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CX2SA > SATDIG 28.08.12 19:56l 1001 Lines 40412 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: AMSAT-BB-digest V7 274
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From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SA
To : SATDIG@WW
Today's Topics:
1. Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 7, Issue 272 (Matty Cunningham)
2. Re: FUNcube + SatPC32 + SDR-Radio (kb2m@xxxxxxx.xxxx
3. Re: FUNcube + SatPC32 + SDR-Radio (Mark L. Hammond)
4. More FCD (Tom Lubbers K8TL)
5. TDMA Question (Dave Marthouse)
6. Satellite Usage - 2012 (John Papay)
7. Re: Satellite Usage - 2012 (Andrew Glasbrenner)
8. Re: Satellite Usage - 2012 (Bob Cutter)
9. Re: Satellite Usage - 2012 (Bill Ress)
10. Re: Satellite Usage - 2012 (Bob- W7LRD)
11. looking back (John Becker)
12. Re: Satellite Usage - 2012 (Wouter Weggelaar)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 12:02:16 +0000
From: Matty Cunningham <manxmat@xxxxxxx.xxx>
To: <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 7, Issue 272
Message-ID: <SNT129-W5031D416154A7D865FC898ADA10@xxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi Tom,
Simon Brown's (creator of Ham Radio Deluxe) excellent SDR console should
work for you:-
http://www.sdr-radio.com/Software/tabid/174/language/en-US/Default.aspx
I have used this with TX/RX capabilities with a home built HF SDR receiver
and an Icom 746, (eg SDR console 'mutes' when the external radio is set to
TX) - you can also track the frequency of the external radio and change SDR
rx freq by using the VFO dial on the radio, or from using the SDR console
(clicking with mouse / using scroll wheel etc).
The FunCube dongle works very well with the SDR console, it also has built
in satellite support, so you can store downlink frequencies for each
satellite, and it will also control rotators and calculate doppler shift
(does a clever thing with the doppler shift by moving the AF from the IQ
stream, rather than changing the LO on the dongle (each time the LO changes
there is a gap before it locks again).
You would have to build some sort of sequencer for taking the FCD out of the
loop when going into TX, but these are widely available.
I have a Kenwood TS-2000 that I use to play with the birds, I haven't yet
tried this in conjuction with the SDR console, I imagine it would would (in
satellite mode) so you can have U/V or V/U capabilities - this is something
I should have a play with in the near future.
Best regards
Matty
MD0MAN
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:44:32 -0500
> From: Thomas Doyle <tomdoyle1948@xxxxx.xxx>
> To: AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx
> Subject: [amsat-bb] FUNcube + SatPC32 + SDR-Radio
> Message-ID:
> <CAHnRQRJTqfD8AZ6=swwNh2+m0zM6SaSVkTusqRsf12wE+p+kTA@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> The FUNcube and SDR-Radio work great together. Transmit control for
> satellite use in SDR-Radio is very limited (non-existent from what I
> have been able to find).
> I would like the FUNcube / SDR-Radio combination to act like a simple
> receiver under cat control from SatPC32 or similar program. I would
> like to talk with anyone who has actual experience with this.
>
>
> tnx & 73 W9KE
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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 7, Issue 272
> ****************************************
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 12:30:37 +0000 (UTC)
From: kb2m@xxxxxxx.xxx
To: APBIDDLE@xxxxxxx.xxx
Cc: AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FUNcube + SatPC32 + SDR-Radio
Message-ID:
<1973577223.1103094.1346157037147.JavaMail.root@xxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxxx.xx.xxxx.xx
xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
I'm also curious about what you find un-usable in SatPC32.
73 Jeff kb2m
----- Original Message -----
From: Alan P. Biddle <APBIDDLE@xxxxxx.xxx>
To: 'Ted' <k7trkradio@xxxxxxx.xxx>
Cc: AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx
Sent: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:32:42 -0000 (UTC)
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FUNcube + SatPC32 + SDR-Radio
Ted,
I am interested in why you consider SATPC32 almost unusable? It does
require a small amount of typing instead of clicking, but it just works, and
works perfectly. That is my criteria for usability. HRD is beautiful, and I
use it exclusively for HF, but gave up on it as a satellite program because
so many features, such as support for the FT-847, were broken and did not
get fixed.
