| |
CX2SA > SATDIG 09.09.19 21:07l 846 Lines 41253 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : AMSATBB14343
Read: GUEST
Subj: AMSAT-BB-digest V14 343
Path: IW8PGT<HB9ON<IW2OHX<UA6ADV<CX2SA
Sent: 190908/1522Z @:CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM #:13711 [Salto] FBB7.00e $:AMSATBB14343
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.SAL.URY.SOAM
To : SATDIG@WW
Today's Topics:
1. Re: How to digipeat? (Robert MacHale)
2. Re: How to digipeat? (Robert MacHale)
3. Re: How to digipeat? (Hans BX2ABT)
4. Re: How to digipeat? (JoAnne Maenpaa)
5. Re: How to digipeat? (Hans BX2ABT)
6. Re: How to digipeat? (Hans BX2ABT)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2019 06:00:43 +0000 (UTC)
From: Robert MacHale <robert.machale@?????.???>
To: AMSAT <amsat-bb@?????.???>, Scott <scott23192@?????.???>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] How to digipeat?
Message-ID: <508141734.3889985.1567922443664@????.?????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
What is the callsign for IO-86 telemetry beacons?
Due to the equatorial orbit I never hear it in California.
73
Robert MacHale. KE6BLR Ham Radio License.?http://spaceCommunicator.club/aprs?
. Supporting Boy Scout Merit Badges in Radio, Robotics, and Space Exploration
On Saturday, September 7, 2019, 01:40:06 PM PDT, Scott via AMSAT-BB
<amsat-bb@?????.???> wrote:
Hi Hans!
Like any digital mode, 1200 or 9600 packet requires several things to work
together using the correct settings.? This might run a little long, but
I'll be glad to outline them.
But first, one helpful thing to remember is that you want to treat the
uplink & downlink as completely separate affairs.? Depending on the
satellite, the uplink and downlink might find you using different bands,
different radios, different antennas, different software... at a MINIMUM
you'll be using different RF frequencies even if it's a simplex packet
digipeater since the doppler compensation will be opposite for up -vs-
down. (caveat - on 2m normal FM you can get by with sitting on one freq)
To me it's always made sense to verify that you're 100% good to go on the
downlink, then set yourself up for the uplink.
So, if anyone wants to read on, here are the things to consider.
RF:? you'll need to know what the uplink & downlink RF frequencies are and
if either is in the 70cm band, doppler compensation is mandatory.? Here's a
tip: several of the newer sats are using NARROW-FM... even if you're
working on 2 meters, doppler compensation to/from a narrow-band satellite
radio is making a huge difference in my experience.? CAT control your radio
if possible; if not, then pre-program 5 memory channels the way most people
have their FM radios setup for voice satellite work.
MOD/DEMOD:? your radio needs to have a connection to your computer where
you run software set to decode the type of modulation in use by the
satellite.? On Windows, the various UZ7HO Soundmodem versions provide
perhaps the easiest interface to work with.? Direwolf is an option on
Windows, too, and by-the-way makes for a very easy to use iGate utility
running off to the side of your screen.? On linux, Direwolf is the most
popular option to my knowledge.? On either platform, of course we have to
find out from the satellite documentation what settings are required.? A
critical note that often prevents success on rates above 1200 baud is that
beyond that speed we need more audio bandwidth than is normally available
for general listening.? So, whether you're using a "real" radio or an SDR,
good rules of thumb are 3KHz of audio bandwidth for 1200 baud and 15KHz of
audio bandwidth for the higher rates.? On modern radios, that means using a
connection to the radio's "DATA" port for rates above 1200.? My TM-V71A,
for example, also has a menu option to switch between 1200 & 9600 - very
important!
USER INTERFACE:? as you mentioned, the UISS software is a great tool to use
as the interface when sending/receiving the packet modes.? It communicates
with UZ7HO Soundmodem or Direwolf to send/receive data to/from the
satellite.? But what to transmit?? We need that info from the satellite
documentation.? The "TO" is most often "CQ", but read everything you can
find about the satellite in question to be sure. (hint: monitor the
downlink & see what others are using!)? The "VIA" can be confusing because
many sats will respond to more than one name.? It all comes down to the
documentation - historically the 1200 baud APRS sats will answer to "ARISS"
which is handy... you don't have to change all your settings between
satellites.? FalconSat-3 is different; we use "PFS3-1" when transmitting to
FS-3.? "If" there actually is an active digipeater on BugSat-1, the team
has instructed us to use "LU7AA" as the call sign to access that satellite.
