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CX2SA > SATDIG 04.01.16 01:31l 1021 Lines 36507 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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To : SATDIG@WW
Today's Topics:
1. Some DUMB hints about using SatPC32 computer aided tuning
(Burns Fisher)
2. Re: Waiting for Solar Panel Efficiency (Ha!) rebuttal (Phil)
3. ANS-003 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins (Joseph Spier)
4. FUNcube Warehouse Problem (dave@xxxxx.xx.xxx
5. FUNcube Warehouse (David Johnson)
6. Re: Waiting for Solar Panel Efficiency (Ha!) (Robert McGwier)
7. Re: EO-79 transponder activation (Wouter Weggelaar)
8. Neophyte SSB transponder operation follies (Jeff A. Boyd)
9. ARISS AUDIO for Tuesday Contact (John Spasojevich)
10. Re: Some DUMB hints about using SatPC32 computer aided tuning
(Mike Miller)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 2016 15:12:39 -0500
From: Burns Fisher <burns@xxxxxx.xx>
To: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] Some DUMB hints about using SatPC32 computer aided
tuning
Message-ID:
<CABX7KxUnnPK4CHHw1=hMorqjcSgiQFqrdPqOfVg72fYSd+5vuQ@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
I had CAT working once upon a time, but recently it has not. I don't know
what I changed when, but I could not get it to work at all until I spent
several hours trying different things, and finally found the (duh) really
dumb problems.
1) I have a TS2000. I'm pretty sure that I saw somewhere that you have to
check the +12VRTS check box in Setup/Radio to make it work for the latest
version of SatPC32. I'm not sure if it has to be, but it works when it IS
checked.
2) Check the serial cable. I had the right one, and knew that I did (it
generally wants straight through, not null modem). But apparently
somewhere along the line a connector had come loose. Tighten them all down!
3) And here is the penultimate killer: In the Setup/Radio dialog box, when
you check your manufacturer, you'll see to the right a "Model" label and a
pull down to say what model of radio you have. But that "label" is
actually a pulldown too. Select "baudrate" instead of "Model" and SET THE
BAUDRATE. (I was sure I had seen it somewhere and that I knew what I had
set it too. But I was wrong).
4) The ultimate killer in my case: The TS2000 needs to be power cycled
after you change its baudrate (menu 56 for those who care) before it takes
effect!
I hope this helps someone!
73,
Burns W2BFJ
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2016 06:19:15 +1000
From: Phil <phil_lor@xxxxxxx.xxx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Waiting for Solar Panel Efficiency (Ha!)
rebuttal
Message-ID: <568830C3.2000909@xxxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
On 03/01/16 01:17, Glenn Anderson wrote:
> You're paying 14 cents per KWh.....Holy crap!!!!
>
> My current provider is charging me 2.6 cents per KWh if I stay under 2000KWh
> per month and 4.5 cents if I go over.
>
Here in Australia we pay 22.24 cents per Kwh. Most electricity retailers
pay a feed-in tariff of 8 cents per Kwh. Fortunately, we got in early
and receive 44 cents per Kwh. We have never paid for electricity, and
since we only use 1.2 Khw per day from the grid we instead receive a
small income.
--
Regards,
Phil
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Sat, 2 Jan 2016 22:32:29 -0800
From: Joseph Spier <wao@xxx.xxx>
To: ans@xxxxx.xxxx amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] ANS-003 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
Message-ID: <5688C07D.20301@xxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-003
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-
mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite
Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space
including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur
Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building,
launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio
satellites.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur
Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor at amsat.org.
In this edition:
* Fox-1Cliff and -1D matching contribution offer
* iCubeSat 2016, 5th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop, Oxford, UK -
Call for papers and registration
* Spring 2016 CubeSat Workshop Abstracts Submission Due January 15
* 2016 NASA Academy
* 2016 NOAA Undergraduate Scholarships
* Tim Peake Sandringham School UK Contact
* AMSAT Events
* ARISS News
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-003.01
ANS-003 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 003.01
>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
DATE January 3, 2016
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-003.01
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Fox-1Cliff and -1D matching contribution offer
I just want to thank everyone for the outstanding response to our year-end
request for support for the Fox-1Cliff and -1D fundraiser. During the
period
of December 25th to December 31st, a total of $7052.41 was raised online
through the FundRazr app. This includes a pledged $1000 matching donation
from a generous donor/member.
