QRZ! Ham Radio 3/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 3.iso/digests/space/930117.txt

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Date: Tue, 21 Dec 93 04:30:36 PST
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Subject: Ham-Space Digest V93 #117
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Ham-Space Digest            Tue, 21 Dec 93       Volume 93 : Issue  117

Today's Topics:
                          ANS-345 BULLETINS
                    Mir QSL address needed*******
                       Satel Tracking Software
                          Some RS Questions
             Two-Line Orbital Element Set:  Space Shuttle

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Archives of past issues of the Ham-Space Digest are available
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We trust that readers are intelligent enough to realize that all text
herein consists of personal comments and does not represent the official
policies or positions of any party.  Your mileage may vary.  So there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1993 17:19:59 MST
From: news.acns.nwu.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!news.cyberstore.ca!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!alberta!nebulus!ve6mgs![e-mail]
Subject: ANS-345 BULLETINS
To: [e-mail]

SB SAT @ AMSAT   $ANS-345.01
AO-13 FACES LONG ECLIPSE PERIODS

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 345.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 11, 1993
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-345.01

AO-13 Experiences Long Solar Eclipse Which Affect Transponder Operations
James Miller (G3RUH) of the AO-13 Command Team reports that because of the
long duration of the solar eclipse periods that AO-13 is experiencing, they
have been forced to severely curtail transponder operations.  Some of the
eclipse periods have been as long as 2 hours.  Battery bus voltage has
become so low that the net affect has been that there has been no battery
charging from orbit to orbit.  The safety threshold on the battery bus
voltage is currently set 12.6 volts.  When the bus voltage drops below 12.6
volts, the on-board computer shuts down the beacon and brings all the other
subsystems on AO-13 to a "low-power" state.  Currently, with the trans-
ponders and telemetry beacons turned-off, the total current consumption on
AO-13 is around 1 ampere.  In attempt to remedy this low battery voltage
problem, the Command Team has made an spacecraft attitude re-adjustment to
Bahn Longitude 245 degrees and a Bahn Latitude of -5 degrees.  But under
the current solar eclipse circumstances, even this has not been sufficient
to solve the problem of low battery voltage.  So it was necessary to take
even further steps including turning off all transponder operations on
AO-13 until between Friday December 10 and Monday December 13, 13-DEC-93
around 03:28 UTC.  It is hoped that this will bring AO-13 through this
difficult time period, however, there is no guarantee that the above
actions will be enough.  It should be noted that AO-13's batteries are now
5 years old and the Command Team feels that is may be necessary to take a
close look at the battery charging software and presets to determine if
they need to be adjusted for the age of the batteries.

It is requested that all AO-13 users keep a close "ear" to the telemetry
beacons which can be heard on a downlink frequency 145.812 MHz or 2400.646
MHz for the latest information on the transponder schedule.

The Command Team is always interested in hearing from the user any
"constructive feedback" about AO-13 transponder operations.

The AO-13 Command Team ccurrnetlu consists of the following:

  Peter   DB2OS  @ DB0FAU
  James   G3RUH  @ GB7DDX
  Graham  VK5AGR @ VK5WI

[The AMSAT News Service (ANS) would like to thank G3RUH for the information
 which went into this bulletin item.]

/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT   $ANS-345.02
IO-26 SUFFERS OBC CRASH

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 345.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 11, 1993
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-345.02

IK2OVV Explains the IO-26 On-Board-Computer (OBC) Crash

After 45 days of uninterrupted BBS service on IO-26, on 8-DEC-93 at
approximately 11:30 UTC, ITAMSAT IO-26 suffered a crash during a pass over
Europe.  IO-26 is now in an undefined status, with its trasmitter on but no
MBL telemetry; the Command Team will try to regain control of the satellite
in the next passes over Europe.  The cause of the crash is still unclear;
the Command Team is investigating on some new software used to access the
BBS services.  In the past, some other MICROSATs crashes were due to bugs
found in the user software.  ITAMSAT Command Team, while recommending users
not to uplink to the satellite at this time, would like to receive reports
about IO-26, especially regarding the presence of just the HDLC flags on
the downlink or some sort of telemetry, either MBL or PHT style.  However,
after examining the memory dumps taken from IO-26, Alberto Zagni (I2KBD)
and Harold Price (NK6K) have decided to begin the uploading of the high-
level software to restore IHT (ITAMSAT Housekeeping Task) capability.
The cause of the crash is still unknown; I2KBD and NK6K are working on
the memory dumps, but the crash destroyed part of the internal logs kept
by the high-level software.  Since the crash happened as one of the Ground
Command Stations in Milan was uplinking to the satellite using a new ground
software (which has not yet been fully tested), there is chance that this
was the cause of the crash.  The ITAMSAT Command Team has decided not to
turn the BBS on after the reloading of the software; the Team will start
some Whole Orbit Data (WOD) collection in order to fully optimize the
energy budget onboard the satellite.  This will enable IO-26 to have higher
power settings on the downlink.  It is estimated that the high-level
software will be working by this soon; stay tuned on the downlink for any
news!