(I've tried BugSat-1 twice now but at the time of this post, have not had
any success)? As for the payload text to transmit, UISS helps a lot (for
APRS sats) by guiding us into sending properly formatted 'TEXT',
'POSITION', and 'MESSAGE' type APRS packets.? Monitoring the downlink and
seeing what message types others are having success with is helpful here.
Heck, everything I do on the sats is a copy-cat of the operating techniques
used by the operators that you see post repeatedly here, on Twitter,
QRZ.com, and elsewhere.? A huge 'thank-you' to all who share how-to info!
So, aside from individual considerations that are unique to particular
satellites (FS-3 is cross-band full-duplex, for example), that is an
overview.? If anyone has read this far, you have my sympathy.? I just
wanted to spell out what is common knowledge to most here on the chance
that one item might ring a bell and answer a question for you.? If the ISS
or either of the PSAT digipeaters would come back online, that would make
it a lot easier to practice with these modes.? As of the date I'm typing
this, all we have active over my location in the U.S.? are AISAT-1 (1200
narrow-FM) & FS-3 (9600).
Good luck!
-Scott,? K4KDR
===========================
On Sat, Sep 7, 2019 at 11:01 AM Hans BX2ABT via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb@?????.???>
wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> Apparently my mail about BugSat-1 raised some interest into that bird's
> digipeater. But that still leaves me with the following question (and I
> hope I don't sound too obtuse): how do you digipeat? I've tried to
> understand it by googling it over the past year or so, but I still don't
> get it much. Most tutorials explain about setting it up, but with HTs. I
> am running a home station only, with the rig connected to a PC. From
> what I understand you need to use the program UISS then.
>
> I got as far as this: I installed UISS (under Wine) and got it connected
> to Direwolf. Right now I can work the Falconsat-3 BBS using PacSat
> Ground Station and while running that program I see the same messages
> that Direwolf displays also appearing in UISS. So far, so good, but then
> what? I press either F5, F6, or F7, but nothing happens. Yes, my rig
> burps out some data for a split second, but I can't find myself back on
> APRS.fi. So what am I doing wrong? Any parameters to adjust? Or are
> digipeats not stored for the next iGate to put it on the internet?
>
> Again, I hope I don't sound too witless, but I've never really
> understood APRS, apart from terrestrial position reporting and even that
> was kind of hard with all the paths and whatnot. Hope you nice people on
> this list can drop some pointers. 73 de Hans
>
> P.S. I've got some nasty local interference on 145.825 MHz and that
> makes receiving the ISS and other birds almost impossible. I was lucky
> to get two frames in from IO-86 the other day, because that was due
> south, with the QRM coming from the north-east. Getting a signal up
> shouldn't be much of a problem, though.
>
_______________________________________________
Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
expressed
are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2019 06:13:01 +0000 (UTC)
From: Robert MacHale <robert.machale@?????.???>
To: 'Scott' <scott23192@?????.???>, AMSAT-BB@?????.????
<bernd1peters@?????.???>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] How to digipeat?
Message-ID: <1964409246.3890660.1567923181976@????.?????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Hey Hons,
It seems like there might be a need for a YouTube video explaining the
basics of Satellite APRS.
Learning APRS on 144.390 MHz is a good place to start. This might be the
best way to learn how to work with digipeaters.
Satellite APRS has many nuances that make it very different than regular
APRS. For example, interference on 145.825 MHz needs to be mitigated when
trying to receive faint signals. One thing that helps is lowering the
antenna either below a wood fence line or below a wooded tree line or being
surrounded by 10 degree hills.
My location has a lot of interference from neighboring RF so I use a band
pass filter on 2M for receive.
The squelch needs to be at zero. Many Satellite APRS packets do not break
the squelch on my HT.
These sites might be helpful:
http://www.aprsat.com/predict?- this shows upcoming Satellite APRS passes
for your area.
http://www.spaceCommunicator.club/aprs?- this reports Satellite APRS packets
from all satellites combined into one place.
You're ahead of me on Falconsat-3; I haven't got that to work yet on 9600
bps. I mostly work with 1200 bps on 145.825 MHz.
73
Robert MacHale. KE6BLR Ham Radio License.?http://spaceCommunicator.club/aprs?
. Supporting Boy Scout Merit Badges in Radio, Robotics, and Space Exploration
On Saturday, September 7, 2019, 10:14:44 PM PDT, Bernd Peters via
AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb@?????.???> wrote:
Hi Scott,
On behalf of all Newbies, thank you for your reply. Thank you for spending a
significant amount of time to detail what is essential information to help
fellow Hams.
