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CX2SA > SATDIG 27.11.11 18:37l 1229 Lines 44897 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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From: CX2SA@CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA
To : SATDIG@WW
Today's Topics:
1. quick LVB cal question (myles landstein)
2. Re: quick LVB cal question (i6kzr)
3. ANS-331 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins (JoAnne Maenpaa)
4. Re: quick LVB cal question (myles landstein)
5. Re: NASA Video - Coming Back Down to our Fragile Oasis
(Gregg Wonderly)
6. Re: AO-51 now shutting off tx soon after eclipse
(Richard Grabotin)
7. Last chances to hear ARISSat-1 are rapidly approaching.
(Alan P. Biddle)
8. AMSAT-DL Hears Mars Science Laboratory X-Band Downlink
(JoAnne Maenpaa)
9. Successful copy on 16Z pass ! - Re: Last chances to hear
ARISSat-1 are rapidly approaching. (Bruce Sawtelle)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 15:11:39 -0500
From: myles landstein <myles.landstein@xxxxx.xxx>
To: Amsat BB <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] quick LVB cal question
Message-ID: <670B4B19-EBCB-4FB3-A27B-824AEEB294FD@xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
Hi
For some reason I couldn't find this online sure I overlooked the
obvious....
I have a LVB Tracker with a Yaesu G5500
Wanted to cal the unit and was sure if this was considered
a 360degree max az rotor or 450 South CCW = FEN
or
450North CCW = FEE
also
is this considered
a If you have a South CCW stopping rotator, you should key in the three key
sequence ?F?, ?S?, Enter. For a North CCW stopping rotator (default), key in
the three key sequence ?F?, ?N?, Enter.
thanks
Myles
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:49:03 +0100
From: i6kzr <i6kzr@xxxxx.xx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: quick LVB cal question
Message-ID: <4ED17AEF.8000402@xxxxx.xx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
Hi Myles,
this is what LVB notes teel us about your question:
Calibration from the serial, or virtual serial USB or Ethernet connection
(1)Connect to the unit using a terminal emulator at 9600 bps, 1 stop
bit, no parity and no handshake.
(2)Check for communication by typing the ?C? key followed by the enter
key. Note that there is no echo of your keystrokes. Commands are also
not case sensitive. The azimuth should be returned, although it will be
the uncalibrated value.
(3)Using either the rotator control box switches or the optional front
panel switches, move the rotator to its counter-clockwise end stop (zero
degrees), which should be due North or due South depending on your rotator.
(4)Move the elevation to zero degrees.
(5)To set the left-most azimuth, type these four keys in sequence: ?F?,
?A?, ?S?, Enter. You will receive a reponse like: *Az Offset=0099*
(6)To set zero degrees elevation, type the four keys in sequence: ?F?,
?E?, ?S?, Enter. You will receive a response like: *El Offset=0326*
(7)Using either the rotator control box switches or the optional front
panel switches, move the rotator clockwise 360 degrees for both (a) 360
degree maximum azimuth rotators and (b) 450 degree South CCW stop
rotators. For 450 degree North CCW stop rotators, move the rotator
clockwise to 450 degrees.
(8)Move the elevation to either 90 degrees, or 180 degrees, depending on
the end stop of your rotator.
(9)To set the right-most azimuth for both (a) 360 degree maximum azimuth
rotators and (b) 450 degree South CCW stop rotators, type these four
keys in sequence: ?F?, ?A?, ?E?, Enter. For 450 degree North CCW stop
rotators, type the four keys in sequence: ?F?, ?A?, ?F?, Enter. In
either case, you will receive a reponse like: *Az mul=0.897*
(10)For 90 degree elevation rotators only: to set 90 degrees elevation,
type the four keys in sequence: ?F?, ?E?, ?N?, Enter. For 180 degree
elevation rotators only: to set 180 degrees elevation, type the four
keys in sequence: ?F?, ?E?, ?E?, Enter. In either case, you will receive
a response like: *El mul=1.234*
(11)If you have a South CCW stopping rotator, you should key in the
three key sequence ?F?, ?S?, Enter. For a North CCW stopping rotator
(default), key in the three key sequence ?F?, ?N?, Enter.
(12)To commit this to EEPROM, type the three keys in sequence: ?F?, ?W?,
Enter.
(13)When you reset or switch the unit on and off, the calibration
parameters should be remembered.
If you wish a front panel buttons calibration, you must use the follow
sequence:
Calibration from the front panel buttons
You must have an LCD connected for this to work. To enter calibration
mode, hold down one of the four front panel buttons as the unit is
switched on. After the welcome screen (and potentially the Bad EEPROM
message), you then enter the calibration mode.
The four buttons (from LSB to MSB) are Left, Right, Down, Up. On the
LCD, these are referred to as L, R, D, U.
(1)*Set Az=min & press D (U=esc)*Using the L button, move the rotator to
its counter-clockwise stop. The R button also operates to move the
rotator right, although normally would not be required at this point.
Press D to accept, or U to abort the calibration completely.
(2)*Set El=min & press L (R=esc)*Using the D button, move the rotator to
the zero elevation stop. The U button also operates to move the rotator
up, although normally would not be required at this point. Press L to
accept, or R to abort the calibration completely.