73 weeks ago when we announced the launch opportunity for Fox-1Cliff
(and later including -1D), we set $25,000 as a goal for online fundraising
through social media and the FundRazr app. This amount covers a
fractional but
significant portion of the launch expense. (The total cost of
construction and
launch was estimated to be $125,000.) I'm very pleased that as of the 31th
of December, we have raised $26,458 from over 250 contributors.
Donations have
varied from $3 and up, so everyone may contribute and be recognized.
There is a continuing need to raise the additional funds necessary to
launch
Fox-1Cliff and Fox-1D in 2016. Just visit
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/6pz92/ab/561Zd
and pick your level of support. Donations of $1000 or more will receive a
plaque with a solar panel protective cover after launch, and $100 qualifies
for a Fox challenge coin to be delivered in 6-8 weeks when the next
shipment
arrives.
Please see
http://www.amsat.org/?p=4843
and
http://www.amsat.org/?p=2957
for additional information.
Thank you for the support,
[ANS thanks Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
iCubeSat 2016, 5th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop, Oxford, UK -
Call for papers and registration
iCubeSat 2016 - 5th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop
24-25 May 2016, Oxford, United Kingdom
Call for papers and registration
iCubeSat 2016, the 5th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop, will address
the technical challenges, opportunities, and practicalities of
interplanetary space exploration with CubeSats. The workshop provides
a unique environment for open wide ranging practical collaboration
between academic researchers, industry professionals, policy makers
and students developing this new and rapidly growing field.
Technical Program
Talks and round tables will focus on three themes: technology,
science, and open collaboration. The program will also include
unconference sessions to provide additional opportunities to engage
with the interplanetary CubeSat community and potential collaborators.
Talks and supporting material will be streamed and archived on the
conference website. A lively social program in and around summertime
Oxford will be arranged for participants and their guests.
Abstract Submission and Dates
Talks on astrodynamics, attitude control and determination systems,
citizen science, communications, landers, launch opportunities, open
source approaches, outreach, payloads, policy, power systems,
propulsion, reentry systems, ride-shares, science missions, software,
standardization, structures, systems engineering and other related
topics are all welcome.
1st June 2015 Registration opens at
http://iCubeSat.org/registration
1st April 2016 Abstract upload deadline
15th April 2016 Notification of abstract acceptance
20th May 2016 Presentation (and optional paper) upload deadline
Please confirm your interest in presenting or attending as soon as
possible (to assist us size the venue) by completing the registration
form at
http://iCubeSat.org/registration
Exhibition
CubeSat specialists and other vendors are invited to contact
exhibit@xxxxxxxx.xxx for details of exhibition opportunities.
Location
The 5th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop will be held on or near
the University of Oxford campus, Oxford, United Kingdom
on Tuesday, May 24th and Wednesday May 25th, 2016.
Organizers
The organizing committee can be contacted at committee@xxxxxxxx.xxx
See you in Oxford!
pp iCubeSat 2016 Organising Committee
www.iCubeSat.org
Download the conference poster:
https://icubesat.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/20150606_icubesat2016poster.pdf
[ANS thanks the 5th Interplanetary CubeSat Workshop for the above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Spring 2016 CubeSat Workshop Abstracts Submission Due January 15
13th Annual CubeSat Developer's Workshop
Abstract Submission Deadline is JANUARY 15, 2016!
Workshop Dates: April 20-22, 2016
San Luis Obispo, CA, US
Please keep abstracts under 500 words, the abstracts should indicate the
ideas
addressed within the presentation or poster, and the objectives of the
presentation/poster. Readers should not have to read the full text to
understand the abstract.
More importantly, any topic is welcome!
See
http://cubesat.atl.calpoly.edu/index.php/workshops/upcoming-workshops/
123--workshop-schedule
or
http://www.cubesat.org/
[ANS thanks www.cubesat.org/ for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
2016 NASA Academy
The 2016 NASA Academy is being offered at three locations: NASA's Ames
Research Center in California, NASA's Glenn Research Center in Ohio, and
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. Applications are being
solicited for this 10-week summer experience for college students with
emphasis on immersive and integrated multidisciplinary exposure and
training. Activities include laboratory research, a group project, lectures,
meetings with experts and administrators, visits to NASA centers and
space-related industries, and technical presentations. Students learn how
NASA and its centers operate, gain experience in world-class laboratories,
and participate in leadership development and team-building activities.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens (including citizens of the U.S. territories
Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands and Northern Marianas) majoring in a
STEM discipline. The applicants must be undergraduate or graduate students
enrolled full-time in accredited universities and colleges in the U.S. and
its territories. Students may apply to any of the NASA Academy opportunities
by following these steps:
1. Log into the NASA One Stop Shopping Initiative, or OSSI, site at
https://intern.nasa.gov.
