In this episode, I joined Colin Butler, M6BOY; Edmund Spicer, M0MNG; Ed Durrant DD5LP; and Leslie Butterfield, G0CIB to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. The news items included:
The episode’s feature was on Hamzilla 2022.
In this episode, I joined Colin Butler, M6BOY; Edmund Spicer, M0MNG; Ed Durrant DD5LP; and Leslie Butterfield, G0CIB to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. The news items included:
The episode’s feature was on Hamzilla 2022.
The 38th AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting was held online on October 17, 2020. I’m kinda bummed about this because I just joined AMSAT, but somehow, I managed to miss this event. Fortunately, the symposium was recorded and is now online, and I’ve been enjoying watching the video (see below).
Here’s a list of the different presentations on the video and the times at which they start:
So far, I’ve only watched the GOLF-TEE System Overview and the AMSAT Education presentation. They were both interesting and I’m looking forward to watching the others.
I really hadn’t been keeping up with AMSAT lately, so the the presentation on the GOLF project was definitely news to me. GOLF is an ambitious project aimed at sending up high Earth orbit (HEO) satellites. GOLF is short for “Greater Orbits Larger (user communication) Footprints.” This is really pretty exciting stuff.
Watching these presentations really gives one an appreciation for the work that goes into the design of these satellites and the technical skills and dedication of the hams working on these projects. These guys are not getting paid to do any of this work, and as Eric Skoog, K1TVV, the GOLF System Engineer said in his presentation, “Space is hard.”
I’ve been threatening to get on the satellites for years now. It’s just been one of those things that never percolated up to the top of my list. I finally bit the bullet, though, and actually made my first satellite contact Tuesday!
Several things finally motivated me to do this. One, I’ve been feeling like I’ve been in a rut. Not just with ham radio, but with life in general. I’m sure that I’m not the only one feeling this way. I felt like I needed to do something different to shake things up a bit.
Two, among my followers, and those who I follow on Twitter, there are many satellite operators, including KI4ASK, KM4LAO, 2M0SQL, KX9X, and many others. Hearing about their exploits certainly gave me a push in the right direction.
Third, was the news about the International Space Station’s new crossband repeater. It sounded pretty cool to me to be able to bounce a signal off the ISS. After reading this news, I programmed my HT to the receive frequency, 437.800 MHz, and wouldn’t you know it, the ISS was passing nearly overhead at that exact time, and I copied a few callsigns on just the HT antenna. I took that as an omen.
Next, I had to decide on what kind of antenna to buy or build. I initially considered building my own antenna. There are lots of web pages and YouTube videos that show you how to build a satellite antenna. One of the many that caught my eye was Satellite Log Periodic Antenna Project Pt. 1.
In the end, though, I decided that if I tried building one I might get bogged down in the construction process instead of making contacts. I did some research on commercial antennas, and the choice seemed to be an antenna from Arrow Antennas and the Elk Antennas. Both Martin, M1MRB and Edmund, M0MNG, my co-hosts on the ICQPodcast, have Elk antennas, but when I asked on Twitter, the nearly unanimous choice was the Arrow antenna. Jeff, KE9V, settled that dispute when he noted that if I bought an Arrow antenna through AMSAT, that AMSAT would make a few bucks from the sale. So, I got the Arrow. I re-joined AMSAT, too.
It took me a few days to put the antenna together, and then discovered that I didn’t have the right adapters to connect it to the radio. After consulting with the Twitter gods, I purchased some from Amazon (BNC-SMA, BNC-reverse SMA). In the meantime, I programmed my radio for the new ISS cross-band repeater. For help in doing so, I found this great blog post. I thought that this might be the most logical one to try first, but I didn’t take into account how busy it would be. Since it’s the newest satellite station on the air, everyone wants to work it.
Next, I had to figure out when when the ISS was going to be overhead. I went back to the Twitter gods for recommendations for a satellite-tracking program, and among them was N2YO.Com. I like N2YO.Com. Using it, I was able to determine that the ISS would be passing nearly over head a little after 0030Z that evening.
I thought that tracking the ISS was going to be easy. At 0000Z, the sky was clear, and on a 2m net, I was assured by a local ham, who happens to be a professor emeritus of astronomy at the University of Michigan, that the ISS would be the brightest object in the sky. Unfortunately, by 0030Z, the sky had clouded over, and I never actually saw the satellite. I didn’t make a contact, either. I did hear the ISS repeater, but no one heard me.
After that, I refined my approach. I expanded the number of satellites I now have programmed into my radio and upped the transmit power to 5W. The satellites that I have now programmed into my radio include:
My strategy finally paid off. Just before lunch last Tuesday, I stood on my back porch and had a QSO with ND0C via PO-101! That was quite exciting. I can see where this might get addicting.
This has been a real learning experience, and isn’t that what ham radio is all about? I’ve been thinking about a number of ways to learn more and enhance my satellite operating experience:
One thing’s for sure. This has gotten me out of my ham radio rut. And, in times like these, that’s a good thing.