(3)*Set Az=max & press D (U=esc)*Using the R button, move the rotator to
its clockwise stop. If you are using a 450 degree azimuth rotator with a
South CCW stop, you should move the rotator to be at the South position
360 degrees clockwise of the CCW stop. The L button also operates to
move the rotator left, although normally would not be required at this
point. Press D to accept, or U to abort the calibration completely.
(4)*Set El=max & press L (R=esc)*Using the U button, move the rotator to
the maximum elevation stop (90 or 180 degrees). The D button also
operates to move the rotator down, although normally would not be
required at this point. Press L to accept, or R to abort the calibration
completely.
(5)*Az range: 450 U 360 D (R=esc)*For North CCW stop 450 degree
rotators, press U. For 360 degree or South CCW stop rotators, press D.
Press R to abort the calibration completely.
(6)*El range: 0-90 U 0-180 D (R=esc)*For elevation rotators with a
maximum elevation of 90 degrees, press U. For ?flipping? elevation
rotators, press D. Press R to abort the calibration completely.
(7)*CCW stop North=U South=D (R=esc)*For North CCW stop rotators, press
U, for South CCW stop rotators press D. Press R to abort the calibration
completely.
(8)*EE Write: U (R=esc)*To commit the settings to EEPROM, press U. Press
R to abort the calibration completely.
(9)*EEPROM write OK Push btn to exit*Push any front panel button to
return to normal mode.
Have fun, 73
Renzo I6KZR
Il 26/11/2011 21.11, myles landstein ha scritto:
> Hi
>
> For some reason I couldn't find this online sure I overlooked the
obvious....
>
> I have a LVB Tracker with a Yaesu G5500
>
> Wanted to cal the unit and was sure if this was considered
>
> a 360degree max az rotor or 450 South CCW = FEN
>
> or
>
> 450North CCW = FEE
>
> also
>
> is this considered
>
> a If you have a South CCW stopping rotator, you should key in the three
key sequence ?F?, ?S?, Enter. For a North CCW stopping rotator (default),
key in the three key sequence ?F?, ?N?, Enter.
>
> thanks
>
> Myles
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 19:55:49 -0600
From: "JoAnne Maenpaa" <k9jkm@xxxxxxx.xxx>
To: <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] ANS-331 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
Message-ID: <001c01ccaca7$b2104b70$1630e250$@xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-331
ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North
America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the
activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an
active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating
through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor@xxxxx.xxx
In this edition:
* Longer Eclipse Periods Affecting AO-51 Operation
* Latest AMSAT Project Fox Information Posted
* Watch On-Line: Interviews Recorded at AMSAT 2011 Space Symposium
* This Week 50 Years Ago: OSCAR 1 Announcement for December 1, 1961
* Arizona Centennial K7UGA Announces Expanded Satellite Operation
* Next Proposal Cycle for US Based ARISS School Contacts Opens
* 14 Year-old Co-ordinates ARISS Contact for Her School
* ISS Expedition 29 Astronaut Hams Land Safely
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.01
Longer Eclipse Periods Affecting AO-51 Operation
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 27, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.01
AO-51 Command Stations report that the seven year old spacecraft
is now shutting down its transmitter after losing sunlight on its
solar panels during eclipse periods. Two of the six battery cells
are now dead. Since July 31, 2010 AO-51 has maintained continuous
and stable operations due to careful tuning of its power settings.
The AO-51 Operations Team reported on November 25 that the on-board
computer (IHU) crashed between 1815 and 1945Z due to low voltage.
This happened after a few days of intermittent and unpredictable
operation.
AO-51 Control Operators Mark Hammond, N8MH and Drew Glasbrenner,
KO4MA reset the satellite and started the repeater back up around
~2030Z. Satellite operation was set to the following:
Uplink: 145.880, no PL tone required
Downlink: 435.150 at about 300 milliwatts
Drew reported that telemetry data showed the battery voltage was
low, around 4.9v, with cell 1 less than 1 volt. The impending third
cell failure will likely end continuing operations, particularly if
it fails shorted as the others have. At present there remains little
margin as the operations team has observed the transmitters cutting
off around 4.7 to 4.6 volts prior to the last reset, in eclipse.
Please submit your AO-51 reports to the OSCAR Status Web Page:
http://oscar.dcarr.org. The command stations monitor this for changes
in the operation. While worldwide participation is good, more reports
from US operators are appreciated.
Eclipse periods, which are expected to reach 30 minutes by the end
of 2011, are causing AO-51 to shut itself OFF due to low voltage.
Please support AMSAT-NA and the other AMSAT groups around the world,
and help us get new satellites into orbit. Projects like Fox, FunCube,
P3E, and Kiwisat need your financial support to keep our amateur sat-
ellite fleet flying.
You can keep up with the latest AO-51 Command Team news at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php
[ANS thanks the AO-51 Command Team for the above information]
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.02
Latest AMSAT Project Fox Information Posted
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 27, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.02
AMSAT-NA's next generation of satellites, Fox-1 and Fox-2 are under
development by the Engineering Team.