2. Register and set up an account.
3. Select the "Search Opportunities" tab at the top bar.
4. Select "NASA Center(s) of Interest" under "NASA Center/Facility."
5. Enter "Academy" in the "Keywords" block at the bottom of the screen.
6. Click the "Search" button at the very bottom of screen; a list of Academy
Opportunities will then be displayed.
7. Click on the "View" icon in the first column under "Action" to read about
the Opportunity of interest, followed by comments on additional instructions
for completing the application, including two requested essays.
The deadline for receipt of NASA Academy application(s) and associated
documents is Feb. 16, 2016.
Please direct questions about NASA Academy to
NASA-Academy-Application@xxxx.xxxx.xxx.
[ANS thanks the NASA Education Express Message -- Dec. 30, 2015 for the
above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
2016 NOAA Undergraduate Scholarships
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is accepting
applications for its 2016 Educational Partnership Program Undergraduate
Scholarship and 2016 Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship Programs.
The Educational Partnership Program Undergraduate Scholarship Program
provides scholarships for two years of undergraduate study to students
majoring in STEM fields that directly support NOAA's mission. Participants
conduct research at a NOAA facility during two paid summer internships. A
stipend and housing allowance is provided. Students attending an accredited
Minority Serving Institution as defined by the U.S. Department of Education
(Hispanic Serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and
Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Alaskan-Native Serving
Institutions, and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions) are eligible to
apply for the program. The institutions must be within the United States or
U.S. Territories. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and must earn and
maintain a minimum 3.2 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.
The Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship Program provides scholarships for two
years of undergraduate study with a paid internship at a NOAA facility
during the interim summer session. A stipend and housing allowance is
provided. Applicants must be U.S. citizens enrolled full-time at an
accredited college or university. Applicants also must have and maintain a
declared major in a discipline including, but not limited to, oceanic,
environmental, biological, and atmospheric sciences; mathematics;
engineering; remote-sensing technology; physical and social sciences
including geography, physics, hydrology, geomatics; or teacher education
that supports NOAA's programs and mission. Participants must earn and
maintain a minimum 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.
Applications for both scholarship programs are due Jan. 29, 2016.
For more information, visit
http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/scholarships/.
Please direct questions about these scholarship opportunities to
StudentScholarshipPrograms@xxxx.xxx.
[ANS thanks the NASA Education Express Message -- Dec. 30, 2015 for the
above
information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim Peake Sandringham School UK Contact
The first UK Amateur Radio school contact by UK astronaut Tim Peake
GB1SS from
the International Space Station (ISS) will take place on Friday, January 8,
2016 at 0847 GMT with students at Sandringham School, St. Albans in
Hertfordshire. The school will use the call sign GB1SAN.
The St. Albans based Verulam Amateur Radio Club (VARC) ran an Amateur Radio
Foundation License course in December. Three of the candidates were
pupils from
Sandringham School who took the course in preparation for the contact
with Tim
Peake.
ARISS UK will provide and set up all necessary radio equipment (for example,
low earth orbit satellite tracking antennas and radios) to establishing
a fully
functional, direct radio link with the International Space Station from the
school premises. In a ten-minute window when the ISS will be over the UK, an
amateur radio contact will be established with Tim, and students will be
able
to ask him questions about his life and work on board the ISS.
Tim will use a frequency of 145.800 MHz FM for the contact and his signal
should be receivable across the British Isles and Europe.
What equipment do you need to hear the ISS?
Almost any 144 MHz FM transceiver will receive the ISS; you can even use a
general coverage VHF scanner with an external antenna. As far as the
antenna is
concerned the simpler the better. A ? wave ground plane can give good
results
because it has a high angle of radiation. Large 2m colinears don?t work
quite
as well because the radiation pattern is concentrated at the horizon.
You can receive the ISS using a 144 MHz hand-held outdoors with its helical
antenna but a 1/4 wave whip will give far better results.