73,
Bernd - KB7AK
-----Original Message-----
From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces@?????.???> On Behalf Of Scott via AMSAT-BB
Sent: Saturday, September 7, 2019 1:36 PM
To: AMSAT <amsat-bb@?????.???>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] How to digipeat?
Hi Hans!
Like any digital mode, 1200 or 9600 packet requires several things to work
together using the correct settings.? This might run a little long, but I'll
be glad to outline them.
But first, one helpful thing to remember is that you want to treat the
uplink & downlink as completely separate affairs.? Depending on the
satellite, the uplink and downlink might find you using different bands,
different radios, different antennas, different software... at a MINIMUM
you'll be using different RF frequencies even if it's a simplex packet
digipeater since the doppler compensation will be opposite for up -vs- down.
(caveat - on 2m normal FM you can get by with sitting on one freq)? To me
it's always made sense to verify that you're 100% good to go on the
downlink, then set yourself up for the uplink.
So, if anyone wants to read on, here are the things to consider.
RF:? you'll need to know what the uplink & downlink RF frequencies are and
if either is in the 70cm band, doppler compensation is mandatory.? Here's a
tip: several of the newer sats are using NARROW-FM... even if you're working
on 2 meters, doppler compensation to/from a narrow-band satellite radio is
making a huge difference in my experience.? CAT control your radio if
possible; if not, then pre-program 5 memory channels the way most people
have their FM radios setup for voice satellite work.
MOD/DEMOD:? your radio needs to have a connection to your computer where you
run software set to decode the type of modulation in use by the satellite.
On Windows, the various UZ7HO Soundmodem versions provide perhaps the
easiest interface to work with.? Direwolf is an option on Windows, too, and
by-the-way makes for a very easy to use iGate utility running off to the
side of your screen.? On linux, Direwolf is the most popular option to my
knowledge.? On either platform, of course we have to find out from the
satellite documentation what settings are required.? A critical note that
often prevents success on rates above 1200 baud is that beyond that speed we
need more audio bandwidth than is normally available for general listening.
So, whether you're using a "real" radio or an SDR, good rules of thumb are
3KHz of audio bandwidth for 1200 baud and 15KHz of audio bandwidth for the
higher rates.? On modern radios, that means using a connection to the
radio's "DATA" port for rates above 1200.? My TM-V71A, for example, also has
a menu option to switch between 1200 & 9600 - very important!
USER INTERFACE:? as you mentioned, the UISS software is a great tool to use
as the interface when sending/receiving the packet modes.? It communicates
with UZ7HO Soundmodem or Direwolf to send/receive data to/from the
satellite.? But what to transmit?? We need that info from the satellite
documentation.? The "TO" is most often "CQ", but read everything you can
find about the satellite in question to be sure. (hint: monitor the downlink
& see what others are using!)? The "VIA" can be confusing because many sats
will respond to more than one name.? It all comes down to the documentation
- historically the 1200 baud APRS sats will answer to "ARISS"
which is handy... you don't have to change all your settings between
satellites.? FalconSat-3 is different; we use "PFS3-1" when transmitting to
FS-3.? "If" there actually is an active digipeater on BugSat-1, the team has
instructed us to use "LU7AA" as the call sign to access that satellite.
(I've tried BugSat-1 twice now but at the time of this post, have not had
any success)? As for the payload text to transmit, UISS helps a lot (for
APRS sats) by guiding us into sending properly formatted 'TEXT', 'POSITION',
and 'MESSAGE' type APRS packets.? Monitoring the downlink and seeing what
message types others are having success with is helpful here.
Heck, everything I do on the sats is a copy-cat of the operating techniques
used by the operators that you see post repeatedly here, on Twitter,
QRZ.com, and elsewhere.? A huge 'thank-you' to all who share how-to info!
So, aside from individual considerations that are unique to particular
satellites (FS-3 is cross-band full-duplex, for example), that is an
overview.? If anyone has read this far, you have my sympathy.? I just wanted
to spell out what is common knowledge to most here on the chance that one
item might ring a bell and answer a question for you.? If the ISS or either
of the PSAT digipeaters would come back online, that would make it a lot
easier to practice with these modes.? As of the date I'm typing this, all we
have active over my location in the U.S.? are AISAT-1 (1200
narrow-FM) & FS-3 (9600).