Fox-1 will replace the aging AO-51 satellite which has performed as
the most popular EasySat, attracting new satellite operators since
it can be worked with simple equipment. However, after more than 7
years of service, AO-51 is starting to show its age and needs an
affordable replacement.
Why two satellites? The original Fox Engineering Team Study was for
a baseline satellite, with several options for enhancements. At that
time, AO-51 was functioning well, with no indication that its life-
time would be short enough to impact the Fox Project. With the im-
pending loss of AO-51, it was decided to break the Fox Project up
into a quickly deployable baseline FM satellite, Fox-1, and a second
more flexible satellite, Fox-2.
Fox-2 will benefit from the development work of the baseline Fox-1,
with the additional time being applied to developing its more sophis-
ticated power and Software Defined Transponder (SDX) communications
systems.
The Powerpoint presentations on AMSAT's Fox web site provide a good
view of the technical progress: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fox/
Project milestones completed this year:
+ Fox-1 project defined - July 2011
+ Concept of Operations (ConOps) - September 2011
+ System Requirements Spec (SRS) - October 2011
+ Experiment Payload Specification - November 2011
+ NASA ELaNa Proposal Submitted - November 2011
Preliminary milestones for 2012 and 2013 are:
+ Baselined Project Plan - January 2012
+ Preliminary Design Review (PDR) - March 2012
+ Engineering prototype - July 2012
+ Critical Design Review (CDR) - August 2012
+ Flight model ready for test - November 2012
+ Launch Readiness Review - January 2013
+ Launch Target - 2nd half of 2013
Also available for download from the AMSAT Project Fox web page are
the Powerpoint presentations by members of the AMSAT Engineering
Team at the 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium in San Jose:
+ Fox-1 Project Overview
+ Fox-1 Mechanical Design
+ Fox-1 Thermal Design
+ Fox-1 Radiation Environment
If you are interested in more details you may wish to see the papers
in the yearly Proceedings of the AMSAT-NA Space Symposium, available
from the AMSAT Store:
http://www.amsat-na.com/store/item.php?id=100190
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Engineering Team for the above information]
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.03
Watch On-Line: Interviews Recorded at AMSAT 2011 Space Symposium
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 27, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.03
During the 2011 AMSAT Symposium in San Jose a few weeks ago, ARRL
Test Engineer Bob Allison, WB1GCM interviewed an number of AMSAT
Officers and Lance Ginner of Project OSCAR.
These interviews are now available on You Tube.
+ Barry Baines, WD4ASW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLLBB4imXGk&feature=related
+ Gould Smith, WA4SXM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ_-2wNmFqc
+ Jan King, VK4GEY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyxe76LEK9Y&feature=related
+ Keith Baker, KB1SF
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pto6U7CPvvo&feature=related
+ Lance Ginner, K6GSJ - Project OSCAR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgKc2ZY3LCA&feature=related
[ANS thanks Gould Smith, WA4SXM for the above information]
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.04
This Week 50 Years Ago: OSCAR 1 Announcement for December 1, 1961
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 27, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.04
The AMSAT News Service is re-running the Project OSCAR Newsletters
to commemorate the 50th anniversary of OSCAR 1. During the November/
December 2011 time frame you will be able to share the excitement of
the launch campaign that started it all 50 years ago.
The Newsletters were hand-typed back in 1961. Thanks to Don Ferguson,
KD6IRE for scanning the original documents announcing OSCAR 1.
-----
<Begin Commemorative Message>
O S C A R N E W S L E T T E R
December 1, 1961
Good News!
The following is quoted from the Department of Defense News Release
dated November 15, 1961:
AIR FORCE TO ORBIT SMALL SATELLITE FOR "HAM" OPERATORS' USE
"The Air Force is planning to boost into orbit a small amateur radio
satellite so that "ham" operators around the world can contribute to
the world's knowledge on the development and operation of space com-
munications systems."
"Known as Project OSCAR - Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio -
the program is the result of extensive thought and planning on the
part of several California amateur operators. They have formed the
OSCAR Association to follow through on the project.
"The Air Force Space Systems Division in Los Angeles has agreed to
orbit the OSCAR satellite on a space available basis on board a
DISCOVERER satellite which will be launched from Vandenberg AFB next
month.
"The OSCAR satellite will weigh approximately ten pounds and will be
lifted into orbit on the external aft portion of the AGENA Satellite.
Sometime after the AGENA has attained orbit the OSCAR satellite will
separate from the mother vehicle. Antennae will extend and the trans-
mitter will commence operation. The OSCAR satellite will contain its
own battery power system and is anticipated to have a 30-day life in
orbit. "The OSCAR satellite is designed to investigate radio propaga-
tion phenomena in the two meter (144-146) portion of the radio freq-
uency spectrum."
Simultaneously, a letter from Dr. J. V. Charyk, Under Secretary of
the Air Force to the American Radio Relay League, says (in part):
"I am pleased to advise that the Air Force will undertake to place
into orbit an Oscar package.....Our Space Systems Division has been
instructed to accomplish the Oscar package launching at the earliest
feasible date (italics ours) on a non-interference basis to the per-
formance or mission of the launch carrier vehic1e..... Please be
assured of the complete cooperation by the Air Force toward success-
ful accomplishment of this amateur experiment."
