QRZ! Ham Radio 4/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 4.iso/digests/space/940172.txt

Internet Message Format | 1994-11-13 | 13KB

Date: Thu, 30 Jun 94 04:30:27 PDT
From: Ham-Space Mailing List and Newsgroup <[e-mail]>
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Subject: Ham-Space Digest V94 #172
To: Ham-Space


Ham-Space Digest            Thu, 30 Jun 94       Volume 94 : Issue  172

Today's Topics:
                     AO-13 and Field Day (3 msgs)
               decoding telemetry by telephone modem ?
                   Element Files Standard (2 msgs)
                    S. Trakcing Prg Recommendation
                          Satellite Tracking

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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: Wed, 29 Jun 1994 14:59:27 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!agate!library.ucla.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!uhog.mit.edu!nntp.club.cc.cmu.edu!news.mic.ucla.edu!unixg.ubc.ca!quartz.ucs.ualberta.ca!gov.nt.ca![e-mail]
Subject: AO-13 and Field Day
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Dave Michelson) writes:
>Did anyone else manage to work anybody through AO-13 on Field Day?
>
We heard the beacons loud and clear but the transponders were
>absolutely silent.  Was this just a case of a really bad squint angle
>or was there something else going on?
>
--
>Dave Michelson  ve7tsx
>[e-mail]
>

Same here.  I think it was the squint angle though.  At about 1130UTC
I did manage to hear my own CW and a few other stations on the downlink
but signals were too weak for me to copy.  It does seem strange that
it was not working at the beginning of the orbit.  I had the beacon
at S-9 when it was already 11000 km out but nothing else was heard.
Oh well.  Moving to attitude 180/0 on July 11 :-) :-) :-) :-)
=============================================================
John Boudreau VE8EV     INTERNET: [e-mail]
Inuvik, NWT, CANADA       PACKET: VE8EV@KL7GNG.#NAK.AK.USA.NA
=============================================================

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Date: 29 Jun 1994 12:03:04 -0600
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!math.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!mnemosyne.cs.du.edu!nyx10.cs.du.edu![e-mail]
Subject: AO-13 and Field Day
To: [e-mail]

[e-mail] (Dave Michelson) writes:

>Did anyone else manage to work anybody through AO-13 on Field Day?

>We heard the beacons loud and clear but the transponders were
>absolutely silent.  Was this just a case of a really bad squint angle
>or was there something else going on?

>--
>Dave Michelson  ve7tsx
>[e-mail]

Yes at the USECA clubs FD we made a few QSO's on AO-13 right as the contest
began and then a few more on it's next pass closer to the end of the contest.

73, Nate N8MBK
[e-mail]

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Date: 29 Jun 1994 19:08:15 -0400
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!howland.reston.ans.net!news.intercon.com!news1.digex.net!digex.net![e-mail]
Subject: AO-13 and Field Day
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]>,
Dave Michelson <[e-mail]> wrote:
>Did anyone else manage to work anybody through AO-13 on Field Day?
>
>We heard the beacons loud and clear but the transponders were
>absolutely silent.  Was this just a case of a really bad squint angle
>or was there something else going on?
>
>--
>Dave Michelson  ve7tsx
>[e-mail]
>
>
>
>
>

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

Date: Wed, 29 Jun 1994 13:37:50 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!emory!rsiatl!ke4zv![e-mail]
Subject: decoding telemetry by telephone modem ?
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Juergen Putzger) writes:
>I would like to decode the telemetry of DOVE-OSCAR17. Is it possible to do
>this with an ordinary telephone modem (Hayes compatible, max. 2400 Baud) ?
>The transmission rate is 1200 Baud AFSK (like packet radio). A circuit will
>be needed to simulate the telephone line, i suppose a DC-source in
>series with a transformer would do the job. Has anyone tried this with
>success?

Sorry, the packet signals are Bell 202 standard, your modem is Bell 212
at 1200 baud. They aren't compatable. However, a cheap little Baycom
adapter will work with the PC.

Gary
--
Gary Coffman KE4ZV          |    You make it,     | gatech!wa4mei!ke4zv!gary
Destructive Testing Systems |    we break it.     | uunet!rsiatl!ke4zv!gary
534 Shannon Way             |    Guaranteed!      | emory!kd4nc!ke4zv!gary
Lawrenceville, GA 30244     |                     |

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

Date: 29 Jun 1994 11:34:31 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!agate!usenet.ins.cwru.edu!lerc.nasa.gov!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!slip1-22.acs.ohio-state.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Element Files Standard
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (William
Roth) wrote:


>
> This makes it very difficult for programmers and users alike to find these
> files when it comes time to update. Since this is done as often as 3 times a
> week or more, I think that there should be some sort of standardization for
> the filenames used.

      This is unlikely since the names that amateurs wish to call their
      satellites are not the same as those assigned by NASA.
>
> I won't go into what I have been thinking of, since I would rather hear
> completely fresh opinions, unbiased by my suggestions. I have had a few
> responses on the two Kitsats where I posted a similar request, but I want to
> hear from as many as possible before throwing out a proposition.
>
> Filenamse are not the only problem. Usually there is extraneous text included
> in the files. This text, though sometimes informative, is enough to drive a
> programmer to take up knitting instead! If anyone has ideas on how to separate
> this extra text, while preserving useability, I would love to hear it!!!