Good luck!
-Scott,? K4KDR
===========================
On Sat, Sep 7, 2019 at 11:01 AM Hans BX2ABT via AMSAT-BB
<amsat-bb@?????.???>
wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> Apparently my mail about BugSat-1 raised some interest into that
> bird's digipeater. But that still leaves me with the following
> question (and I hope I don't sound too obtuse): how do you digipeat?
> I've tried to understand it by googling it over the past year or so,
> but I still don't get it much. Most tutorials explain about setting it
> up, but with HTs. I am running a home station only, with the rig
> connected to a PC. From what I understand you need to use the program UISS
then.
>
> I got as far as this: I installed UISS (under Wine) and got it
> connected to Direwolf. Right now I can work the Falconsat-3 BBS using
> PacSat Ground Station and while running that program I see the same
> messages that Direwolf displays also appearing in UISS. So far, so
> good, but then what? I press either F5, F6, or F7, but nothing
> happens. Yes, my rig burps out some data for a split second, but I
> can't find myself back on APRS.fi. So what am I doing wrong? Any
> parameters to adjust? Or are digipeats not stored for the next iGate to
put it on the internet?
>
> Again, I hope I don't sound too witless, but I've never really
> understood APRS, apart from terrestrial position reporting and even
> that was kind of hard with all the paths and whatnot. Hope you nice
> people on this list can drop some pointers. 73 de Hans
>
> P.S. I've got some nasty local interference on 145.825 MHz and that
> makes receiving the ISS and other birds almost impossible. I was lucky
> to get two frames in from IO-86 the other day, because that was due
> south, with the QRM coming from the north-east. Getting a signal up
> shouldn't be much of a problem, though.
>
_______________________________________________
Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all
interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official
views of AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
_______________________________________________
Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
expressed
are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2019 22:51:31 +0800
From: Hans BX2ABT <hans.bx2abt@???.?????.???>
To: Scott <scott23192@?????.???>, AMSAT <amsat-bb@?????.???>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] How to digipeat?
Message-ID: <39851fae-7915-2cb0-bdb2-6ec291af691d@???.?????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
Hello Scott,
Thank you so much for writing this long reply. We should archive it for
future use, because this is very comprehensive.
Just by trying many options I was able to get UISS to send something out
on Falconsat-3. I tried CQ, ARISS, and BEACON and used the FPS3-1 as
path. Half an hour later on Twitter I received a notification from
E29AHU in Thailand that he saw my digipeat on his soundmodem output.
There are some tweets on Twitter with screenshots, so just search for
BX2ABT. So a little success and at least I know UISS is working.
Unfortunately, if this whole digipeating means there is no
store-and-forward and you need iGates to be able to see your digipeats
on the web then I won't have much fun with this, because here in east
Asia it is very quiet. There were some JA hams working the FS-3 BBS and
also digipeating, but they have been inactive lately. Maybe I can
persuade them to do some experimenting with me.
73 de Hans
BX2ABT
On 09/08/2019 04:35 AM, Scott via AMSAT-BB wrote:
> Hi Hans!
>
> Like any digital mode, 1200 or 9600 packet requires several things to work
> together using the correct settings. This might run a little long, but
> I'll be glad to outline them.
>
> But first, one helpful thing to remember is that you want to treat the
> uplink & downlink as completely separate affairs. Depending on the
> satellite, the uplink and downlink might find you using different bands,
> different radios, different antennas, different software... at a MINIMUM
> you'll be using different RF frequencies even if it's a simplex packet
> digipeater since the doppler compensation will be opposite for up -vs-
> down. (caveat - on 2m normal FM you can get by with sitting on one freq)
> To me it's always made sense to verify that you're 100% good to go on the
> downlink, then set yourself up for the uplink.
>
> So, if anyone wants to read on, here are the things to consider.
>
> RF: you'll need to know what the uplink & downlink RF frequencies are and
> if either is in the 70cm band, doppler compensation is mandatory. Here's a
> tip: several of the newer sats are using NARROW-FM... even if you're
> working on 2 meters, doppler compensation to/from a narrow-band satellite
> radio is making a huge difference in my experience. CAT control your radio
> if possible; if not, then pre-program 5 memory channels the way most people
> have their FM radios setup for voice satellite work.