THIS MEANS THAT THE LAUNCH INTO SPACE OF OSCAR I, THE WORLD'S FIRST
AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE IS IMINENT -- PROBABLY WELL WITHIN THE MONTH!
ACTUAL LAUNCH DATE CANNOT BE YET RELEASED FOR SECURITY REASONS. LIS-
TEN TO THE VOICE OF AMERICA BROADCASTS AND THE OFFICIAL ARRL BROAD-
CAST FROM WIAW FOR LAUNCH DATE! ALSO WATCH YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER FOR
LAUNCH INFORMATION!
RECENT "UP" AND "AP" OSCAR NEWS DESPATCHES HAVE BEEN FEATURED IN
MAJOR NEWSPAPERS, AND IN ADDITION, W6SAI AND K6LFH WERE INTERVIEW-
ED BY VOICE OF AMERICA ON THE NOVEMBER 27TH AMATEUR RADIO PROGRAM
WHICH FEATURED THE OSCAR STORY. YOUR COOPERATION IN THIS IMPORTANT,
WORLD-WIDE AMATEUR SPACE EXPERIMENT IS URGENTLY REQUIRED. SEE RE-
CENT ISSUES OF QST AND CQ MAGAZINES FOR ARTICLES ON RECEPTION AND
TRACKING OF THE OSCAR 145 MC RADIO BEACON. AS THE BEACON HAS NO
RECEPTION PACILITIES, QQ NQT MAKE CALLS TO THE BEACON. KEEP YOUR
TRANSMITTER CLEAR OF 145 MC! OSCAR I WILL BE IN POLAR ORBIT, THUS
PASSING OVER EACH POINT ON EARTH APPROXIMATELY FOUR TIMES PER DAY
ON NORTH-TO-SOUTH AND SOUTH-TO-NORTH ORBITS.
THE TIME IS NOW! ARE YOU READY?
NOW THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED ALL NECESSARY PERMISSION AND ASSISTANCE,
OSCAR 1 WILL BE ON ITS OWN WHEN IT IS EJECTED FROM THE PARENT VE-
HICLE. THE OSCAR ASSOCIATION AND THE U. S. AIR FORCE HAVE AT THIS
POINT DONE ALL THEY CAN DO TO MAKE THE EXPERIMENT A SUCCESSFUL ONE.
THE RESULTS OF THIS EXPERIMENT WILL DEPEND UPON YOU - THE RADIO AMA-
TEUR. YOU MUST CARRY ON FROM THIS POINT! YOUR COOPERATION IN THIS
NON-COMMERCIAL, NON-MILITARY SPACE EFFORT WILL BE IN THE BEST TRA-
DITIONS OF AMATEUR RADIO!
GOOD LUCK!
A11 reception reports of Oscar I should be directed to:
Oscar Association, P. O. Box ---, Sunnyvale, California, USA.
A11 correct reports will receive a special OSCAR I QSL card, veri-
fying reception of the world's first amateur radio satellite.
<End of Commemorative Message>
[ANS thanks Don Ferguson, KD6IRE and Project OSCAR for the above
information]
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.05
Arizona Centennial K7UGA Announces Expanded Satellite Operation
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 27, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.05
The November 20 ANS-324 Bulletins carried the announcement of the
Central Arizona DX Association (CADXA) special event operation in
celebration of the Arizona Centennial during the week of February
13-19th, 2012.
They will be using the callsign of the late Senior Senator, and
Arizona native son, Barry M. Goldwater, K7UGA. Operations will be
on all amateur bands (160-2 meters); and will be using CW, SSB,
RTTY, PSK31 and Satellite modes.
This week Arizona's AMSAT Field Ops coordinator Patrick Stoddard,
WD9EWK/VA7EWK announced expanded satellite operations using the
K7UGA callsign:
+ Watch for Patrick's announcements on amsat-bb for the specific
passes he plans to operate using the K7UGA callsign on February 14.
+ Patrick plans to use the K7UGA call sign for his on-air satel-
lite demonstrations from the Yuma, Arizona Hamfest on February
17-18, 2012.
+ Patrick posted information about this on AMSAT's online calendar
of events:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/fieldops/eventDetail.php?eID=629
+ Also refer to http://www.qrz.com/db/k7uga for additional info.
Rick Tejera, K7TEJ says the Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club will be
operating a special event station for the Arizona Centennial as well
the weekend of Feb 11-12, 2012. Rick plans to operating on as many
FM satellite passes as possible during the event using the W7A call.
[ANS thanks Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK and Rick Tejera, K7TEJ
for the above information]
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.06
Next Proposal Cycle for US Based ARISS School Contacts Opens
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 27, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.06
NASA is now accepting proposals from U.S. schools, museums, science
centers and community youth organizations to host an Amateur Radio
on the International Space Station, or ARISS, contact between
July 15, 2012, and Jan. 15, 2013. To maximize these radio contact
opportunities, NASA is looking for organizations that will draw
large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-
developed education plan. Proposals are due Jan. 30, 2012.