In the UK we use narrow 2.5 kHz deviation FM but the ISS transmits on
145.800
MHz with the wider 5 kHz deviation used in much of the world. Most rigs
can be
switched been wide and narrow deviation FM filters so select the wider
filter.
Hand-held rigs all seem to have a single wide filter fitted as standard.
The International Space Station is traveling around the Earth at over 28,000
km/h. This high speed makes radio signals appear to shift in frequency, a
phenomenon called Doppler Shift. When the ISS is approaching your
location the
signal may be 3.5 kHz higher in frequency on 145.8035 MHz. During the 10
minute
pass the frequency will gradually move lower reaching 145.7965 MHz as
the ISS
goes out of range. To get maximum signal you ideally need a radio that
tunes in
1 kHz or smaller steps to follow the shift but in practice acceptable
results
are obtained with the radio left on 145.800 MHz.
ISS Amateur Radio Stations
There are two amateur radio stations available to astronauts on the ISS.
The Russian Service Module has a dual-band Kenwood TM-D710 transceiver (this
replaced the older TM-D700). Four antennas are available, three of which are
identical and each can support both transmit and receive operations on 2m,
70cm, L band and S band. They also support reception for the Russian
Glisser TV
system, which is used during spacewalks. The fourth antenna is a 2.5 m long
vertical whip that can be used to support High Frequency (HF) operations
although at the present time there is no amateur HF equipment.
The ESA Columbus Module has two Ericsson M-PA series FM 5 watt handheld
radios, one for 145, and the other for 435 MHz, as well as the 2.4 GHz HamTV
Digital Amateur Television Transmitter. Antennas are available for 145
and 435
MHz for the Ericsson handhelds; additionally, there are 1260 and 2400 MHz
antennas for the HamTV system.
Tim Peake will the using the equipment in the ESA Columbus Module.
The ISS HamTV will not be available for the Sandringham School contact
because
the equipment will be turned off to permit other experiments.
You?ll be able to listen online to Tim Peake GB1SS on the 145.800 MHz FM
downlink by using the SUWS WebSDR radio at
http://websdr.suws.org.uk/
Tim Peake ISS School Contacts Announced
http://amsat-uk.org/2015/12/15/tim-peake-iss-school-contacts-announced/
Sandringham School
http://www.sandringham.herts.sch.uk/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/SandringhamSch1
Verulam Amateur Radio Club
http://www.verulam-arc.org.uk/
What is Amateur Radio?
http://www.essexham.co.uk/what-is-amateur-radio
Find an amateur radio training course near you
https://thersgb.org/services/coursefinder/
ARISS
http://www.ariss-eu.org/
[ANS thanks ARISS & AMSAT-UK for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AMSAT Events
Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around
the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where
AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working
amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with
AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations,
forums, and/or demonstrations).
*Saturday, 9 January 2016 ? Thunderbird Hamfest 2016 in Phoenix AZ
*Friday and Saturday, 19-20 February 2016 ? Yuma Hamfest and 2016 ARRL
Southwest Division Convention in Yuma AZ
*Saturday and Sunday, 12-13 March 2016 ? ScienceCity science fair, on
the University of Arizona campus in Tucson AZ
*Saturday, 19 March 2016 ? Scottsdale Amateur Radio Club Spring
Hamfest 2016 in Scottsdale AZ
*Saturday, 26 March 2016 ? Tucson Spring Hamfest in Tucson AZ
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
ARISS News
Upcoming Contacts
Frederick W. Harnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts, telebridge
via K6DUE
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI
Contact is a go for: Tue 2016-01-05 17:42:06 UTC 81 deg
Sandringham School, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, direct via GB1SAN
The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be GB1SS
The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI
Contact is a go for: Fri 2016-01-08 08:47:47 UTC 83 deg.
Watch
http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html
for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled.
[ANS thanks ARISS, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-
tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT
Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership
at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students
enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-
dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.
Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership
information.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Joe Spier, K6WAO
k6wao at amsat dot org
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2016 07:14:48 +0000
From: dave@xxxxx.xx.xx
To: Bob Bennett via Amsat-Bb <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] FUNcube Warehouse Problem
Message-ID: <2C3FE4A7-F361-4840-A942-72D798C5A50E@xxxxx.xx.xx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Hi
I made some changes to the warehouse last night to try to fix up capturing
UKube packets where the sequence number changed erratically.