>
> MOD/DEMOD: your radio needs to have a connection to your computer where
> you run software set to decode the type of modulation in use by the
> satellite. On Windows, the various UZ7HO Soundmodem versions provide
> perhaps the easiest interface to work with. Direwolf is an option on
> Windows, too, and by-the-way makes for a very easy to use iGate utility
> running off to the side of your screen. On linux, Direwolf is the most
> popular option to my knowledge. On either platform, of course we have to
> find out from the satellite documentation what settings are required. A
> critical note that often prevents success on rates above 1200 baud is that
> beyond that speed we need more audio bandwidth than is normally available
> for general listening. So, whether you're using a "real" radio or an SDR,
> good rules of thumb are 3KHz of audio bandwidth for 1200 baud and 15KHz of
> audio bandwidth for the higher rates. On modern radios, that means using a
> connection to the radio's "DATA" port for rates above 1200. My TM-V71A,
> for example, also has a menu option to switch between 1200 & 9600 - very
> important!
>
> USER INTERFACE: as you mentioned, the UISS software is a great tool to use
> as the interface when sending/receiving the packet modes. It communicates
> with UZ7HO Soundmodem or Direwolf to send/receive data to/from the
> satellite. But what to transmit? We need that info from the satellite
> documentation. The "TO" is most often "CQ", but read everything you can
> find about the satellite in question to be sure. (hint: monitor the
> downlink & see what others are using!) The "VIA" can be confusing because
> many sats will respond to more than one name. It all comes down to the
> documentation - historically the 1200 baud APRS sats will answer to "ARISS"
> which is handy... you don't have to change all your settings between
> satellites. FalconSat-3 is different; we use "PFS3-1" when transmitting to
> FS-3. "If" there actually is an active digipeater on BugSat-1, the team
> has instructed us to use "LU7AA" as the call sign to access that satellite.
> (I've tried BugSat-1 twice now but at the time of this post, have not had
> any success) As for the payload text to transmit, UISS helps a lot (for
> APRS sats) by guiding us into sending properly formatted 'TEXT',
> 'POSITION', and 'MESSAGE' type APRS packets. Monitoring the downlink and
> seeing what message types others are having success with is helpful here.
> Heck, everything I do on the sats is a copy-cat of the operating techniques
> used by the operators that you see post repeatedly here, on Twitter,
> QRZ.com, and elsewhere. A huge 'thank-you' to all who share how-to info!
>
> So, aside from individual considerations that are unique to particular
> satellites (FS-3 is cross-band full-duplex, for example), that is an
> overview. If anyone has read this far, you have my sympathy. I just
> wanted to spell out what is common knowledge to most here on the chance
> that one item might ring a bell and answer a question for you. If the ISS
> or either of the PSAT digipeaters would come back online, that would make
> it a lot easier to practice with these modes. As of the date I'm typing
> this, all we have active over my location in the U.S. are AISAT-1 (1200
> narrow-FM) & FS-3 (9600).
>
> Good luck!
>
> -Scott, K4KDR
>
> ===========================
>
> On Sat, Sep 7, 2019 at 11:01 AM Hans BX2ABT via AMSAT-BB
<amsat-bb@?????.???>
> wrote:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> Apparently my mail about BugSat-1 raised some interest into that bird's
>> digipeater. But that still leaves me with the following question (and I
>> hope I don't sound too obtuse): how do you digipeat? I've tried to
>> understand it by googling it over the past year or so, but I still don't
>> get it much. Most tutorials explain about setting it up, but with HTs. I
>> am running a home station only, with the rig connected to a PC. From
>> what I understand you need to use the program UISS then.
>>
>> I got as far as this: I installed UISS (under Wine) and got it connected
>> to Direwolf. Right now I can work the Falconsat-3 BBS using PacSat
>> Ground Station and while running that program I see the same messages
>> that Direwolf displays also appearing in UISS. So far, so good, but then
>> what? I press either F5, F6, or F7, but nothing happens. Yes, my rig
>> burps out some data for a split second, but I can't find myself back on
>> APRS.fi. So what am I doing wrong? Any parameters to adjust? Or are
>> digipeats not stored for the next iGate to put it on the internet?
>>
>> Again, I hope I don't sound too witless, but I've never really
>> understood APRS, apart from terrestrial position reporting and even that
>> was kind of hard with all the paths and whatnot. Hope you nice people on
>> this list can drop some pointers. 73 de Hans
>>
>> P.S. I've got some nasty local interference on 145.825 MHz and that
>> makes receiving the ISS and other birds almost impossible. I was lucky
>> to get two frames in from IO-86 the other day, because that was due
>> south, with the QRM coming from the north-east. Getting a signal up
>> shouldn't be much of a problem, though.