73s,
Alan
WA4SCA
-----Original Message-----
From: amsat-bb-bounces@xxxxx.xxx [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@xxxxx.xxxx On
Behalf Of Ted
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 6:29 PM
To: 'Thomas Doyle'; 'Clayton Coleman W5PFG'
Cc: AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FUNcube + SatPC32 + SDR-Radio
Tom, one thing that would help is dragging SatPC32 into the 21st Century. I
find it almost unusable. Too bad the sat program in HRD has problems
tracking the linears...
73, Ted, K7TRK
-----Original Message-----
From: amsat-bb-bounces@xxxxx.xxx [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@xxxxx.xxxx On
Behalf Of Thomas Doyle
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 4:09 PM
To: Clayton Coleman W5PFG
Cc: AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FUNcube + SatPC32 + SDR-Radio
Clayton,
The activity level on the linear sats is very low and does not seem to
be getting any better. Not sure why. Perhaps it is cost or complexity
or problems putting up outside antennas. It is rather sad working
linear sat passes with no one else on them. At least I can hear my own
downlink signal and the beacon :-)
Unfortunately this sums it up.
AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
"Satellite Operations Report by Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA
" ... The other FM satellites, AO-27 and SO-50, continue to be heavily
used. FO-29 when operative, and VO-52 work well, but have very little
use."
Hope to see you on FO-29.
73 W9KE Tom Doyle
On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 4:43 PM, Clayton Coleman W5PFG
wrote:
> Hello Tom,
>
> I would like to understand the reason for your comment about the
> future being limited to FM satellites. It seems FUNcube, FOX-2 and
> Phase 3E projects would prove otherwise.
>
> 73
> Clayton
> W5PFG
>
> On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 4:18 PM, Thomas Doyle
wrote:
>> The future of the hobby is FM sats so this is all probably irrelevant
>> but it is still fun and interesting.
>>
>> tnx & 73 W9KE Tom
--
Sent from my computer.
tom ...
_______________________________________________
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-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-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 08:58:12 -0400
From: "Mark L. Hammond" <marklhammond@xxxxx.xxx>
To: kb2m@xxxxxxx.xxx
Cc: AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FUNcube + SatPC32 + SDR-Radio
Message-ID:
<CAPRXzyqnVYqP9XqM8fPxPiTpVEbQWZUKYU-dTxDw+NHRF8Hvjg@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
I'm jumping on this bandwagon, too! :)
Please tell me another program (for Windows) that does the following:
1) Rotor control
2) CAT control with Doppler correction (1 or 2 radios at the same time)
3) Automated operations, with specified priorities of tracking
(meaning, it automatically switches between satellites; priorities can
be set for the case when two birds are in view at the same time)
4) Tones can be set for each bird (or multiple, and then toggled/selected)
5) multiple configurations can be changed with a click (different
rotor, different radio, different satellites--whatever you want).
6) split mode for ISS operations
7) all proceeds go to AMSAT :)
8) and the list goes on and on...
Really, if the main issue is graphics--functionality wins hands down
in my book. Graphics aren't spectacular, but they are sufficient.
About the only thing I've wanted to do, but SatPC32 doesn't, is
eclipse predictions; so I use PREDICT or ILLUM.
(And I've been doing automated operations since the days of PG and PB
batch files ;) )
I've tried Gpredict, but can't get high numbered comports to work.
73!
Mark N8MH
On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 8:30 AM, <kb2m@xxxxxxx.xxx> wrote:
> I'm also curious about what you find un-usable in SatPC32.
>
> 73 Jeff kb2m
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Alan P. Biddle <APBIDDLE@xxxxxx.xxx>
> To: 'Ted' <k7trkradio@xxxxxxx.xxx>
> Cc: AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx
> Sent: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:32:42 -0000 (UTC)
> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FUNcube + SatPC32 + SDR-Radio
>
> Ted,
>
> I am interested in why you consider SATPC32 almost unusable? It does
> require a small amount of typing instead of clicking, but it just works, and
> works perfectly. That is my criteria for usability. HRD is beautiful, and I
> use it exclusively for HF, but gave up on it as a satellite program because
> so many features, such as support for the FT-847, were broken and did not
> get fixed.