Unfortunately I broke the FC1 processing, will revert the software in an
hour or so. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
73
Dave, G4DPZ
Sent from my iPhone
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2016 12:06:01 +0000
From: David Johnson <dave@xxxxx.xx.xx>
To: AmsatBB <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] FUNcube Warehouse
Message-ID:
<CAHOBG6VK7usZmAdw+RpiiNoWe4LwWGp1JZ-crECTRMo0LfFEPQ@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Hi,
Normal service is resumed.
Apologies for the outage.
73
Dave
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2016 07:45:42 -0500
From: Robert McGwier <rwmcgwier@xxxxx.xxx>
To: Robert Bruninga <bruninga@xxxx.xxx>
Cc: "amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxxx <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Waiting for Solar Panel Efficiency (Ha!)
Message-ID:
<CA+K5gzcBsJoVHrNvvR0VgN8=bHaMMcL5nxb+n3==MHk1s1hw_g@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
I disagree with only one piece of Bob's analysis and that is the rise a
complicating factor.
Just like on earth, every spacecraft developer is faced with the
complication of permanent destruction of demand. The complication is most
apparent in small spacecraft and/or in LEO.
In GEO, the energy demand is dominated by the need to produce higher power
for transmitters so all the power you can generate is better if you
decrease the size of solar panels unless you want INCREASE power demand by
increasing capacity (add more channels with the same energy consumption per
channel as before).
The issue with LEO space craft with smaller antenna and power limitations
etc is that the computational requirements might stay the same BUT THE
POWER CONSUMED to do the computations is steadily decreasing and is
resulting in permanent destruction of demand and the pressure to increase
efficiency is offset by decreased power requirements in electronics.
It should be clear that this is a complicated thing to model. I haven't
done it and, like Bob says, I just don't care, I just buy what I need for
spacecraft.
On house panels, people are not paying attention. All the solar panels you
see hanging on telephone poles, charging batteries, to power street lights,
etc I never ever looked once at the efficiency of the solar panels I
purchased surplus from the bazillion produced for these telephone pole
installation. I bought enough panels to produce the power I wanted to
produce and with slowly getting enough panels to produce enough at winter
solstice and the rest is surplus to my needs but my MPPT deals with that
charging my batteries.
The other factor for houses is that permanent destruction of demand is
happening there in case you want to set a maximize capacity for your panels
and forget it. Permanent destruction of demand is happening in LED light
bulbs, LED TV's, tinier power required by computers, more efficient cooling
in refrigerators and other appliances. Many power companies and coal
producers have become extremely concerned. In Virginia they set a fee on
those wishing to tie their solar power to the grid. This is BS since they
claim they must charge you to transport your surplus power. It's crap
because almost NO ONE produces more power than they consume unless they
live in Southern California for example.
The power and coal companies have lobbied for and received a fee to slow
down the deployment of home and building owners from decreasing the demand
on their grid system being fed by coal power plants.
I despise mostly stupid but sometimes corrupt politicians...
Thank you for your interesting discussion Bob,
Bob
N4HY
On Wednesday, December 30, 2015, Robert Bruninga <bruninga@xxxx.xxx> wrote:
> Compare the cost and efficiency of solar panels for cubesats and for your
> house:
>
> http://aprs.org/Energy/solar/efficiency-comparison-cost.png
>
>
>
> The 10,000 Watt array for your house costs less than a 10 W array for a
> cubesat satellite.
>
>
>
> I get tired of the excuse, ?Im waiting for higher efficiency cells? when
> the cost of just doubling the efficiency from 15% to 30% is a factor of
> 1000 times more expensive. You?ll be dead before the expensive ones even
> come down by half (much less the 1000 to 1 needed to make them practical).
>
>
>
> And in fact it will never ever happen. Because a satellite builder will
> pay a measly $10,000 to DOUBLE the power of his 4 inch satellite and so the
> market for the highest efficiency cells will always get a premium price
> because the satellite buyers will always pay max dollars for max power
> independent of cost.
>
>
>
> And there will never be a decaying cost or learning curve, because as soon
> as someone comes up with a 32% solar cell, then the 30% technology is
> ABANDONED because the space industry will all move to the 32% cells and be
> happy to pay even more for the higher power and there is practically no
> market for last year?s 30% cells that cost 1000 times more than existing
> silicon cells at 15%. And without a growing market for last year?s HIGH
> efficiency cells, there will never be a learning curve and declining cost.