>>
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>
>
>
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2019 09:55:06 -0500
From: "JoAnne Maenpaa" <k9jkm@???????.???>
To: "'AMSAT-BB'" <amsat-bb@?????.???>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] How to digipeat?
Message-ID: <000c01d56655$67994950$36cbdbf0$@???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
I thought I'd toss out a few more hints to help folks trying to figure out
how to get UISS to speak satellite packet. This is pretty much UISS specific
detail. Make sure you have your station setup the way Scott and Hans have
discussed.
Setup your TNC with the MYCALL command. When you setup UISS the call
sign you enter during setup will be your MYCALL parameter.
Most of 145.825 MHz digipeater satellites use the AX.25 UI protocol
You setup this protocol with the command:
UNPROTO CQ VIA <satellite-callsign> such as CQ VIA ARISS, RS0ISS,
PSAT, LU7AA-1, etc.
You can enter these parameters in UISS in the top-left of the screen
in the "To" and "Via" windows. Set "To:" as CQ and "Via" as the call
sign of the satellite you are working.
In the UISS 'Tx Text' window (the top text windows) enter:
=Lat/Long-Message-to-digipeat -or- in my case near Chicago I use:
=4211.29N/08827.08W-Greetings :-) You need the = and - in your
message string. The dash displays your icon as the house on the map.
To transmit your packet to the satellite click on the UISS Text/Data
button and this should then trigger your transmitter. Folks use vari-
ous combinations of PTT controls or VOX to trigger their transmitter
- use whatever works for you.
The shorter your message the better chance you have of getting digi-
peated if lots of stations are causing packet collisions.
Additional terrestrial packet routes such as WIDE1-1, WIDE2-1, etc.
are not useful for space digipeating. Your target is the APRS satel-
lite on 145.825 not the terrestrials on 144.390. The satellite digi-
peats to us earthlings (and the SatGates) listening on 145.825. You
aren't trying to tell every APRS station on 144.390 within hundreds
of miles where you are driving.
Adding all the WIDE strings also has the effect of making your packet
longer, decreasing your success of getting digipeated on a busy pass.
A lot of UISS setups document using AGWPE for your packet modem. This
is a tried and true packet engine. Many of found that the UZ7HO soft-
ware packet modem gives better performance especially when receiving.
Your software packet modem will expect to receive the entire packet
transmission with no errors - the correct checksum for it to be dis-
played on your computer. Often you hear "good sounding" packets but
if you aren't receiving the whole kahuna with correct checksum you
won't get the message displayed. The same generally applies to the
SatGate stations listening to the activity and gating it on to the
web.
The UISS program will require settings to be changed to operate with
UZ7HO Soundmodem: In UISS top menu select Setup -> UISS -> LAN
Click 'Enable LAN Mode'
In LAN setup click on 'Enable LAN Mode' Host 127.0.0.1 AGWPort 8000
UISS may ask you to restart, go ahead and restart UISS.
For normal operation start the UZ7HO Soundmodem first. Then start UISS.
When both programs are running UISS will show it has connected with the
Soundmodem:
Connected to server 127.0.0.1
Port1 with Soundcard Ch: A;
--
73 de JoAnne K9JKM
k9jkm@?????.???
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2019 22:55:50 +0800
From: Hans BX2ABT <hans.bx2abt@???.?????.???>
To: Robert MacHale <robert.machale@?????.???>, AMSAT
<amsat-bb@?????.???>, Scott <scott23192@?????.???>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] How to digipeat?
Message-ID: <8171ccee-ebe8-3a70-0d88-d72dbd20427f@???.?????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
Call is YB0X. I've got a screenshot on my website of the two beacons
received: http://bx2abt.com/main/Lapan_A2_(IO-86)
Max elevation here in Taiwan is almost 7 degrees on some days. This
gives me a 5~6 minute opening to work this bird, which is my absolute
favorite right now because it sound great and is very strong even at low
angles. I have no problem working it with my modest station.
73 de Hans
BX2ABT
On 09/08/2019 02:00 PM, Robert MacHale via AMSAT-BB wrote:
> What is the callsign for IO-86 telemetry beacons?
>
> Due to the equatorial orbit I never hear it in California.
> 73
> Robert MacHale. KE6BLR Ham Radio License.?http://spaceCommunicator.club/aprs
> . Supporting Boy Scout Merit Badges in Radio, Robotics, and Space
Exploration
>
>
>
> On Saturday, September 7, 2019, 01:40:06 PM PDT, Scott via AMSAT-BB
<amsat-bb@?????.???> wrote:
>
> Hi Hans!