Using amateur radio, students can ask astronauts questions about
life in space and other space-related topics. Students fully engage
in the ARISS contact by helping set up an amateur radio ground sta-
tion at the school and then using that station to talk directly with
a crew member on the International Space Station for approximately
10 minutes. The technology is easier to acquire than ever before.
ARISS has a network of mentors to help you obtain the technology
required to host this once in a lifetime opportunity for your
students.
Interested parties should contact Teaching From Space, a NASA Educa-
tion office, to obtain complete information including how the tech-
nology works, what is expected of the host organization and how to
obtain the proposal/application form by sending an email to J
SC-TFS-ARISS@xxxx.xxxx.xxx or by calling 281-244-1919.
Additional information can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/6fc2lzn
(NASA Teaching From Space)
[ANS thanks the NASA Teaching From Space Office for the above
information]
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.07
14 Year-old Co-ordinates ARISS Contact for Her School
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.07
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 27, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.07
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status
Report for the Week of November 21, 2011 noted that the November 14
A.S.J. Memorial High School in Thetford Mines, Qu?bec, Canada ARISS
contact with Astronaut Mike Fossum, KF5AQG on the ISS was a success.
A 14 year-old girl co-ordinated the contact with some help from her
father and support from her math teacher. She also acted as radio
operator during the event, which was attended by approximately 350
people, including local and regional media.
After the contact, she received a standing ovation from her fellow
students and senior provincial members of parliament have asked her,
along with her team, to attend the provincial legislature to be
recognized for her efforts.
CBC Radio Canada conducted an interview with the student and her
teacher. The audio is available at: http://tinyurl.com/cbvqopv
(CBC.ca)
[ANS thanks [ANS thanks Carol Jackson, KB3LKI, and the ARISS Status
Report for the above information]
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.08
ISS Expedition 29 Astronaut Hams Land Safely
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.08
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 27, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.08
Expedition 29 Commander Mike Fossum KF5AQG, Flight Engineers Satoshi
Furukawa KE5DAW of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Sergei
Volkov U4MIR of the Russian Federal Space Agency landed their Soyuz
spacecraft in Kazakhstan on November 22.
Video cameras on the space station captured the dramatic re-entry of
the Soyuz capsule:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fORo5XeK4DU
Video footage of the change over ceremony to Expedition 30 and the
Soyuz undocking have been posted by UniverseToday.com at:
http://tinyurl.com/7c3ucxw
Dan Burbank, KC5ZSX now leads Expedition 30. Burbank and Flight
Engineers Anatoly Ivanishin and Anton Shkaplerov of Russia will
continue research and maintenance aboard the station.
The remaining Expedition 30 crew members, NASA astronaut Don Pettit
KD5MDT, European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers PI9ISS, and
cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko RN3DX, are scheduled to launch Dec. 21 from
the Baikonur Cosmodrome and dock with the station on Dec. 23.
[ANS thanks NASA and UniverseToday.com for the above information]
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.09
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 331.09
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
November 27, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.09
+ Yuri, UT1FG, will once again be traveling across the Atlantic
Ocean and will be active from some "Wet grids" as UT1FG/MM be-
tween November 25, 2011, through the end of May 2012. His first
trip will be from the Panama Cannal to Huelva, Spain. Yuri is
reportedly a crew member on the ship, so activity will be dur-
ing his free time. Operations are expected on all amateur radio
bands, 160-2 meters, 70 cm, and also including the satellite.
His activities will be mainly through the satellite, but also
look for him on the HF bands. He will also be active on 6 meters,
conditions permitting. QSL via his home callsign, direct (see
QRZ.com), by the Bureau or to his QSL Manager UX0FY.
SOURCE: Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1037
+ If you are interested in a certificate for ARISSat reception, the
directions are at: http://www.arissat1.org. This link will take
you directly to the Reception Certificate page:
http://tinyurl.com/42nqk55
+ Don't forget to keep forwarding your received telemetry to be auto-
matically entered into the "Who Will Catch the Last Telemetry From
ARISSat-1/KEDR" Contest. Just submit ARISSat-1 telemetry over the
Internet using either ARISSatTLM telemetry program. You can use the
PC version or the MAC version of ARISSatTLM and you are automatic-
ally eligible. Download ARISSatTLM for PC or MAC from the software
link on the main ARISSat-1 web page: http://www.arissat1.org/v3/
if you don't already have it.
+ On Tuesday, November 15, the ARISS International Team held its
monthly teleconference. A recap was given on the ARISS face-to-
face meeting held in October, and status updates were given on
HamTV and ARISSat-1. Minutes have been posted.
See: http://ariss.rac.ca/arisstel2011-11-15.htm
+ This video was put together by Astronaut Ron Garan, who returned
home on September 16, 2011 after spending about six months in space.
