use the CI-V cable for radio control? 73 Jeff kb2m ___ 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] TS2000 Birdie Follow-Up
KC9DOA mentions that he still had the birdie problem with a downconverter and that is understandable. The TS2000 radiates the birdie and if your downconverter is not shielded or the UHF antenna is too close to the radio, you might still pick it up. Simple experimentation will find the right combination to virtually eliminate the birdie. So try a UHF handi or mobile unit and see if it hears the birdie on 436.798. Then move things around to see if you can minimize the effect. I've been able to do that in the sat truck and don't have the problem at the base station. Try a dummy load on the UHF antenna jack on the TS2000 as well. Use quality coax with good shielding. Drew posted a link to High Sierra Microwave for a UHF down- converter that is up-to-date in design and performance, all at a reasonable price. The specs call for a 5v supply but Bill N6GHZ advised that the converter will operate fine up to 16vdc input. No special supply required. He also mentioned that the converter will perform well from 432 to 438 MHz. So this is one possible source of a current production downconverter manufactured by someone who knows satellites. The output IF is lower but the TS2000 receiver is continuous so there should be no problem. Instead of a 407MHz offset, use 425MHz and the receiver shifts down to 10MHz for a 435MHz input: doppler.sqf entry: AO-27,436795,145850,FM,FM,NOR,425000,0 I've not seen a whole lot mentioned about the Funcube performance when connected to a big antenna in a crowded RF environment. I've had mine on the KLM's and the performance is poor because of overload. Cavity filters work wonders but not everyone has them. High Sierra also makes front end filters and filter/LNA combinations for the Funcube as well as other products which make the Funcube more versatile. It's worth checking out the webpage to see what is available. 73, John K8YSE ___ 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: ARISSat-1 (37772) decay
Hi John, A 100 % correlation between the decay rate and the daily solar flux values is not to be expected. But there is a relation with the longer term average solar flux values. Furthermore, not only the solar flux (actually the UV radiation levels) but also variations in the solar wind, in combination with the polarity of the interplanetary magnetic field, influence the decay rate. 73, Nico PA0DLO On 2011-11-28 23:11, John Heath wrote: Hi Nico, Good to see postings on this topic. I plotted daily change in Mean Motion, and then plotted Solar Flux for the same period. (15days). It'snot obvious from the shapes of the two graphs that SF is producing the daily variation. I tried the correlation function in Excel which returned a figure of -0.54 for the two data sets. ( 1= perfect correlation) Fairly new to orbital decay predictions so would be interested in any comments you may have, or anyone else on the list who is knowledeable on this subject. 73 John G7HIA From: Nico Janssenham...@xs4all.nl To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Monday, 28 November 2011, 20:36 Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: ARISSat-1 (37772) decay Hi, With its relatively high area to mass ratio, ARISSat 1 is quite sensitive to space weather changes. In the past two weeks solar flux values have been relatively low, around 140, while they were around 180 in the weeks before. Also there have not been any magnetic storms. As a result of this low solar activity, the expected decay date of ARISSat 1 has now slipped to the end of December. My current prediction is 27 December. But if solar activity stays at these low levels, the decay date will even shift into early January. So it is still too early to make any sensible predictions. 73, Nico PA0DLO On 2011-11-18 15:05, Nico Janssen wrote: Hi, So far all my analyses of the evolution of the orbit of ARISSat 1 have resulted in a predicted decay date sometime in December 2011. Actually my current predicted decay date for this satellite is December 17. Obviously it depends very much on how solar activity develops in the coming weeks. So now we have seen decay predictions ranging from December 2011 to April 2012. Let's see how we converge to the actual decay date. 73, Nico PA0DLO ___ 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 ___ 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: TS2000 ~436.798 MHz Birdie Solution
John's solution is also one I have used for years: feeding a separate signal into the receive-only HF input on the TS-2000. I ran this way on AO-40 as well, taking the 2m signal from the atenna-mounted downconverter and running it through a Hamtronics 2m-10m converter to both the TS-2000 and another 10 m rig to independantly monitor the beacon (very handy). Elegant: no relays, and no danger of ever tranmitting into it. I still have the Hamtronics converter, now installed in my truck, so I could work the S-band downink from AO-51 on my FT-100. For the birdie problem, I used to be able to tune around it with the big antennas and Landwehr preamp I had at my old QTH (circa 2000-2003). Seriously--if you have enough signal gain, you can tune above it and then below it and overpower the damn thing. My setup is more modest now, so I simply connect an HT for the ocassional AO-27 pass. For SO-50, I find you can tune below the signal and work most of the pass (except when it is approaching you on a high elevation pass). Obviously, you can't use computer control for the receive signal on these two birds. I have had this rig since November of 2000 and found no other serious complaints (except it only has one PC port--but that is another discussion). 