>
> 73s,
>
> Alan
> WA4SCA
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: amsat-bb-bounces@xxxxx.xxx [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@xxxxx.xxxx On
> Behalf Of Ted
> Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 6:29 PM
> To: 'Thomas Doyle'; 'Clayton Coleman W5PFG'
> Cc: AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx
> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FUNcube + SatPC32 + SDR-Radio
>
> Tom, one thing that would help is dragging SatPC32 into the 21st Century. I
> find it almost unusable. Too bad the sat program in HRD has problems
> tracking the linears...
>
> 73, Ted, K7TRK
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: amsat-bb-bounces@xxxxx.xxx [mailto:amsat-bb-bounces@xxxxx.xxxx On
> Behalf Of Thomas Doyle
> Sent: Monday, August 27, 2012 4:09 PM
> To: Clayton Coleman W5PFG
> Cc: AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx
> Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: FUNcube + SatPC32 + SDR-Radio
>
> Clayton,
>
> The activity level on the linear sats is very low and does not seem to
> be getting any better. Not sure why. Perhaps it is cost or complexity
> or problems putting up outside antennas. It is rather sad working
> linear sat passes with no one else on them. At least I can hear my own
> downlink signal and the beacon :-)
>
> Unfortunately this sums it up.
>
> AMSAT Board of Directors Meeting Minutes
>
> "Satellite Operations Report by Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA
>
> " ... The other FM satellites, AO-27 and SO-50, continue to be heavily
> used. FO-29 when operative, and VO-52 work well, but have very little
> use."
>
> Hope to see you on FO-29.
>
> 73 W9KE Tom Doyle
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 4:43 PM, Clayton Coleman W5PFG
> wrote:
>> Hello Tom,
>>
>> I would like to understand the reason for your comment about the
>> future being limited to FM satellites. It seems FUNcube, FOX-2 and
>> Phase 3E projects would prove otherwise.
>>
>> 73
>> Clayton
>> W5PFG
>>
>> On Mon, Aug 27, 2012 at 4:18 PM, Thomas Doyle
> wrote:
>>> The future of the hobby is FM sats so this is all probably irrelevant
>>> but it is still fun and interesting.
>>>
>>> tnx & 73 W9KE Tom
>
>
>
> --
>
> Sent from my computer.
>
> tom ...
> _______________________________________________
> 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-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-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-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
--
Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 10:44:27 -0400 (EDT)
From: Tom Lubbers K8TL <k8tl@xxxxxxxxx.xxx>
To: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] More FCD
Message-ID:
<13538698.1346165068167.JavaMail.root@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.xxxxxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
My FCD receives as well as my IC-910.
At present I am using it mainly as a spectrum analyzer. On SO-52 you can
see the whole band pass plus the beacon.
It is interesting to note the beacon level versus most of the signals in the
pass band.
Also I can visually copy the CW from the beacon and other stations by
watching the water fall.
I did make a few contacts from the patio using the FCD, TH-F8 and arrow.
One of these days I'll figure out how to make these posts from the BB page.
Tom K8TL
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:03:18 -0400
From: "Dave Marthouse" <dmarthouse@xxxxx.xxx>
To: <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] TDMA Question
Message-ID: <0F8C2D289FC541609A5F62625618CF2D@xxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
I have been doing some reading about tdma digital voice applications such as
MotoTrbo etc. I am curious if tdma voice could be used on satellites
successfully Do to the time delay particularly using a heo or geo bird. Can
someone more knowledgeable than I help in answering this question?
Dave Marthouse N2AAM
dmarthouse@xxxxx.xxx
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:10:49 -0400
From: John Papay <john@xxxxxx.xxx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Satellite Usage - 2012
Message-ID: <679947.52844.qm@xxxxxxx.xxx.xxxx.xxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
The Funcube Dongle postings veered off into a
discussion of the current state of affairs with
the satellites that are still working. After reading
about how the activity on the linear birds was down, I
had to wonder a bit. It has not been my experience.