>
> Like any digital mode, 1200 or 9600 packet requires several things to work
> together using the correct settings.? This might run a little long, but
> I'll be glad to outline them.
>
> But first, one helpful thing to remember is that you want to treat the
> uplink & downlink as completely separate affairs.? Depending on the
> satellite, the uplink and downlink might find you using different bands,
> different radios, different antennas, different software... at a MINIMUM
> you'll be using different RF frequencies even if it's a simplex packet
> digipeater since the doppler compensation will be opposite for up -vs-
> down. (caveat - on 2m normal FM you can get by with sitting on one freq)
> To me it's always made sense to verify that you're 100% good to go on the
> downlink, then set yourself up for the uplink.
>
> So, if anyone wants to read on, here are the things to consider.
>
> RF:? you'll need to know what the uplink & downlink RF frequencies are and
> if either is in the 70cm band, doppler compensation is mandatory.? Here's a
> tip: several of the newer sats are using NARROW-FM... even if you're
> working on 2 meters, doppler compensation to/from a narrow-band satellite
> radio is making a huge difference in my experience.? CAT control your radio
> if possible; if not, then pre-program 5 memory channels the way most people
> have their FM radios setup for voice satellite work.
>
> MOD/DEMOD:? your radio needs to have a connection to your computer where
> you run software set to decode the type of modulation in use by the
> satellite.? On Windows, the various UZ7HO Soundmodem versions provide
> perhaps the easiest interface to work with.? Direwolf is an option on
> Windows, too, and by-the-way makes for a very easy to use iGate utility
> running off to the side of your screen.? On linux, Direwolf is the most
> popular option to my knowledge.? On either platform, of course we have to
> find out from the satellite documentation what settings are required.? A
> critical note that often prevents success on rates above 1200 baud is that
> beyond that speed we need more audio bandwidth than is normally available
> for general listening.? So, whether you're using a "real" radio or an SDR,
> good rules of thumb are 3KHz of audio bandwidth for 1200 baud and 15KHz of
> audio bandwidth for the higher rates.? On modern radios, that means using a
> connection to the radio's "DATA" port for rates above 1200.? My TM-V71A,
> for example, also has a menu option to switch between 1200 & 9600 - very
> important!
>
> USER INTERFACE:? as you mentioned, the UISS software is a great tool to use
> as the interface when sending/receiving the packet modes.? It communicates
> with UZ7HO Soundmodem or Direwolf to send/receive data to/from the
> satellite.? But what to transmit?? We need that info from the satellite
> documentation.? The "TO" is most often "CQ", but read everything you can
> find about the satellite in question to be sure. (hint: monitor the
> downlink & see what others are using!)? The "VIA" can be confusing because
> many sats will respond to more than one name.? It all comes down to the
> documentation - historically the 1200 baud APRS sats will answer to "ARISS"
> which is handy... you don't have to change all your settings between
> satellites.? FalconSat-3 is different; we use "PFS3-1" when transmitting to
> FS-3.? "If" there actually is an active digipeater on BugSat-1, the team
> has instructed us to use "LU7AA" as the call sign to access that satellite.
> (I've tried BugSat-1 twice now but at the time of this post, have not had
> any success)? As for the payload text to transmit, UISS helps a lot (for
> APRS sats) by guiding us into sending properly formatted 'TEXT',
> 'POSITION', and 'MESSAGE' type APRS packets.? Monitoring the downlink and
> seeing what message types others are having success with is helpful here.
> Heck, everything I do on the sats is a copy-cat of the operating techniques
> used by the operators that you see post repeatedly here, on Twitter,
> QRZ.com, and elsewhere.? A huge 'thank-you' to all who share how-to info!
>
> So, aside from individual considerations that are unique to particular
> satellites (FS-3 is cross-band full-duplex, for example), that is an
> overview.? If anyone has read this far, you have my sympathy.? I just
> wanted to spell out what is common knowledge to most here on the chance
> that one item might ring a bell and answer a question for you.? If the ISS
> or either of the PSAT digipeaters would come back online, that would make
> it a lot easier to practice with these modes.? As of the date I'm typing
> this, all we have active over my location in the U.S.? are AISAT-1 (1200
> narrow-FM) & FS-3 (9600).
>
> Good luck!
