[amsat-bb] Re: AO40 replacement !!!
--- On Wed, 5/9/12, Diane Bruce d...@db.net wrote: Piece of wire driven by some electricity works well enough. No need for big pyro explosions. Yes and the TetherSat CubeSat should be testing out exactly that next year, see http://www.uk.amsat.org/9165 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] TechEdSat - Iridium and Orbcomm?
There's just been a comment posted on the AMSAT-UK website from Henry which says: Iridium and Orbcomm have been dropped from TechEdSat (wires cut) for regulatory reasons. I must admit I had wondered about the satellite transmitting from space on frequencies allocated to ground stations. Does anyone have any further information ? 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] Homemade Satellites in Bloomberg Businessweek
About Sandy Antunes. (He used Kickstarter to raise the funds for an amateur radio ground station to receive his Interorbital Systems TubeSat). Why Yes, It Is Time for Homemade Satellites http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-05/why-yes-it-is-time-for-homemade-satellites 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 activity and future sats...
Hi - Thanks so much for your post. Many of us have been in this so long we have completely lost touch with the needs of the new ham. You have described the greatest needs in the sat hobby. Unfortunately we are heading in a direction where we are suppose to create materials to educate high school youth when we do not have even basic materials to educate our own new sat users. Many old timers will say there is lots of material out there and there is but it is very basic. There are hundreds of great videos showing how to wave an Arrow antenna around and make a contact but beyond that - not much. Unfortunately the learning curve gets very steep very fast. Thanks again for taking the time to share your insights. We need someone like you on the board. tnx 73 W9KE Tom Doyle On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 8:48 AM, Michael Adams m...@n1en.org wrote: Despite my callsign, I am a relatively new hamand I am very, very new to the birds. I'm also new to the reflector, so please forgive any naïvete I exhibit. I wonder if what you're seeing is a generational shift, or at least a shift in the direction by which new hams are finding their way into the hobby (and the skills and interests they bring to the table), because there are plenty of new hams out there. Many of the new hams I've run into have either gotten involved in the hobby for emcomm purposes, or at least found emcomm early on their path (the latter is true for me). Some of them expand on from emcomm as they are introduced to other aspects of the hobby. I fell into satellite work by starting out playing with APRS and Winlink-over-packet. Then I learned about the ISS digipeater...and I realized that the challenge of trying to complete a contact during an 8-minute pass is kind of fun, and didn't require any equipment that I didn't already have. Then at Field Day, I got to see a demonstration of working AO-27. That looked like fun, so I got an Elk, plugged it into my spare HT, and a few minutes later heard an XE station calling as SO-50 rose above the horizon. That was cool, even if the neighbors think I looked nuts standing in the driveway, juggling an antenna, mic, and voice recorder, with an HT over-filling a shirt pocket. I suspect that a sizeable proportion of the new ham population would be considered appliance operators, or at least they assemble and operate their stations with more of a hacker's mentality, rather than following the classic homebrew path. Personally, my fabrication skills suck, but I love finding new ways to use/abuse computers and equipment that I find. Building a tape-measure beam is certainly within my skillset, but building a complete setup of satellite antennas, with az/el rotor...it wouldn't be impossible for me, but I'd need a really strong incentive to do so (and even then, I'd probably keep an eye out, looking to see if I could buy, rather than build). When I look through what I'd need to do to be able to move beyond AO-27, SO-50, and the ISS...it seems like a lot of work (or expense), without too many opportunities to enjoy the effort. I'll probably do it someday, assuming the satellites are still operational, but there are plenty of items that are on my to try list that have a better ratio of (probable fun):(erg of effort or dollar of expense). Also, I trust you're aware of what transceivers are on the market. While shack-in-the-boxes are not uncommon, there are only a couple of rigs being sold new that look really good for non-FM satellite work, neither of which really mesh well into the other-interests/budget decision-making process. I dislike the TS-2000 for various reasons, and the IC-9100 is a lot of money for the limited additional utility I'd get out of it. My starter rig was an IC-7000, which does have VHF and UHF sideband, but it's full-duplex machine, and working uplink-and-downlink doppler adjustments on it is a pain. I think other entry-level VHF/UHF sideband capable rigs are similarly challenged. I occasionally look around to see what's available usedbut here too the how much will I have to spend, and what additional fun will I get out of it factor comes into play. I'm sure the major manufacturers (or even some not-so-major manufacturers) would put new gear on the market if there were demand...but where's the demand? Add in the other complications at my location (an inconveniently-placed hill, lots of trees, an XYL who has opinions about aesthetics), and I percieve a big hurdle to move beyond the FM birds. So; why do I mention all this? First, count me among the they in build it and they will come. None of my station challenges are insurmountable; I just haven't had enough motivation to tackle those challenges. Get a few more satellites up and have activity on them, or put up something in a molniya orbit, and my motivation level will increase significantly. I suspect other potentially interested folks have similar