I really expected the activity on the FM birds to diminish when AO-51
died. We only get 7 minutes of AO-27 and that doesn't make
up for the much longer passes on AO-51. SO-50 has never been
off the air since I started in 2006 but it is the most difficult
to hear throughout the pass. For that reason, activity on SO-50
was fairly low. If you can't hear it, you can't work it. But
to my surprise, SO-50 activity dramatically increased when AO-51
went silent. Those who work the FM birds became determined to
work through this satellite despite the difficulties in hearing it.
Of course, if you are not full duplex, you don't know when you are
hearing the bird and that sometimes results in those who call but
cannot hear the responses. They might assume that there is no activity
on the bird when in fact there are many stations trying to make qso's.
I started using the ssb birds in late November 2007. There wasn't much
activity on AO-7, FO-29 and VO-52 at that time. But over the last two
years, activity on the linear birds has steadily increased. Much of the
increase can be attributed to the newer people who started on the FM birds
and quickly decided to get involved with the linear birds. I think the
availability of satellite capable radios has really helped. If you have
a TS2000 you can be on a linear bird without much effort. They are easier
to hear than an FM bird. Some are using a pair of radios to achieve full
duplex with great success. And I highly recommend SatPC32 which I have used
now since 2006. It runs 24x7 on a Vista Quad machine and doesn't crash. The
recordings on my website were made possible using the auto multi-satellite
tracking feature of this program. Recordings are made without any outside
intervention.
One of the things that powers DX on the HF bands are dxpeditions. Groups
spend large amounts of money to travel to destinations all over the world
so that others can put that country in the worked/confirmed column. With
satellites today it's the VUCC award that drives the activity. When someone
shows up from a rare grid, the birds are sometimes overwhelmed. ND9M has
worked from hundreds of USA grids and has also worked from his ship on the
linear birds. UT1FG/mm has been very active over the past three
years and has created pileups on the ssb birds not unlike those on HF. To
say the activity is down on the linear birds in recent years is simply
incorrect. And more hams are operating satellites away from home than ever
before. You work with what you have and make the best of it, fm or linear.
The future of AMSAT and the satellite phase of our hobby is all about the
new people. When you hear someone new on the bird and it's a noisy signal
with an incomplete callsign, maybe without phonetics, call that station.
Giving out that first contact with a newbie far outweighs 100 contacts with
those that you have worked many times before. Sometimes the effort doesn't
result in a qso, but maybe there is a possibility to follow up with an
email or postcard with an offer of help. Just remember we all started out
at some point with no experience. Most everyone can remember their first
contact and how important it was in terms of encouraging future operating.
So if you're reading the AMSAT-bb and are discouraged by the fact that there
are no High Earth Orbit Satellites, don't be. Times change, technology
changes but we continue by using what we have to the max and working towards
improving our situation where we can. AMSAT works very hard to explore
every possibility for building and launching new satellites. It's a
tremendous
effort that most of us don't realize is happening day after day. We all
need to support this effort. FOX I and II will be here before we know it.
These birds should give us some room for more qso's and new operators.
In the meantime, AO-7 continues to work at an altitude of 1450KM. FO-29 is
at 1200 or 1300 KM some of the time. These birds provide an opportunity to
work DX if you can see down to the horizon. If you can't, you can always
go to a location that is better and use your FT817 with an Arrow antenna
and work down to the horizon. There is nothing wrong with using an Arrow
or ELK antenna to work DX. WD9EWK has proven that point time after time.
A good ham radio operator is one that looks at a problem as a challenge
rather than a show stopper. Ham radio ingenuity over the years has been
amazing. So if you are having trouble and are frustrated, develop an
action plan to move forward. The resources available to us today are
unprecedented. And there are mentors out there that are willing to help.
Above all, stay positive and have some fun!
73,
John K8YSE
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:42:42 -0400 (GMT-04:00)
From: Andrew Glasbrenner <glasbrenner@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx>
To: John Papay <john@xxxxxx.xxx>, amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Satellite Usage - 2012
Message-ID:
<24243123.1346175763083.JavaMail.root@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx.xxxxxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
> To
>say the activity is down on the linear birds in recent years is simply
>incorrect. And more hams are operating satellites away from home than ever
>before.