>
> -Scott,? K4KDR
>
> ===========================
>
> On Sat, Sep 7, 2019 at 11:01 AM Hans BX2ABT via AMSAT-BB
<amsat-bb@?????.???>
> wrote:
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> Apparently my mail about BugSat-1 raised some interest into that bird's
>> digipeater. But that still leaves me with the following question (and I
>> hope I don't sound too obtuse): how do you digipeat? I've tried to
>> understand it by googling it over the past year or so, but I still don't
>> get it much. Most tutorials explain about setting it up, but with HTs. I
>> am running a home station only, with the rig connected to a PC. From
>> what I understand you need to use the program UISS then.
>>
>> I got as far as this: I installed UISS (under Wine) and got it connected
>> to Direwolf. Right now I can work the Falconsat-3 BBS using PacSat
>> Ground Station and while running that program I see the same messages
>> that Direwolf displays also appearing in UISS. So far, so good, but then
>> what? I press either F5, F6, or F7, but nothing happens. Yes, my rig
>> burps out some data for a split second, but I can't find myself back on
>> APRS.fi. So what am I doing wrong? Any parameters to adjust? Or are
>> digipeats not stored for the next iGate to put it on the internet?
>>
>> Again, I hope I don't sound too witless, but I've never really
>> understood APRS, apart from terrestrial position reporting and even that
>> was kind of hard with all the paths and whatnot. Hope you nice people on
>> this list can drop some pointers. 73 de Hans
>>
>> P.S. I've got some nasty local interference on 145.825 MHz and that
>> makes receiving the ISS and other birds almost impossible. I was lucky
>> to get two frames in from IO-86 the other day, because that was due
>> south, with the QRM coming from the north-east. Getting a signal up
>> shouldn't be much of a problem, though.
>>
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@?????.???. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions
expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2019 23:09:13 +0800
From: Hans BX2ABT <hans.bx2abt@???.?????.???>
To: Robert MacHale <robert.machale@?????.???>, "'Scott'"
<scott23192@?????.???>, AMSAT-BB@?????.???? bernd1peters@?????.???
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] How to digipeat?
Message-ID: <699181ae-23dc-1306-96bf-a3ed849407d2@???.?????.???>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
On 09/08/2019 02:13 PM, Robert MacHale via AMSAT-BB wrote:
> Hey Hons,
> It seems like there might be a need for a YouTube video explaining the
basics of Satellite APRS.
Yes, and one on UISS. There are so many options and being (still) an
outsider it is daunting.
> Learning APRS on 144.390 MHz is a good place to start. This might be the
best way to learn how to work with digipeaters.
Terrestrial APRS I do understand a bit. At least I get that you can send
a message and it will get digipeated via many digipeaters till it gets
to its destination. Never done it, but it is suppose to work like that,
right? When sending out your location it will travel only so far. Sat
APRS seems not to have this capability of storing a digipeat and then
rebroadcasting it to the next digipeater, or am I wrong with that
assumption?
> Satellite APRS has many nuances that make it very different than regular
APRS. For example, interference on 145.825 MHz needs to be mitigated when
trying to receive faint signals. One thing that helps is lowering the
antenna either below a wood fence line or below a wooded tree line or being
surrounded by 10 degree hills.
Unfortunately I can't do much about the QRM. It's from a big electronic
billboard a couple of hundred meters away. Knowing the attitude of the
local FCC and the government here and being "just" an amateur I doubt
that they will take action to clean it up. Having a good F/B gain will
help, so my next step will be in building a better 2m yagi.
> These sites might be helpful:
> http://www.aprsat.com/predict?- this shows upcoming Satellite APRS passes
for your area.
> http://www.spaceCommunicator.club/aprs?- this reports Satellite APRS
packets from all satellites combined into one place.
About that last site: are the packets listed there received at the
location of W7KKE, or are they aggregated from different sources?
> You're ahead of me on Falconsat-3; I haven't got that to work yet on 9600
bps. I mostly work with 1200 bps on 145.825 MHz.
It took me a while to get it working and I'm writing tutorial about the
setup on my web site. It's not finished yet, though. I am a Linux user
and the BBS part of FS-3 works like a charm thanks to the PacSat Ground
software of Chris G0KLA.
Thanks for the reply and 73 de Hans
BX2ABT
------------------------------
Subject: Digest Footer
_______________________________________________
Sent via amsat-bb@?????.???.
AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide
without requiring membership. Opinions expressed
are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of
AMSAT-NA.
Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
------------------------------
End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 14, Issue 343
*****************************************
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