The ITAMSAT Command Team would like to thank again Harold Price (NK6K)
for the great help in debugging the memory dumps and the Eyesat Command
Team for helping during the initial recovery.

ITAMSAT Command Team can be reached via Internet as [e-mail]
or [e-mail], and on Compuserve HAMNET.

73 de Luca Bertagnolio IK2OVV
ITAMSAT Command Team

/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT   $ANS-345.03
AMSAT OPS NET SCHEDULE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 345.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 11, 1993
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-345.03

Current AMSAT Operations Net Schedule For AO-13

AMSAT Operations Nets are planned for the following times.  Mode-B Nets
are conducted on AO-13 on a downlink frequency of 145.950 MHz.  If, at the
start of the OPS Net, the frequency of 145.950 MHz is being used for a QSO,
OPS Net enthusiasts are asked to move to the alternate frequency of 145.955
MHz.

 Date           UTC    Mode     Phs     NCS     Alt NCS

 3-Jan-94       0200   B       160      WA5ZIB  N7NQM

Any stations with information on current events would be most welcomed.
Also, those interested in discussing technical issues or who have questions
about any particular aspect of OSCAR statellite operations, are encouraged
to join the OPS Nets.  In the unlikely event that either the Net Control
Station (NCS) or the alternate NCS do not call on frequency, any
participant is invited to act as the NCS.

**************************************

Slow Scan Television on AO-13

SSTV sessions will be held on immediately after the OPS Nets a downlink
on a Mode-B downlink frequency 145.960 MHz.

/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT   $ANS-345.04
WEEKLY OSCAR STATUS REPORTS

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 345.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD DECEMBER 11, 1993
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-345.04

Weekly OSCAR Status Reports: 11-DEC-93

AO-13: Current Transponder Operating Schedule:
L QST *** AO-13 TRANSPONDER SCHEDULE ***  1993 Nov 15-Jan 31
Mode-B  : MA   0 to MA  95 !                   / Eclipses, max
Mode-B  : MA  95 to MA 180 ! OFF Dec 07 - 24. <  duration 136
Mode-B  : MA 180 to MA 218 !                   \ minutes.
Mode-S  : MA 218 to MA 220 !<- S beacon only
Mode-S  : MA 220 to MA 230 !<- S transponder; B trsp. is OFF
Mode-BS : MA 230 to MA 256 !        Blon/Blat 240/-5
Omnis   : MA 250 to MA 150 !  Move to attitude 180/0, Jan 31
[G3RUH/DB2OS/VK5AGR]

FO-20: The following is the FO-20 operating schedule:
       Analog mode: 15-Dec-93  07:41 -to- 22-Dec-93 8:05 UTC
       Digital mode: otherwise noted above.  [JJ1WTK]

IO-26: ITAMSAT sufferred a system crash after 45 days of flawless
       operations.  The command team is gathering data to try to determine
       the source of the problem.  They state that the transmitter is on,
       but the BBS is not open.

AO-16: Operations are normal. [WH6I]

LO-19: Operations are normal. [WH6I]

KO-23: Functioning normally.  There have been some questions regarding
       image files.  When WH6I see some images on KITSAT, he trys to list
       them, but files on that satellite are only active for maybe 5-6
       days depending on how much new material is uploaded.  Therefore, by
       the time this status report makes it to the ANS status report,
       the files may be gone.  Satellite image files on KITSAT have names
       in the form KAI?xxxx where ? is either W or N to indicate a WIDE
       or NARROW view image.  The "xxxx" is a serial number.  These files
       are about 350Kbytes large and can be seen in the directory in PB by
       hitting F4 to see the list of files generated by the satellite.
       They are usually in pairs with a wide and narrow view file.  These
       files are downloaded just like anyother file.  The program DISPLAY
       which is often up on the birds willdisplay these images, and it will
       display whatever there is in the xxxx.ACT file of the image, so that
       you can look at a partial download and decide if it is worth
       pursuing. [WH6I]

RS-10: After a period of inactivity, the RS-10 QSO robot is QRV again. The
       downlink is approx 29.403 MHz, and uplink is +/- 145.820 MHz.  If
       you are "into" the robot receiver, your CW from the few KHz wide
       passband will be retransmitted on the robot's fixed frequency.  The
       speed of your CW response is not important; it just needs to be
       steadily and cleanly sent.  K0BJ notes that he just changed from a
       vertical dipole to a J-pole.  It seems so far to be about as bad
       with QSB as the dipole, but the J-pole did seem to peak more in the
       longer, low-elevation parts of the pass.  The next experiment K0BJ
       will perform is with a turnstile antenna.

POSAT: CT1ENQ would like to inform that the Portuguese satellite (POSAT) is
       now prepared for amateur radio use.  Please contact Portuguese AMSAT
       group, AMSAT-PO, for more information.