Since my Board of Directors report from sometime ago was used as evidence,
let me state that activity on the linear transponders -is- up from when I
wrote that at least a year (or more?) ago. It's not uncommon to hear 4-5
qsos going at once now. That hasn't always been the case in years past.
73, Drew KO4MA
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:53:18 -0600
From: Bob Cutter <ki0g@xxxxx.xxx>
To: John Papay <john@xxxxxx.xxx>
Cc: "amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxxx <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Satellite Usage - 2012
Message-ID: <72A60EF7-8D0B-4952-9460-D56A29592713@xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Q
Well said!
73, Bob KI?G
On Aug 28, 2012, at 11:10 AM, John Papay <john@xxxxxx.xxx> wrote:
> The Funcube Dongle postings veered off into a
>
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 11:01:21 -0700
From: Bill Ress <bill@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Satellite Usage - 2012
Message-ID: <503D0771.9080302@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Nicely put John and thanks for putting the time into composing and
posting it.
Regards...Bill - N6GHz
On 8/28/2012 10:10 AM, John Papay wrote:
> The Funcube Dongle postings veered off into a
> discussion of the current state of affairs with
> the satellites that are still working. After reading
> about how the activity on the linear birds was down, I
> had to wonder a bit. It has not been my experience.
>
> I really expected the activity on the FM birds to diminish when AO-51
> died. We only get 7 minutes of AO-27 and that doesn't make
> up for the much longer passes on AO-51. SO-50 has never been
> off the air since I started in 2006 but it is the most difficult
> to hear throughout the pass. For that reason, activity on SO-50
> was fairly low. If you can't hear it, you can't work it. But
> to my surprise, SO-50 activity dramatically increased when AO-51
> went silent. Those who work the FM birds became determined to
> work through this satellite despite the difficulties in hearing it.
> Of course, if you are not full duplex, you don't know when you are
> hearing the bird and that sometimes results in those who call but
> cannot hear the responses. They might assume that there is no activity
> on the bird when in fact there are many stations trying to make qso's.
>
> I started using the ssb birds in late November 2007. There wasn't much
> activity on AO-7, FO-29 and VO-52 at that time. But over the last two
> years, activity on the linear birds has steadily increased. Much of the
> increase can be attributed to the newer people who started on the FM birds
> and quickly decided to get involved with the linear birds. I think the
> availability of satellite capable radios has really helped. If you have
> a TS2000 you can be on a linear bird without much effort. They are easier
> to hear than an FM bird. Some are using a pair of radios to achieve full
> duplex with great success. And I highly recommend SatPC32 which I have used
> now since 2006. It runs 24x7 on a Vista Quad machine and doesn't crash. The
> recordings on my website were made possible using the auto multi-satellite
> tracking feature of this program. Recordings are made without any outside
> intervention.
>
> One of the things that powers DX on the HF bands are dxpeditions. Groups
> spend large amounts of money to travel to destinations all over the world
> so that others can put that country in the worked/confirmed column. With
> satellites today it's the VUCC award that drives the activity. When someone
> shows up from a rare grid, the birds are sometimes overwhelmed. ND9M has
> worked from hundreds of USA grids and has also worked from his ship on the
> linear birds. UT1FG/mm has been very active over the past three
> years and has created pileups on the ssb birds not unlike those on HF. To
> say the activity is down on the linear birds in recent years is simply
> incorrect. And more hams are operating satellites away from home than ever
> before. You work with what you have and make the best of it, fm or linear.
>
> The future of AMSAT and the satellite phase of our hobby is all about the
> new people. When you hear someone new on the bird and it's a noisy signal
> with an incomplete callsign, maybe without phonetics, call that station.
> Giving out that first contact with a newbie far outweighs 100 contacts with
> those that you have worked many times before. Sometimes the effort doesn't
> result in a qso, but maybe there is a possibility to follow up with an
> email or postcard with an offer of help. Just remember we all started out
> at some point with no experience. Most everyone can remember their first
> contact and how important it was in terms of encouraging future operating.