The AMSAT Board of Directors election is underway, and like last year’s ARRL Board elections, there seems to be a bit of a controversy. Bruce Perens, K6BP, is one of the hams that thinks it’s time for a change. He tweets:
Bruce Perens K6BP@BrucePerens
AMSAT Direction Election 2019: It’s Time For Change! I am recommending five candidates who can solve AMSAT’s problems and get the organization going in the right direction. Please see perens.com/static/AMSAT/E… Please re-tweet and pass onto other AMSAT members. @AMSAT
And, on the web page referenced in the URL, he writes:
AMSAT is absolutely vital to continue the role of Amateur Radio in space, one especially important when we’re seeing the start of a challenge to our 2-meter band allocation internationally. But there are problems with AMSAT: It’s now 15 years since AO-40 went SK. We’ve not done anything nearly so ambitious again in North America, while Europe and Africa now have a geostationary 10 GHz transponder for Amateur use. AMSAT’s current management is hogtied and overly fearful of ITAR while the Open Source community, provider of the cryptography in every web browser back when that was under ITAR, has had that problem solved for decades. And AMSAT can’t support itself with the current member dues.
…Let’s talk AMSAT BoD election, and let’s keep it simple. You’ve got 2 choices – ORI or the Incumbents.
Some might object to this simplification, but when the candidates tell you to also vote for their preferred candidate, the choice is pretty binary. First Up: ORI. Their simplified platform is this: Build digital birds, Screw the ITAR, and the current AMSAT board is mean.
So, Digital Birds eh? We’ve got digital birds right now. Surprised? That’s because no one uses them. FalconSat-3, NO-44 and NO-84 are all floating around up there right now available to you. They’re amazing pieces of tech, built by awesome engineers, and operators don’t care.
Is that harsh? Probably – but it’s the truth. Like it or not we’re in the appliance age, and the vast majority of ops are appliance operators. If you want to be an experimenter, that’s cool and great – but you’re in the 5%. 5% of the AMSAT fleet should then reflect your desires.
Next – ITAR. I agree, ITAR sucks. In my professional endeavors I’ve experienced first hand how ITAR stifles us. But, it is the law. And while flouting the edges of regulations is great for a small community with nothing to lose, or a small biz not exporting, AMSAT ain’t that. AMSAT launches satellites on rockets directly controlled by the US Government, Foreign Governments, or giant companies friendly with governments. If you think these folks will continue to give us a ride after adopting a LOL WE R NOW EXEMPT approach to the rules, you’re nuts.There are genuine issues with ITAR, and they should be hashed out by lawyers. But by electing an AMSAT board calling for disregarding ITAR based on their experience on the ground, the chances of us putting stuff in space drops dramatically. The game sucks, but we have to play it.
Finally, the “mean” issue. Not sure what I can say here other than laugh. People aren’t always going to get along, that’s what makes us, us. Block them on twitter, ignore their email – whatever, it has nothing to do with the primary goal of AMSAT – keeping amateur radio in space.
So, with this in mind as an operator, The ORI approved slate of candidates directly threatens my ability to keep making contacts on the Satellites. Their desire make the birds beep-boop only, pick a fight with our government sponsors, and get even over perceived slights is wrong.Alternatively, the Incumbent Board Members of @glasbrenner @PRStoetzer and @n0jy have launched 4 birds in 5 years, with another going up soon. They’ve got a plan for an entire next generation of sats, have kept the fleet usable by everyone, and followed the law to the letter.
Do I have problems with things like the Website or Office Expenses? Yea. Should we be doing more to build bigger better birds? Absolutely. I’ve got a whole list of things I’d like to see @AMSAT change – and I hope with all the publicity around this election some stuff will.
All this said, those issues pale in comparison to the primary goal of AMSAT. At the end of the day, I just want to make some contacts – nothing else really matters. The incumbent candidates have proven they can help me do that. The ORI group hasn’t, and doesn’t appear to want to.
I plan to vote for @glasbrenner @PRStoetzer & @n0jy and I hope you in the operator community will join me. Cause that’s how we’ll keep Amateur Radio in Space. If you disagree, well, then go write your own tweet storm, cause one is enough for me. 73.
Not being a satellite operator, I hadn’t really been keeping up on this. You can find all of the director candidates’ statements on the AMSAT website.
If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear from you. Please comment below.
This appeared in my Twitter feed the other day:
AMSAT @AMSAT
Now is a good time to remind us all that AMSAT runs on your donations and membership. Join up and help Keep Amateur Radio In Space today at amsat.org/shop/
With the recent launch of the Fox 1 – Cliff satellite, it is a good time to remind everyone that AMSAT is not funded by the government, nor by the ARRL, but by hams like you and me. The annual dues of $44/year, includes:
I just renewed my membership. I hope you will consider doing so as well.
Last year, I made a significant purchase at Dayton—my 150 MHz Siglent oscilloscope. This year, I didn’t really buy anything, though not for lack of trying. I was looking for two things: a hex beam and a GPS-disciplined, 10 MHz oscillator.