>
>
>
> Meanwhile the cheap 15% cells being mass produced for the terrestrial solar
> market in a MILLION times the volume at 1/1000 the cost already cost less
> than a window of the same size! Witness the cost reduction of 10 to 1 in
> the last 10 years and the 2 to 1 reduction in the last 3 years with
> improvements from 15% efficiency up to around 18% not by changing the
> technology of the 60 year old simple silicon, but just optimizing the
> manufacturing process (by the billions)?
>
>
>
> Solar is here, Now. And it won?t get any cheaper, because as the market
> expands exponentially the demand for bazillions of watts of solar will soak
> up every panel produced and homeowners are then competing with massive
> utility scale purchases of millions of panels. Solar panels now cost less
> than just a window of the same size. It is no longer the cost of the
> panels, it is simply the cost of labor that drives the majority of cost
> now. You can buy solar panels for under $0.70 a watt but to have a
> contractor installed system is hovering around $3.50 per watt and not going
> down much at all.
>
>
>
> Lastly, if you have sun, you KNOW eventually you will be going solar. So
> once you realize that, you should also realize that every electric bill you
> pay from now on is just throwing money away which would have been better
> invested in free electricity and 10% annual return for life on your roof or
> in your yard.
>
>
>
> Waiting gains nothing. Even the solar panels I bought 4 years ago at twice
> the price have already paid for themselves. Waiting would have gained
> nothing except 4 years of more wasted money to the utility and so many tons
> of burned coal wasted into the air. Here are some more thoughts?
>
>
>
> http://aprs.org/solar-now.html
>
>
>
> Summary, Solar and Satellites? the same but 1000 times cheaper on Earth.
>
>
>
> Bob, Wb4APR
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB@xxxxx.xxx <javascript:;>. 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: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
>
--
Bob McGwier
Founder, Federated Wireless, Inc
Founder and Technical Advisor, HawkEye 360, Inc
Research Professor Virginia Tech
Dir. Research: The Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and
Technology
Senior Member IEEE, Facebook: N4HYBob, ARS: N4HY
Faculty Advisor Virginia Tech Amateur Radio Assn. (K4KDJ)
Director of AMSAT
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2016 14:59:27 +0100
From: Wouter Weggelaar <wouterweg@xxxxx.xxx>
To: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] EO-79 transponder activation
Message-ID:
<CAKXf1rEOUThD+bkEKKaDk8KMwn2hD9yrkXOH1d-WCVTX9vt7hA@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Hi All,
With the second activation now complete, we are developing a way forward
for more permanent transponder operations.
The activations have given us insight into the performance of the
transponder systems, with the following noteworthy observations
- The uplink frequency is higher than the published numbers
- The satellite is power negative with the transponder running
- The transponder is very usable once the up/downlink relation is
established
- Resets do occur and the behaviour has to be further charaterised
We are discussing multiple ways of scheduling the transponder operations.
As of now, I can not confirm when we would activate the transponder again.
I would like to thank everyone that participated for their reports and
special thanks to the satellite operators in Delft for running these
experiments for us.
73 and happy new year
Wouter Weggelaar, PA3WEG
AMSAT-NL
AMSAT-UK
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Mon, 04 Jan 2016 00:51:32 +0900
From: "Jeff A. Boyd" <the2belo@xxx.xxxxxxx.xx.xx>
To: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: [amsat-bb] Neophyte SSB transponder operation follies
Message-ID: <20160104005132.0947.63087B45@xxx.xxxxxxx.xx.xx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
Today weather and winds were favorable (seriously, it was T-shirt weather in
January) so I set up camp along a suburban road
with wide sky coverage, put up my Arrow antenna with homebrew tripod mount,
and put in a full schedule of SSB sat passes
interspersed with the domestic JA New Year's QSO Party on 2m.
http://i.imgur.com/cJcu6PY.jpg
I am a complete newbie at SSB birds so you'll have to bear with my abject
failure at making any QSOs through any of them so far. Dealing with trying
to find my own downlink signal *and* continually adjusting the antenna has
proven a handful. But I'm making
baby steps and am still confident that I'll eventually figure this all out.