>
> So if you're reading the AMSAT-bb and are discouraged by the fact that
> there
> are no High Earth Orbit Satellites, don't be. Times change, technology
> changes but we continue by using what we have to the max and working
> towards
> improving our situation where we can. AMSAT works very hard to explore
> every possibility for building and launching new satellites. It's a
> tremendous
> effort that most of us don't realize is happening day after day. We all
> need to support this effort. FOX I and II will be here before we know it.
> These birds should give us some room for more qso's and new operators.
>
> In the meantime, AO-7 continues to work at an altitude of 1450KM. FO-29 is
> at 1200 or 1300 KM some of the time. These birds provide an opportunity to
> work DX if you can see down to the horizon. If you can't, you can always
> go to a location that is better and use your FT817 with an Arrow antenna
> and work down to the horizon. There is nothing wrong with using an Arrow
> or ELK antenna to work DX. WD9EWK has proven that point time after time.
>
> A good ham radio operator is one that looks at a problem as a challenge
> rather than a show stopper. Ham radio ingenuity over the years has been
> amazing. So if you are having trouble and are frustrated, develop an
> action plan to move forward. The resources available to us today are
> unprecedented. And there are mentors out there that are willing to help.
> Above all, stay positive and have some fun!
>
> 73,
> John K8YSE
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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
>
>
--
Regards...Bill Ress
High Sierra Microwave
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 18:24:50 +0000 (UTC)
From: Bob- W7LRD <w7lrd@xxxxxxx.xxx>
To: John Papay <john@xxxxxx.xxx>
Cc: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Satellite Usage - 2012
Message-ID:
<75979743.1075593.1346178290555.JavaMail.root@xxxxxxx.xxxxxxxxxx.xx.xxxx.xxxxx
xx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
to dove-tail on John's post...this is not a "plug and play" hobby. We must
remember, "if this were easy, everyone would be doing it". Satellite op's
are a very small percentage of a small hobby. I recall when AO-40 finally
became available, we became S band experts almost overnight. Short of HEO we
can "tweek" our efforts by maybe having a Suitsat type sat thrown out the
door every time there's a EVA, maybe one with L/S transponder, how about a
MEO like RS-15. Then there's on board experimental propulsion for these
little birds. We can go on and on you know the drill...Yes we can and do
make it "easy" to get started with satellites, however once the bug bites,
at least for this old curmudgeon I believe, "the difficult we do
immediately, the impossible takes a little longer". It is essential we
support all efforts of AMSAT not just that little niche we "approve" of.
Still rebuilding antenna systems.......
WAS VUCC WAC
73 Bob W7LRD
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Papay" <john@xxxxxx.xxx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2012 10:10:49 AM
Subject: [amsat-bb] Satellite Usage - 2012
The Funcube Dongle postings veered off into a
discussion of the current state of affairs with
the satellites that are still working. After reading
about how the activity on the linear birds was down, I
had to wonder a bit. It has not been my experience.
I really expected the activity on the FM birds to diminish when AO-51
died. We only get 7 minutes of AO-27 and that doesn't make
up for the much longer passes on AO-51. SO-50 has never been
off the air since I started in 2006 but it is the most difficult
to hear throughout the pass. For that reason, activity on SO-50
was fairly low. If you can't hear it, you can't work it. But
to my surprise, SO-50 activity dramatically increased when AO-51
went silent. Those who work the FM birds became determined to
work through this satellite despite the difficulties in hearing it.
Of course, if you are not full duplex, you don't know when you are
hearing the bird and that sometimes results in those who call but
cannot hear the responses. They might assume that there is no activity
on the bird when in fact there are many stations trying to make qso's.
I started using the ssb birds in late November 2007. There wasn't much
activity on AO-7, FO-29 and VO-52 at that time. But over the last two
years, activity on the linear birds has steadily increased. Much of the
increase can be attributed to the newer people who started on the FM birds
and quickly decided to get involved with the linear birds. I think the
availability of satellite capable radios has really helped. If you have
a TS2000 you can be on a linear bird without much effort. They are easier
to hear than an FM bird. Some are using a pair of radios to achieve full
duplex with great success. And I highly recommend SatPC32 which I have used
now since 2006. It runs 24x7 on a Vista Quad machine and doesn't crash. The
recordings on my website were made possible using the auto multi-satellite
tracking feature of this program. Recordings are made without any outside
intervention.