He set up a Nikon D3S camera in the Cupola on the space station,
took some practice shots, and worked on getting the right settings,
then set up the camera to take about 500 pictures at 3-second inter-
vals. Ron posted the results on his blog, "Time Lapse From Space -
Literally - The Journey Home at: http://vimeo.com/32430473
(via UniverseToday.com)
+ Martin Bruchanov OK2MNM has made his new book "Image Communication
on Short Waves" available free on the web. You can either read it
online or download the chapters in PDF format. Image Communication
on Short Waves can be found at http://www.sstv-handbook.com/
(via Southgate)
+ The next time you find your QSO on 75 meters stuck on the weather
or the state of the other guy's gallbladder try steering the con-
versation to the design and construction of your own homebrew GPS
receiver. Bone up at: http://www.holmea.demon.co.uk/GPS/Main.htm
(via Dan, N8FGV)
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in
the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sus-
taining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to re-
ceive additional benefits. Application forms are available from
the AMSAT Office. And, with that, please keep in mind the ham
who learned many words in mathematics and geometry have their
root in ancient languages. A contemporary of Pythagoras was
watching a parrot playing with some twigs. Although birds often
play with twigs, leaves and branches, this parrot, to the mathe-
matician's amazement, actually arranged the pieces of wood into
a pattern with multiple sides. Then, unfortunately, the bird
keeled over, dead. The mathematician was so moved that he named
the shape, "Dead parrot." Although - of course - this is why, to
this day, we call that shape a polygon.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:18:08 -0500
From: myles landstein <myles.landstein@xxxxx.xxx>
To: i6kzr@xxxxx.xx
Cc: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: quick LVB cal question
Message-ID: <9E260DA2-6BCE-47AB-AFC7-F4CD551AF887@xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
thanks very much for trying to help unfortunately it really wasn't
what I asked.
hope someone out there might be able to help a newbie out
thanks
N2EHG
Myles
On Nov 26, 2011, at 6:49 PM, i6kzr wrote:
> Hi Myles,
> this is what LVB notes teel us about your question:
>
>
> Calibration from the serial, or virtual serial USB or Ethernet connection
>
> (1)Connect to the unit using a terminal emulator at 9600 bps, 1 stop bit,
no parity and no handshake.
>
> (2)Check for communication by typing the ?C? key followed by the enter
key. Note that there is no echo of your keystrokes. Commands are also not
case sensitive. The azimuth should be returned, although it will be the
uncalibrated value.
>
> (3)Using either the rotator control box switches or the optional front
panel switches, move the rotator to its counter-clockwise end stop (zero
degrees), which should be due North or due South depending on your rotator.
>
> (4)Move the elevation to zero degrees.
>
> (5)To set the left-most azimuth, type these four keys in sequence: ?F?,
?A?, ?S?, Enter. You will receive a reponse like: *Az Offset=0099*
>
> (6)To set zero degrees elevation, type the four keys in sequence: ?F?,
?E?, ?S?, Enter. You will receive a response like: *El Offset=0326*
>
> (7)Using either the rotator control box switches or the optional front
panel switches, move the rotator clockwise 360 degrees for both (a) 360
degree maximum azimuth rotators and (b) 450 degree South CCW stop rotators.
For 450 degree North CCW stop rotators, move the rotator clockwise to 450
degrees.
>
> (8)Move the elevation to either 90 degrees, or 180 degrees, depending on
the end stop of your rotator.
>
> (9)To set the right-most azimuth for both (a) 360 degree maximum azimuth
rotators and (b) 450 degree South CCW stop rotators, type these four keys in
sequence: ?F?, ?A?, ?E?, Enter. For 450 degree North CCW stop rotators, type
the four keys in sequence: ?F?, ?A?, ?F?, Enter. In either case, you will
receive a reponse like: *Az mul=0.897*
>
> (10)For 90 degree elevation rotators only: to set 90 degrees elevation,
type the four keys in sequence: ?F?, ?E?, ?N?, Enter. For 180 degree
elevation rotators only: to set 180 degrees elevation, type the four keys in
sequence: ?F?, ?E?, ?E?, Enter. In either case, you will receive a response
like: *El mul=1.234*
>
> (11)If you have a South CCW stopping rotator, you should key in the three
key sequence ?F?, ?S?, Enter. For a North CCW stopping rotator (default),
key in the three key sequence ?F?, ?N?, Enter.
>
> (12)To commit this to EEPROM, type the three keys in sequence: ?F?, ?W?,
Enter.
>
> (13)When you reset or switch the unit on and off, the calibration
parameters should be remembered.
>
>
> If you wish a front panel buttons calibration, you must use the follow
sequence:
>
>
> Calibration from the front panel buttons
>
> You must have an LCD connected for this to work. To enter calibration
mode, hold down one of the four front panel buttons as the unit is switched
on. After the welcome screen (and potentially the Bad EEPROM message), you
then enter the calibration mode.
>
> The four buttons (from LSB to MSB) are Left, Right, Down, Up. On the LCD,
these are referred to as L, R, D, U.
>
> (1)*Set Az=min & press D (U=esc)*Using the L button, move the rotator to
its counter-clockwise stop. The R button also operates to move the rotator
right, although normally would not be required at this point. Press D to
accept, or U to abort the calibration completely.
>
> (2)*Set El=min & press L (R=esc)*Using the D button, move the rotator to
the zero elevation stop. The U button also operates to move the rotator up,
although normally would not be required at this point. Press L to accept, or
R to abort the calibration completely.