1. AO-73 (https://soundcloud.com/minus2c/ao-73-pass-jan-3n-2016-0954jst)
The good: I successfully heard the telemetry beacon at S9 signal strength,
immediately upon AOS. This told me I was doing
something right. Also, at 4:50 in the above recording, I heard my own
downlink signal at long last, although it was a fleeting
moment of triumph. I suppose I should have taken note of what both
frequencies were.
The bad: No QSOs. Also the FUNCube Dashboard doesn't seem to want to run on
Wine, so I couldn't actually decode the telemetry,
only listen to it howl at me.
2. AO-7, mode B (https://soundcloud.com/minus2c/ao-7-pass-jan-3-2016-1410-jst)
The good: Hey, it's AO-7 mode B on a day I'm actually listening! I heard
plenty of CW traffic, as well as station UA9UIZ in
eastern Russia calling CQ.
The bad: I'm not allowed to tx to AO-7 in mode B. The JA band plan doesn't
permit transmitting on 432MHz to satellites. I have
to wait until it's in mode A, and then I need to be able to listen on 10
meters. (Ignore for a moment the fact that you hear
JS3QBP calling on CW, I think he shouldn't be.)
3. FO-29 (https://soundcloud.com/minus2c/fo-29-pass-jan-3-2016-1440-jst)
The good: Well I heard UA9UIZ calling CQ again.
The bad: Pretty much everything else. I heard nary a single peep of my own
signal. I'm seriously wondering whether this old
IC-706 is having problems transmitting LSB, because this is my fourth
attempt at this bird by now and I haven't been able to get into it no matter
how many times I tune up, down, and sideways while saying OOOOOOOOOOOOO into
the mic. Sigh.
And then the day was over. Christmas over. Vacation over. Back to work on
Monday. I'll try again next weekend.
73
J. Boyd JR2TTS
--
J. Boyd, JR2TTS/NI3B
the2belo@xxx.xxxxxxx.xx.xx
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the2belo/
http://www.qrz.com/db/JR2TTS
Twitter: @xxxxxxxx
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Sun, 3 Jan 2016 11:31:42 -0600
From: John Spasojevich <johnag9d@xxxxx.xxx>
To: Amsat - BBs <amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx>
Subject: [amsat-bb] ARISS AUDIO for Tuesday Contact
Message-ID:
<CA+qbou4JJ3qu3Ot-qQGkKAt3q_stCPENjhKUoywvyqxgrHvyPA@xxxx.xxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Please join us in listening to the ISS contact with participants at the
*Frederick W. Harnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts, USA* on
Tuesday 5 January. AOS is anticipated at 17:42 UTC
The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The
contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and K6DUE in Greenbelt,
Maryland. The contact is expected to be conducted in English.
Audio from this contact will be fed into the:
EchoLink *AMSAT* (101377) server
IRLP Node 9010 Discovery Reflector
Streaming Audio at: https://sites.google.com/site/arissaudio/
Audio on Echolink & web stream is generally transmitted around 20 minutes
prior to the contact taking place so that you can hear some of the
preparation that occurs. IRLP will begin just prior to the ground station
call to the ISS assuming no issues with the local node or reflector.
Please note that all breaks are manual approximately after every third
question, connected repeaters may time out.
** Contact times are approximate. If the ISS executes a reboost or other
maneuver, the AOS (Acquisition Of Signal) time may alter by a few minutes **
73,
John - AG9D
ARISS AUDIO
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Sun, 03 Jan 2016 12:16:38 -0600
From: "Mike Miller" <lists@xxxxxx.xxx>
To: Burns Fisher <burns@xxxxxx.xx>
Cc: amsat-bb@xxxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Some DUMB hints about using SatPC32 computer
aided tuning
Message-ID: <56896586.15583.D3F0EA8@xxxxx.xxxxxx.xxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII
On 2 Jan 2016 at 15:12, Burns Fisher wrote:
> 1) I have a TS2000. I'm pretty sure that I saw somewhere that
> you have
> to
> check the +12VRTS check box in Setup/Radio to make it work for
> the
> latest
> version of SatPC32. I'm not sure if it has to be, but it works
> when it
> IS
> checked.
The TS-2000 really wants RTS/CTS flow control. The +12VRTS
apparently works if the RTS/CTS flow control is not available in
the software. Of course those wires must be present in the
serial cable.
73
Mike kc9doa
------------------------------
Subject: Digest Footer
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------------------------------
End of AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 11, Issue 4
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