One of the things that powers DX on the HF bands are dxpeditions. Groups
spend large amounts of money to travel to destinations all over the world
so that others can put that country in the worked/confirmed column. With
satellites today it's the VUCC award that drives the activity. When someone
shows up from a rare grid, the birds are sometimes overwhelmed. ND9M has
worked from hundreds of USA grids and has also worked from his ship on the
linear birds. UT1FG/mm has been very active over the past three
years and has created pileups on the ssb birds not unlike those on HF. To
say the activity is down on the linear birds in recent years is simply
incorrect. And more hams are operating satellites away from home than ever
before. You work with what you have and make the best of it, fm or linear.
The future of AMSAT and the satellite phase of our hobby is all about the
new people. When you hear someone new on the bird and it's a noisy signal
with an incomplete callsign, maybe without phonetics, call that station.
Giving out that first contact with a newbie far outweighs 100 contacts with
those that you have worked many times before. Sometimes the effort doesn't
result in a qso, but maybe there is a possibility to follow up with an
email or postcard with an offer of help. Just remember we all started out
at some point with no experience. Most everyone can remember their first
contact and how important it was in terms of encouraging future operating.
So if you're reading the AMSAT-bb and are discouraged by the fact that there
are no High Earth Orbit Satellites, don't be. Times change, technology
changes but we continue by using what we have to the max and working towards
improving our situation where we can. AMSAT works very hard to explore
every possibility for building and launching new satellites. It's a tremendous
effort that most of us don't realize is happening day after day. We all
need to support this effort. FOX I and II will be here before we know it.
These birds should give us some room for more qso's and new operators.
In the meantime, AO-7 continues to work at an altitude of 1450KM. FO-29 is
at 1200 or 1300 KM some of the time. These birds provide an opportunity to
work DX if you can see down to the horizon. If you can't, you can always
go to a location that is better and use your FT817 with an Arrow antenna
and work down to the horizon. There is nothing wrong with using an Arrow
or ELK antenna to work DX. WD9EWK has proven that point time after time.
A good ham radio operator is one that looks at a problem as a challenge
rather than a show stopper. Ham radio ingenuity over the years has been
amazing. So if you are having trouble and are frustrated, develop an
action plan to move forward. The resources available to us today are
unprecedented. And there are mentors out there that are willing to help.
Above all, stay positive and have some fun!
73,
John K8YSE
_______________________________________________
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: 11
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 13:33:46 -0500
From: John Becker <w0jab@xxxxxxxxx.xxx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] looking back
Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20120828133147.03010e90@xxxx.xxxxxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Sure do miss AO 40.
------------------------------
Message: 12
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 20:49:52 +0200
From: Wouter Weggelaar <wouterweg@xxxxx.xxx>
To: Bill Ress <bill@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx>
Cc: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Re: Satellite Usage - 2012
Message-ID:
<CAKXf1rEHOZR5JooFGQdALMigvWObVGoEJiu0KoKqv7qEBywUTQ@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Hi List,
If I may add to the conversation about linear birds, that Delfi-C3 (an Cube
On Tue, Aug 28, 2012 at 8:01 PM, Bill Ress <bill@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx> wrote:
> Nicely put John and thanks for putting the time into composing and posting
> it.
>
> Regards...Bill - N6GHz
>
>
> On 8/28/2012 10:10 AM, John Papay wrote:
>>
>> The Funcube Dongle postings veered off into a
>> discussion of the current state of affairs with
>> the satellites that are still working. After reading
>> about how the activity on the linear birds was down, I
>> had to wonder a bit. It has not been my experience.