73, Jerry, K5OE -- John, K8YSE posted: As many of you know, my satellite radio is a TS2000X. If you have visited my satellite webpage, you have seen many recordings of AO-27 and SO50 from AOS to LOS. Most of these recordings were made when I was not sitting in front of the radio. At first I used a uhf mobile to hear AO-27 and SO-50. The problem was that those radios were not computer controlled so you had to tune for the doppler. That worked fine when I was in the shack, but it didn't work when I was away. The obvious solution was another radio that didn't have the birdie problem, or a simple UHF to 10M downconverter which wouldn't have the birdie problem. Back in the day, UHF and VHF down- converters were very popular because we didn't have a lot of DC to Light radios out there. Now these converters are sitting in junk boxes and are long forgotten by their owners. One of the more popular manufacturers of these inexpensive downconverters was Hamtronics. They made all kinds of stuff for repeaters etc. At first their products were not that great, but they evolved into some better designs including their UHF to 10m downconverters. Unfortunately most downconverter manufacturers stopped making them when the devices they were using became obsolete and unavailable. The use of current production devices required a redesign of their PC boards and since the demand was no longer there, these products were abandoned. I was fortunate to find a Hamtronics converter on a qrz.com posting from several years back. It never sold back then and the owner still had it. I purchased it and ran some tests on it against the receiver in the TS2000. It turned out that the downconverter had a slightly better sensitivity than the TS2000! The big concern when using a converter or preamp is the fear of transmitting into it and smoking the front end. But the TS2000 has an auxiliary antenna jack which is receive only and perfect for a downconverter output on HF. As Drew mentioned, SatPC32 can compensate for a downconverter and tune the TS2000 for doppler in the 10m band. This allowed me to track AO-27 AO-51 and SO-50 unattended and make all those recordings without any human intervention. A coaxial transfer relay was inserted into the uhf antenna line so that when the converter was in use, the UHF antenna was switched to the downconverter input (which outputs to the aux antenna jack on the TS2000) and the UHF antenna jack on the TS2000 is switched to a dummy load. So if you transmit on UHF, power goes into the dummy load and all equipment is safe. When I want to transmit on UHF (VO-52 and AO-7 mode B), the coax relay switches the UHF antenna back to the UHF antenna port on the TS2000. The downconverter is out of the antenna circuit at this point. I did not use the downconverter when operating on FO-29 so the aux antenna jack had to be switched to normal in the tS2000, menu #18 (FO-29 is a linear bird that outputs on UHF, currently not working). Every owner of a TS2000 that operates satellites needs a UHF to 10M downconverter. Hamtronics is making a VHF to 10M downconverter now. If everyone emailed them to encourage them to make a UHF model, they might just do it. The only other solution is to make one yourself, or find a used downconverter or transverter that is gathering dust on someone's shelf. I now have an IC910H and am doing comparisons against the TS2000. My first impression it that I prefer the TS2000 but that might be because I'm so familiar with it. I use another TS2000 in the mobile sat truck but don't have a downconverter for it. I simply use a uhf
[amsat-bb] Re: Satellite Satire
At 02:19 AM 12/1/2011, Gordon JC Pearce wrote: On 30/11/11 13:34, Trevor . wrote: Current research is based on platforms between 17 and 22 km high. At that height they could provide coverage over a radius of up to 500 km. Roughly equivalent to NVIS HF communications, then. One of those over SE Australia would be a very interesting proposition - a repeater that could potentially cover all of one state, parts of 3 others and the ACT. :) In other parts of the country, you'd get lightly used rural repeaters, which could be useful for travellers. Wondor how much one of those could be put up for. 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.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
[amsat-bb] Re: Satellite Satire
At 02:28 AM 12/1/2011, Rick Tejera wrote: Gordon, There are at least two groups that know of that launch High altitude balloons with amateur payloads. I just joined one: Arizona Near Space Research. http://www.ansr.org/ High altitude balloons are fun. There's a group here that launches them as well from Adelaide. Had fun when they installed a crossband repeater on one of their balloons. Also had a go at decoding telemetry, but being on the edge of the footprint and with small antennas, I haven't had much luck with telemetry. :( 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.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
[amsat-bb] ARISSat-1 Orbital Decay
Hi Satelliters, Using Keps from Space-Track for ARISSat-1 (37772) I have been plotting various parameters including Mean Motion. Rrecent results were unexpected. From day 328to 334 the daily change in Mean Motion has been exactly the same. The orbital decay is going at a very steady rate. This is completely different from earlier observations where there is quite a bit of daily variation. My interpretation is that the atmospheric density along the orbital track has been remarkably unchanged over 6 days or so. This is something I have not seen before. 73 John G7HIA ___ 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] Fw: ARRISat-1/RADIOSKAF-V/KEDR