>
> (3)*Set Az=max & press D (U=esc)*Using the R button, move the rotator to
its clockwise stop. If you are using a 450 degree azimuth rotator with a
South CCW stop, you should move the rotator to be at the South position 360
degrees clockwise of the CCW stop. The L button also operates to move the
rotator left, although normally would not be required at this point. Press D
to accept, or U to abort the calibration completely.
>
> (4)*Set El=max & press L (R=esc)*Using the U button, move the rotator to
the maximum elevation stop (90 or 180 degrees). The D button also operates
to move the rotator down, although normally would not be required at this
point. Press L to accept, or R to abort the calibration completely.
>
> (5)*Az range: 450 U 360 D (R=esc)*For North CCW stop 450 degree rotators,
press U. For 360 degree or South CCW stop rotators, press D. Press R to
abort the calibration completely.
>
> (6)*El range: 0-90 U 0-180 D (R=esc)*For elevation rotators with a maximum
elevation of 90 degrees, press U. For ?flipping? elevation rotators, press
D. Press R to abort the calibration completely.
>
> (7)*CCW stop North=U South=D (R=esc)*For North CCW stop rotators, press U,
for South CCW stop rotators press D. Press R to abort the calibration
completely.
>
> (8)*EE Write: U (R=esc)*To commit the settings to EEPROM, press U. Press R
to abort the calibration completely.
>
> (9)*EEPROM write OK Push btn to exit*Push any front panel button to return
to normal mode.
>
>
> Have fun, 73
>
> Renzo I6KZR
>
>
> Il 26/11/2011 21.11, myles landstein ha scritto:
>> Hi
>>
>> For some reason I couldn't find this online sure I overlooked the
obvious....
>>
>> I have a LVB Tracker with a Yaesu G5500
>>
>> Wanted to cal the unit and was sure if this was considered
>>
>> a 360degree max az rotor or 450 South CCW = FEN
>>
>> or
>>
>> 450North CCW = FEE
>>
>> also
>>
>> is this considered
>>
>> a: If you have a South CCW stopping rotator, you should key in the three
key sequence ?F?, ?S?, Enter. For a North CCW stopping rotator (default),
key in the three key sequence ?F?, ?N?, Enter.
>>
>> thanks
>>
>> Myles
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx. 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
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:59:56 -0600
From: Gregg Wonderly <w5ggw@xxx.xxx>
To: Miguel Barreiro <miguel.barreiro.paz@xxxxx.xxx>
Cc: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: NASA Video - Coming Back Down to our Fragile
Oasis
Message-ID: <4ED1B5BC.6090505@xxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
On 11/23/2011 5:02 PM, Miguel Barreiro wrote:
> Hi,
>
>
>> Perhaps someone on this list knows of a good video capture utility that'll
>> work on the NASA website.
>>
>>
>
> Video capture utility? tcpdump is your friend :)
>
> Saved to http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5S6R67YH for the benefit of the
> flashplugin-impaired - download and play with videolan, mplayer or whatever
> player of your choice.
I renamed the .flv file to have the extension .m4v, and then it played readily
on everything I needed it to. Thanks for extracting it Miguel.
Gregg
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2011 20:47:46 -0800
From: Richard Grabotin <k7lwv@xx.xxx>
To: "Mark L. Hammond" <marklhammond@xxxxx.xxx>
Cc: Amsat <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AO-51 now shutting off tx soon after eclipse
Message-ID: <4ED1C0F2.5040007@xx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; CHARSET=US-ASCII; format=flowed
Mark,
Thank you for the reply. I didn't expect to hear right from the lions
mouth! My only hope is that future birds do not have a downlink of 436.795.
I always wanted to use satellites ever since I became a ham at 14. I
thought it was a very expensive aspect of the hobby. Recently I sold be
beloved motorcycle and decided to go all out with satellite gear. I
purchased the only satellite capable radio I could find on the new
market, the Kenwood TS-2000. I wish I had known about the birdie. It
leaves me completely unable to use AO-27.
Now with AO-51 near death that leaves me with only a half pass of SO-50.
Thank goodness it slipped to 436.790!
Hopefully sometime soon I can figure out how to incorporate HRD and
VO-52. In order to auto track with LVB tracker I have to have HRD
control my VFO which makes the linear birds difficult.
Richard
K7LWV
On 11/23/2011 4:19 AM, Mark L. Hammond wrote:
> Hi Richard,
>
> Good thoughts, but the difference between "needs to be" and "can it be" is
the tough part.
>
> Actually, 4 of the cells are good, 2 are bad. One of the four good ones
seems a bit weaker than the other three.
>
> We cannot do any scheduling because of the great difficulty in getting all
the satellite code uploaded and running without a crash that sends it back
to square one.
>
> We are lucky to see what we are seeing right now---basically, it's
shutting itself OFF due to low voltage during an eclipse (that's the easy
part...) What's amazing is that it's coming back ON when voltage returns!
This is actually a great thing--and it amounts to primitive scheduling of
sorts. We never expected it--but we'll take it!!
>
> So---we have what we have. And we don't plan to change operations until
the bird forces us to do so. It's all about equilibrium (temperature, power
out, sunlight). We're balanced apparently for the time being...