>>
>> I really expected the activity on the FM birds to diminish when AO-51
>> died. We only get 7 minutes of AO-27 and that doesn't make
>> up for the much longer passes on AO-51. SO-50 has never been
>> off the air since I started in 2006 but it is the most difficult
>> to hear throughout the pass. For that reason, activity on SO-50
>> was fairly low. If you can't hear it, you can't work it. But
>> to my surprise, SO-50 activity dramatically increased when AO-51
>> went silent. Those who work the FM birds became determined to
>> work through this satellite despite the difficulties in hearing it.
>> Of course, if you are not full duplex, you don't know when you are
>> hearing the bird and that sometimes results in those who call but
>> cannot hear the responses. They might assume that there is no activity
>> on the bird when in fact there are many stations trying to make qso's.
>>
>> I started using the ssb birds in late November 2007. There wasn't much
>> activity on AO-7, FO-29 and VO-52 at that time. But over the last two
>> years, activity on the linear birds has steadily increased. Much of the
>> increase can be attributed to the newer people who started on the FM birds
>> and quickly decided to get involved with the linear birds. I think the
>> availability of satellite capable radios has really helped. If you have
>> a TS2000 you can be on a linear bird without much effort. They are easier
>> to hear than an FM bird. Some are using a pair of radios to achieve full
>> duplex with great success. And I highly recommend SatPC32 which I have
>> used
>> now since 2006. It runs 24x7 on a Vista Quad machine and doesn't crash.
>> The
>> recordings on my website were made possible using the auto multi-satellite
>> tracking feature of this program. Recordings are made without any outside
>> intervention.
>>
>> One of the things that powers DX on the HF bands are dxpeditions. Groups
>> spend large amounts of money to travel to destinations all over the world
>> so that others can put that country in the worked/confirmed column. With
>> satellites today it's the VUCC award that drives the activity. When
>> someone
>> shows up from a rare grid, the birds are sometimes overwhelmed. ND9M has
>> worked from hundreds of USA grids and has also worked from his ship on the
>> linear birds. UT1FG/mm has been very active over the past three
>> years and has created pileups on the ssb birds not unlike those on HF. To
>> say the activity is down on the linear birds in recent years is simply
>> incorrect. And more hams are operating satellites away from home than ever
>> before. You work with what you have and make the best of it, fm or linear.
>>
>> The future of AMSAT and the satellite phase of our hobby is all about the
>> new people. When you hear someone new on the bird and it's a noisy signal
>> with an incomplete callsign, maybe without phonetics, call that station.
>> Giving out that first contact with a newbie far outweighs 100 contacts
>> with
>> those that you have worked many times before. Sometimes the effort doesn't
>> result in a qso, but maybe there is a possibility to follow up with an
>> email or postcard with an offer of help. Just remember we all started out
>> at some point with no experience. Most everyone can remember their first
>> contact and how important it was in terms of encouraging future operating.
>>
>> So if you're reading the AMSAT-bb and are discouraged by the fact that
>> there
>> are no High Earth Orbit Satellites, don't be. Times change, technology
>> changes but we continue by using what we have to the max and working
>> towards
>> improving our situation where we can. AMSAT works very hard to explore
>> every possibility for building and launching new satellites. It's a
>> tremendous
>> effort that most of us don't realize is happening day after day. We all
>> need to support this effort. FOX I and II will be here before we know it.
>> These birds should give us some room for more qso's and new operators.
>>
>> In the meantime, AO-7 continues to work at an altitude of 1450KM. FO-29 is
>> at 1200 or 1300 KM some of the time. These birds provide an opportunity to
>> work DX if you can see down to the horizon. If you can't, you can always
>> go to a location that is better and use your FT817 with an Arrow antenna
>> and work down to the horizon. There is nothing wrong with using an Arrow
>> or ELK antenna to work DX. WD9EWK has proven that point time after time.
>>
>> A good ham radio operator is one that looks at a problem as a challenge
>> rather than a show stopper. Ham radio ingenuity over the years has been
>> amazing. So if you are having trouble and are frustrated, develop an
>> action plan to move forward. The resources available to us today are
>> unprecedented. And there are mentors out there that are willing to help.
>> Above all, stay positive and have some fun!
>>
>> 73,
>> John K8YSE
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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
>>
>>
>
> --
> Regards...Bill Ress
> High Sierra Microwave
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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 7, Issue 274
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