I was disappointed and kind of surprised that there were only two hex beam manufacturers there: Vibroplex, that sells Spider Beams, and RadioWavs. I also wanted to get a look at the K4KIO, NA4RR, and SP7IDX hex beams, as they’ve all gotten such good reviews on the hex-beam mailing list. Based on the reviews there, I’ll probably go with either the K4KIO or the NA4RR antenna.
I was also looking for a 10 MHz, GPS-disciplined oscillator. It would be really nice to have an accurate frequency source in my shack, and I actually had a good use for one a couple of weeks ago when Thom, W8TAM, brought over a couple of Chinese frequency counters he’d purchased. I didn’t find one there, but not finding one wasn’t as surprising as not finding more hex beams.
There are quite a few options. Force12 has started selling a GPS-disciplined oscillator (GPSDO) made in the U.K. It looks like a nice unit, but it costs $226. There are some used Trimble Thunderbolt units available on eBay for about $150. And if you Google “GPS disciplined oscillator” you’ll find a number of homebrew solutions. I may opt for the easy thing here and purchase the unit from Force12.
If you have an opinion on either hex beams or GPSDOs, please feel free to weigh in here or e-mail me directly.
Aside from that, I was able to find a Bencher BY-1 in the flea market for $50. It doesn’t look like it’s been used for quite a while, and the plug was wired backwards (i.e. the tip was connected to the dah contact, not the dit contact), so I’m not sure how much it was ever used. This evening, I rewired the plug and adjusted the contacts, so it’s ready for the next user.
I also purchased the book, Getting Started with Amateur Satellites, by G. Gould Smith, WA4SXM, published by AMSAT. Oddly enough, this book isn’t yet listed for sale in the AMSAT store, but I imagine that if you contact them, they’ll sell you a copy. The cost is $20.
The book purchase was triggered by my befuddlement at the ARROW Antenna booth. I wanted to buy an antenna to try to work some satellites, but they offer about a dozen different hand-held antennas for satellite work, and I just didn’t know what to get. They were really busy, too, and I didn’t feel like waiting around, so that I could ask them some questions. Perhaps after reading the book and perusing the ARROW website, which has a number of instructional articles and videos, I’ll be able to figure out what to get.
NOTE! On July 1, 2020, this post will become obsolete as the 2020 Extra Class question pool goes into effect. Please refer to the post from the 2020 No Nonsense Extra Class Study Guide instead.
E2A – Amateur radio in space: amateur satellites; orbital mechanics; frequencies and modes; satellite hardware; satellite operations; experimental telemetry applications
Working the satellites is a very popular amateur radio activity. There’s even an organization dedicated to launching and operating amateur radio satellites – AMSAT (www.amsat.org).
Perhaps the most important thing you need to know when trying to communicate via satellite is where the satellites are. One way to predict the location of a satellite at a given time is by calculations using the Keplerian elements for the specified satellite. (E2A12)
Amateur radio satellites are not in a geostationary orbit. That is to say they are constantly changing position in relationship to a point on the Earth. The type of satellite appears to stay in one position in the sky is geostationary. (E2A13)
When determining where a satellite is, you might want to know its orbital period. The orbital period of an Earth satellite is the time it takes for a satellite to complete one revolution around the Earth.(E2A03)
It’s also important to know the direction in which it is traveling. The direction of an ascending pass for an amateur satellite is from south to north. (E2A01) The direction of a descending pass for an amateur satellite is from north to south. (E2A02)
Next, you need to know what mode the satellite is in. The term mode as applied to an amateur radio satellite means the satellite’s uplink and downlink frequency bands. (E2A04)
We use a combination of letters to denote the mode. The letters in a satellite’s mode designator specify the uplink and downlink frequency ranges. (E2A05) If it were operating in mode U/V, a satellite’s receive signals would be in the 435-438 MHz band. (E2A06) U stands for UHF, V for VHF. With regard to satellite communications, the terms L band and S band specify the 23 centimeter and 13 centimeter bands. (E2A09)
Satellites repeat signals using transponders. Transponders are similar to repeaters, except that they receive signals across a band of frequencies and repeat them across another band of frequencies. The most common type of transponder is the linear transponder. All of these choices are correct when talking about the types of signals can be relayed through a linear transponder (E2A07):
One thing to keep in mind is to keep your transmitter power to the minimum needed to hit the satellite. Effective radiated power to a satellite which uses a linear transponder should be limited to avoid reducing the downlink power to all other users. (E2A08)
There are quite a few interesting phenomena that result from the fact that satellites rotate while they are orbiting. One reason the received signal from an amateur satellite may exhibit a rapidly repeating fading effect is because the satellite is spinning. (E2A10) To mitigate the effects of this fading, you might use a circularly polarized antenna. A circularly polarized antenna is the type of antenna that can be used to minimize the effects of spin modulation and Faraday rotation. (E2A11)
Sending up high-altitude balloons with amateur radio equipment has also become a popular part of the hobby. The balloons send telemetry data with various measurements, such as pressure and temperature, and GPS data to track their positions. The position data is sent using APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System), which is the technology used to track, in real time, balloons carrying radio transmitters. (E2A14)