[amsat-bb] Fw: Digital Slow Scan in space
Hi All, We are looking for a practical system to use on a 1U, or perhaps 2U, cubesat to take medium definition images and transmit them to the ground on VHF for educational outreach purposes. All the usual cubesat mass, power, data budgets would apply but and I would especially appreciate advice and guidance about the best type of digital slow scan (or similar) system to adopt. I am aware of the SSDV system used on some balloon flights http://ukhas.org.uk/guides:ssdv Thanks in advance for all comments ideas and observations and especially any offers of support! 73 Graham G3VZV ___ 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-40 Replacement
- Original Message - From: Mark L. Hammond marklhamm...@gmail.com To: Armando Mercado am25...@triton.net Cc: amsat-bb@amsat.org Sent: Wednesday, September 05, 2012 5:01 PM Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AO-40 Replacement Reading on a bit in that transcript... Our second goal is to develop and test a new spacecraft, the crew exploration vehicle, by 2008, and to conduct the first manned mission no later than 2014. The crew exploration vehicle will be capable of ferrying astronauts and scientists to the space station after the shuttle is retired. But the main purpose of this spacecraft will be to carry astronauts beyond our orbit to other worlds. This will be the first spacecraft of its kind since the Apollo command module. Our third goal is to return to the moon by 2020, as the launching point for missions beyond. So where do we stand on those goals, and to whom is credit/blame placed? This is almost fun ;) Mark N8MH On Wed, Sep 5, 2012 at 4:49 PM, Armando Mercado am25...@triton.net wrote: Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2012 11:15:35 -0500 From: Kevin Muenzler ke...@eaglecreekobservatory.org To: amsat-bb@amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO40 replacement !!! Message-ID: 003101cd8b81$ae8e3610$0baaa230$@org I can understand that! What I meant was that it could be launched as so many have been launched -- from the shuttle cargo bay. But, no more shuttles...Mr. Obama gave them all away. :( --- Hello, Nothing like an AO-40 discussion to liven up the mail list. Not to get into politics, but the above statement is incorrect. Jan. 14, 2004, President Bush gave a speech on America's new vision for space exploration, In part he said... ...The Shuttle's chief purpose over the next several years will be to help finish assembly of the International Space Station. In 2010, the Space Shuttle -- after nearly 30 years of duty -- will be retired from service... The shuttle last flight was July 8,2011, after the current administration approved the flight of STS-135, using the last flight ready SRB's and external tank. Transcript of the speech can be found at: http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/54868main_bush_trans.pdf 73 Armando, N8IGJ From AO-40 replacement to US space policy... The Columbia Accident Investigation Board, (CAIB), determined that the shuttles were actually experimental vehicles being flown as if they were operational vehicles. The aging shuttles had so many design/architectural flaws that they could never be made safe fly. So the correct decision was to retire them. Sadly, with 6+ years of advance notice the shuttle would retire, the US currently does not have a way to send astronauts into space (other than buying seats on the Soyuz). The history of this predicament is long and tortured, but essentially comes down to flat budgets. NASA had to retire the shuttle to free up funds to develop a follow on vehicle. In the past several years, COTS, Commercial Off The Shelf, has shown great promise. SpaceX is probably the closest to having a manned capsule ready. So, who get credit/blame..? It is said support for the space program is broad... a mile wide and an inch deep. Ultimately a disinterested public gets what it deserves. 73, Armando N8IGJ ___ 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 activity and future sats...
At 12:47 AM 9/7/2012, Thomas Doyle wrote: Hi - Thanks so much for your post. Many of us have been in this so long we have completely lost touch with the needs of the new ham. You have described the greatest needs in the sat hobby. Unfortunately we are heading in a direction where we are suppose to create materials to educate high school youth when we do not have even basic materials to educate our own new sat users. Many old timers will say there is lots of material out there and there is but it is very basic. There are hundreds of great videos showing how to wave an Arrow antenna around and make a contact but beyond that - not much. Unfortunately the learning curve gets very steep very fast. Thanks again for taking the time to share your insights. We need someone like you on the board. As someone who has written an introductory article or two myself, I am inclined to agree. There is a lot of material that shows how easy it is to work your first satellite, but not a lot of where to go from here. What would be nice is a tutorial which starts at working your first FM sat with a HT and portable antenna, then goes through from there in stages right through to fully automated stations capable of working a future HEO or fully automated operation on pacsats, among other things. 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] AO-10 and AO-16
Has anyone checked on AO-10 or AO-16 lately? 73, Joe kk0sd ___ 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