Again nothing heard from ARISSAT-1 on the Nov 30 13:43 Z pass. I will be observing the 13:59 Cincinnati pass on Thursday Dec 1. I believe it may be out of eclipse long enough to be active. If so, I will be listening, looking on 145.930 and trying to send SSTV, on 435.750. Hope many others will also try. Tx and Rx of SSTV has been demonstrated a couple of times through the Transponder even with its shortened antenna and I believe with persistence can be done again. This is the last, possible active, useable pass for my area until mid December. I will be back Dec 18 if ARISSat-1 is still in orbit. Please report any thing received Dec 1. Thanks Farrell Winder, W8ZCF Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2011 10:41 AM To: AMSAT Subject: Fw: ARRISat-1/RADIOSKAF-V/KEDR Nothing heard from ARISSat-1 this AM 15:04 Z Nov 29.. Did anyone hear signals from 145.930 or 145.950? Pass was very short over Cincinnati this AM and El only 2 deg.. Will try again Wednesday Nov 30 at 13:43 Z but believe eclipse will prohibit sat to be active. From: Farrell Winder Sent: Monday, November 28, 2011 1:16 PM To: AMSAT Subject: Fw: ARRISat-1/RADIOSKAF-V/KEDR No success today Nov 28. Will set up again tomorrow Tuesday Nov 29 for the AOS 15: 04 Z Cincinnati pass. From: Farrell Winder Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2011 7:31 PM To: AMSAT Subject: ARRISat-1/RADIOSKAF-V/KEDR All, With the research and recent heads up by Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL, Allan Biddle, WA4SCA and Clint Bradford, KCLCS it appears there may be only a few weeks left to receive and experiment with ARISSat-1/RADIOSKAF-V. On Monday Nov 28 I will be set up to receive voice, CW and SSTV via the transponder on 145.930 MHz +/- doppler. This will be on the AOS starting at 14:47 Z pass over Cincinnati. This pass may be too soon after the eclipse so the sat may not be activated. If it is active, I will try to send a couple of SSTV R36 transmissions. I will be listening and looking for others to send also. Farrell Winder, W8ZCF Cincinnati, Ohio. ___ 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] ARISSat-1 (37772) decay date update for 2011 Nov. 30th
Greetings, Using solar data through 2011 Nov. 30 and updating the decay fit I am getting a re-entry date of 2012 January 12 with a rule-of-thumb error estimate of +/- 10 days or so for ARRISSat-1 (37772). Regards, Jim, N8OQ ___ 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: TS2000 Birdie Follow-Up
I have used a HamTronics downconverter on my TS-2000x for many years, and it works perfect. But, to be clear, I am downconverting the UHF signal into the receive ONLY jack of the radio, on 10 meters. This virtually eliminates the birdie problem, and allows for full rig control with SatPC32 just perfectly. I have a coax switch on the UHF antenna, for when I need to work the UHF birds that do not have an output on the birdie freq. Sadly that it cost about $100.00 to resolve the issue, but that's a small price to pay to still be able to use all the other features of the radio. Walter/K5WH -Original Message- From: amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org [mailto:amsat-bb-boun...@amsat.org] On Behalf Of John Papay Sent: Wednesday, November 30, 2011 1:13 PM To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] TS2000 Birdie Follow-Up KC9DOA mentions that he still had the birdie problem with a downconverter and that is understandable. The TS2000 radiates the birdie and if your downconverter is not shielded or the UHF antenna is too close to the radio, you might still pick it up. Simple experimentation will find the right combination to virtually eliminate the birdie. So try a UHF handi or mobile unit and see if it hears the birdie on 436.798. Then move things around to see if you can minimize the effect. I've been able to do that in the sat truck and don't have the problem at the base station. Try a dummy load on the UHF antenna jack on the TS2000 as well. Use quality coax with good shielding. Drew posted a link to High Sierra Microwave for a UHF down- converter that is up-to-date in design and performance, all at a reasonable price. The specs call for a 5v supply but Bill N6GHZ advised that the converter will operate fine up to 16vdc input. No special supply required. He also mentioned that the converter will perform well from 432 to 438 MHz. So this is one possible source of a current production downconverter manufactured by someone who knows satellites. The output IF is lower but the TS2000 receiver is continuous so there should be no problem. Instead of a 407MHz offset, use 425MHz and the receiver shifts down to 10MHz for a 435MHz input: doppler.sqf entry: AO-27,436795,145850,FM,FM,NOR,425000,0 I've not seen a whole lot mentioned about the Funcube performance when connected to a big antenna in a crowded RF environment. I've had mine on the KLM's and the performance is poor because of overload. Cavity filters work wonders but not everyone has them. High Sierra also makes front end filters and filter/LNA combinations for the Funcube as well as other products which make the Funcube more versatile. It's worth checking out the webpage to see what is available. 73, John K8YSE ___ 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