The AMSAT NEWS Service (ANS) is looking for volunteers to contribute weekly
OSCAR status reports.  If you have a favorite OSCAR which you work on a
regular basis and would like to contribute to this bulletin, please send
your observations to WD0HHU at his CompuServe address of 70524,2272, on
INTERNET at [e-mail], or to his local packet BBS in the Denver, CO
area, WD0HHU @ W0LJF.#NECO.CO.USA.NOAM.  Also, if you find that the current
set of orbital elements are not generating the correct AOS/LOS times at
your QTH, PLEASE INCLUDE THAT INFORMATION AS WELL.  The information you
provide will be of value to all OSCAR enthusiasts.

/EX

------------------------------

Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1993 08:47:58 GMT
From: mvb.saic.com!unogate!news.service.uci.edu!usc!sdd.hp.com!math.ohio-state.edu!cyber2.cyberstore.ca!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!unixg.ubc.ca!kakwa.ucs.ualberta.ca!alberta!nebulus!ve6mgs!jeff@network.
Subject: Mir QSL address needed*******
To: [e-mail]

Can anyone tell me what the QSL address for R0mir-1 is?
please help!

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1993 14:50:11 GMT
From: pacbell.com!sgiblab!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!torn!nott!emr1![e-mail]
Subject: Satel Tracking Software
To: [e-mail]

[e-mail] (TOM C. JOHNSON) writes:

>In article <2f2r9b$[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Benjie Chen) writes:
>|> I am getting interested in satel tracking, and I would like
>|> suggestions on what tracking shareware I should get.
>|>
>|> All information are welcome.
>|>
>|> Thanks,
>|>
>|> Benjie
>|>


>Try PC-TRACK. It's available as PCT214A.ZIP at oak.oakland.edu (141.210.10.117)
>in the /pub/msdos/satelite directory.

>Tom

Depending on what you need, and what computer you are going to try. There are
also: Trak280.zip and Usat92b.zip on that directory. T280 is shareware and Usat
is freeware (I think) with the qb source code. Also if you want to buy
software, AMSAT sells InstantTrack with all the bells and whistles, and will even
drive your antennas for you!

Two Line elements are available from archive.afit.af. mil in the pub/space
directory.

--
Dave Stephenson
Geological Survey of Canada       *Too much bad arithmetic is not a *
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada           *substitute for not enough good   *
Internet: [e-mail]    *         mathematics             *

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1993 09:12:05
From: elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!noc.near.net!lard.ftp.com!wabi.ftp.com![e-mail]
Subject: Some RS Questions
To: [e-mail]

Hi Isaac

>Does RS-10 have a reverse linear transponder or a regular one?  I'm not
>sure where between 29.360 and 29.400 to find my signal when uplinking on
>2m.

I don't know what type of transponder RS-10 uses, but here's how I figure out
where my downlink will be:

     If the uplink is 145.890

     Then the downlink is 29.390

In other words, match the last two digits (the "90"), While you're listening,
send  a series of v's by cw and scan up and down 5 hz.

>How do I know which mode RS-10 is using?  Does it only use one mode at a
>time, or all modes simulatneously?  Which mode does it use the most?  Do
>RS-10 and 11 use the same  mode at the same time?  I am interested in modes
>T and A.

Last I heard, RS-10 is always mode A.  Other modes interfere with the payload
that it piggybacks on.

>Should I be able to hit RS-10 with 25 watts and a 5/8 vertical (at a very
>high location) consistantly if its high above the horizon?  Would changing
>the orientation of the antenna from vertical to horizontal help?

I've done QSO's with a 1/4 wave ground plane and 10 watts.  You should do fine
with what you have.  The fun of the RS sats is that you don't have to worry
about pointing antennas.

>How come I can't track RS-12/13 using Traksat and current TLE data?

Don't know on this one.

73...Keith - KA1RHO

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1993 16:44:08 MST
From: news.acns.nwu.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!news.cyberstore.ca!nntp.cs.ubc.ca!alberta!nebulus!ve6mgs![e-mail]
Subject: Two-Line Orbital Element Set:  Space Shuttle
To: [e-mail]

The most current orbital elements from the NORAD two-line element sets are
carried on the Celestial BBS, [phone], and are updated daily (when
possible).  Documentation and tracking software are also available on this
system.  As a service to the satellite user community, the most current
elements for the current shuttle mission are provided below.  The Celestial
BBS may be accessed 24 hours/day at 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, or 9600 bps using
8 data bits, 1 stop bit, no parity.

Element sets (also updated daily), shuttle elements, and some documentation
and software are also available via anonymous ftp from archive.afit.af.mil
(129.92.1.66) in the directory pub/space.

HST
1 20580U 90037B   93345.46188666  .00005419  00000-0  52909-3 0  3860
2 20580  28.4709   1.6300 0005714 286.6621  72.1424 14.90379666  1344
STS 61
1 22917U 93075A   93346.91666667  .00000086  00000-0  95796-6 0   332
2 22917  28.4721 352.2809 0006031 290.1471 332.0933 14.90687234  1570
HST Array
1 22920U 90037C   93345.32182143  .00012724  00000-0  11609-2 0   101
2 22920  28.4713   2.4416 0005168  87.7195 272.3549 14.93670423  1334
--
Dr TS Kelso                           Assistant Professor of Space Operations
[e-mail]                    Air Force Institute of Technology

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End of Ham-Space Digest V93 #117
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