       The ID numbers are the starting point. The solution is you write a
       little program that processes the original 2 line file from NASA.
       It includes a second file which you prepare that has the ID numbers
       and the name YOU want to assign to that ID number. The output file
       is a changed 2 line file with your names, sans stray spaces etc.
       This is not original with me. Will Marchant, KC6ROL, did this for
       a special purpose last year.
>
> I will be checking this area for about a week before I formulate a
> proposition, which I will send out for comment, and then present to Amsat,
> NASA, and whoever else might help in implementing a standard.

       I hate to throw cold water on an idea but the 'proposal' would be
       a waste of time. Neither organization is going to listen or change.
>
73,
Ron w8gus.

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

Date: Wed, 29 Jun 1994 12:59:36 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!agate!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com![e-mail]
Subject: Element Files Standard
To: [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (William Roth) writes:
>Over the years, I seen a lot of different ways of elements being sent. They
>seem to have boiled down to two types, Amsat and Two line. This is fine, since
>most tracking programs will read both, but there seems to be no
>standardization for filenames.
>
[snip]
>
>Filenamse are not the only problem. Usually there is extraneous text included
>in the files. This text, though sometimes informative, is enough to drive a
>programmer to take up knitting instead! If anyone has ideas on how to separate
                                                                       ^^^^^^
>this extra text, while preserving useability, I would love to hear it!!!
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For files containing 2-line elements, try

grep '^[12] [0-2]' oldfile > newfile


Or you can use a short BASIC program:

OPEN "OLDFILE" FOR INPUT AS #1
OPEN "NEWFILE" FOR INPUT AS #2

WHILE NOT EOF(1)
 LINE INPUT #1, A$
 B$ = LTRIM$(RTRIM$(A$))

 IF (LEFT$(B$,2) = "1 " OR LEFT$(B$,2) = "2 ")) AND LEN(B$) = 69 THEN
   PRINT #2, B$
 END IF

WEND
CLOSE
END

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

Date: 29 Jun 1994 17:40:13 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!swrinde!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!vms.csd.mu.edu![e-mail]
Subject: S. Trakcing Prg Recommendation
To: [e-mail]

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions as to which Sat Track
software would be good to use on a 286 laptop with only a HD
floppy?  I'm currently using TrakSat, but it just barely runs...
and sometimes crashes.

Thanks for any input.
Ryan Brooks

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

Date: 30 Jun 1994 08:23:36 GMT
From: ihnp4.ucsd.edu!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!lyra.csx.cam.ac.uk!warwick!kinguni![e-mail]
Subject: Satellite Tracking
To: [e-mail]

This post is a follow-up to my post last week about a satellite tracking system
which I am hoping to write in C for my final year project.

Thanks to the numerous people who replies with suggestions and clips of code in
numerous different languages (I didn't realise how similar all these languages
were - amazing how much you can relate to either C or Modula-2). Thanks also to
all the people who offered to rip the guts out of their programs and send me a
sysnposis (is that the right word?) of the code contained therein.

To those others who requested that I let them know what the outcome was. The answers
all lie in the book "Satellite Experimenter's Handbook" by Martin Davidoff, published
by the ARRL. This contains a chapter which runs through - step by step - all the
formulae and computations needed to track a satellite in real time from the Kepler
elements.

The book also explains everything else you could ever want to know about satellites,
including specific details on each 'bird' (I might as well try and get the
terminology correct).

In response to Tom <WB7ASR> who suggested that I write my program as a Windows .DLL
in C++ I can only say this. What kind of nutter masochist do you think I am? I have
done some windows applications programming in my time and I can imagine how hard
decent graphics are to do. *imagine a sad shake of the head around here*

The good news for Tom is that the finished result WILL have rotator control - in
fact that is the whole point of my project. To write a tracking system which will
actually track a satellite. In fact it will track a number of them.

The project is unlikely to be finished for another nine months or so - I am just
beginning now - but when it is I will be more than happy to make sources and hardware
specifications available to anyone who wants them. I will post to this group when
they are ready but don't hold your breath.


Thanks again to all those who helped, especially Neill Taylor <G4HLX> who sent me
a PASCAL listing which did everything I wanted to do. I have never programmed in
PASCAL and don't claim to understand it but his code was so well commented that it
was quite easy to understand. It made a lot of murky things somewhat clearer.

Sorry for the exceptionally long post but I wanted to make sure that everyone who
had helped knows how grateful I am. You all know who you are, sorry I couldn't reply
individually but you wouldn't believe how much mail I got.


In my opinion the response to this request has justified my belief in both this list
and in the world-wide society of Radio Amateurs in general.

Thanks,

-Niall

---

                              --==****==--
       Niall Pagdin, Student Advisory (SC), Kingston University,
                 Kingston-upon-Thames, London, England.
                    E~Mail: [e-mail]

                                - G7PDX -

      "Only those who attempt the absurd, achieve the impossible!"

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End of Ham-Space Digest V94 #172
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