>
> Over the next month or so, eclipse times will double from what they are
right now. We are not too excited about that...we'll just have to see how
it goes. If it means earlier shutdown during eclipse--so what? What will
be key is if it comes back on in the sun!
>
> 73,
>
> Mark N8MH
> AO-51 Command Station
>
>
>
> At 11:21 AM 11/22/2011 -0800, you wrote:
>> Re-post from Amsat's twitter:
>>
>> "AO-51 now shutting off tx soon after eclipse, due to batt voltage
dropping below regulator threshold. Recovers to 1w in sun."
>>
>> Were people still using this bird in eclipse with only 2 out of 6 usable
cells? Perhaps this bird needs to be put on a schedule like AO-27. Can that
be done?
>>
>> Richard
>> K7LWV
>> _______________________________________________
>> Sent via AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx. 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
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2011 06:31:04 -0600
From: "Alan P. Biddle" <APBIDDLE@xxxxxx.xxx>
To: "AMSAT-BB" <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>, "SAREX-BB" <SAREX@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Last chances to hear ARISSat-1 are rapidly
approaching.
Message-ID: <307C52537827485A968932C1FC8F562F@xxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
All,
A reminder that if you have been putting off working through the ARISSat-1
repeater, receiving SSTV pictures, or submitting telemetry, the next few
weeks will be your last opportunity to be a part of this satellite's
history. Since deployment in August, ARISSat-1 has descended about 60 km,
and is currently losing more than 1.5 km per day. The rapid rate is
partially the result of the recent solar activity on the atmosphere,
significantly increasing the drag. The predictions by several individuals
and groups are all converging toward a reentry in January or February, 2012.
Heating will become significant before then. Remember, good telemetry in
this period provides invaluable information to the engineering team, to be
used in future projects.
The orbit period changes about 30 seconds per day, and that will increase
steadily. Be certain to update your tracking program Keps from Space-Track
or CelesTrak before each pass. They issue revised versions 3-5 times daily.
As the descent continues, this will become even more critical to copying the
telemetry beacon, especially unattended.
73s,
Alan
WA4SCA
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2011 07:58:47 -0600
From: "JoAnne Maenpaa" <k9jkm@xxxxxxx.xxx>
To: <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] AMSAT-DL Hears Mars Science Laboratory X-Band
Downlink
Message-ID: <001e01ccad0c$af5be5f0$0e13b1d0$@xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Hello everyone,
Here is an additional news item that I'll send out immediately instead of
waiting for the next weekend ANS news cycle ...
AMSAT-DL has copied X-band from MSL: http://tinyurl.com/7t5xjwk (google
English version)
--
73 de JoAnne K9JKM
k9jkm@xxxxx.xxx
Editor, AMSAT News Service
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Sun, 27 Nov 2011 11:27:14 -0500 (EST)
From: Bruce Sawtelle <w3nj@xxx.xxx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxxx SAREX@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Successful copy on 16Z pass ! - Re: Last chances
to hear ARISSat-1 are rapidly approaching.
Message-ID: <8CE7B388E97B1E5-1F0C-53EA@xxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxx.xxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
After trying without success yesterday, tried today and just at the end of
the 1604-1614Z pass, I heard the SSTV transmission and the multi-language
announcement from Arissat-1.
At 1610-1611, signal was S8 on 145.950 (max El = 30 Deg) with the following:
Kenwood TH-G71 HT
Comet dual-band whip , 15"
QTH = Austin, TX
Although I just updated the keps, the signal was strong just before the
calculated LOS. Wondering if Arissat-1 is degrading so fast, that it's
slowing/dragging even more than expected. If I get another chance over the
next week, I'll get a recording as well. Was pleasantly surprised that it
was on, considering nothing heard yesterday on a higher pass.
Bruce - W3NJ
-----Original Message-----
From: Alan P. Biddle <APBIDDLE@xxxxxx.xxx>
To: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>; SAREX-BB <SAREX@xxxxx.xxx>
Sent: Sun, Nov 27, 2011 6:46 am
Subject: [amsat-bb] Last chances to hear ARISSat-1 are rapidly approaching.
All,
A reminder that if you have been putting off working through the ARISSat-1
repeater, receiving SSTV pictures, or submitting telemetry, the next few
weeks will be your last opportunity to be a part of this satellite's
history. Since deployment in August, ARISSat-1 has descended about 60 km,
and is currently losing more than 1.5 km per day. The rapid rate is
partially the result of the recent solar activity on the atmosphere,
significantly increasing the drag. The predictions by several individuals
and groups are all converging toward a reentry in January or February, 2012.
Heating will become significant before then. Remember, good telemetry in
this period provides invaluable information to the engineering team, to be
used in future projects.
The orbit period changes about 30 seconds per day, and that will increase
steadily. Be certain to update your tracking program Keps from Space-Track
or CelesTrak before each pass. They issue revised versions 3-5 times daily.
As the descent continues, this will become even more critical to copying the
telemetry beacon, especially unattended.
73s,
Alan
WA4SCA
_______________________________________________
Sent via AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx. 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@xxxxx.xxx. Opinions expressed are those of the author.
Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 6, Issue 641
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