Hams in Space!

More documents

Recommendations

Info

telemetry on one side and Fuji-OSCAR transmissions on the other. Thc AO~ 13 material is nOI germane 10 this discussion. bUI the Fuji material is of considerable value. Feed the output of the tape recorder directly 10 the phone plug on the cable going 10 the modem. Fire up the PK-232 and you should be receiving FO- 12 material without any trouble. The Ri~ht &ltin~s Now we arc ready 10 get on the air. The first thing 10 do is to re-config ure some ofthe parameters in the PK-232. The fo llowing has been found successful: nWAIT 32, FRACK 6. FUlLDUP ON, IIEADERlN ON . :\IAXFRA~l fo: 2 . PAC LEN 32, PACTI:\II~" 10, and TXDELAY fH. On the TAPR modem. the left-hand swuch is " up" or on MAN. and the next, center. Then the next is " up" or ON, and the right-hand swuch is " up" or JOI NT. Set the audio gain control on the radio so that the left-hand bar display on the modem is around the 71h or 81h bar. Tune in the microsat downlink unt il the right-hand bar display indicates that rhc loop is centered. (When you were adjusting the modem. you determined wh ich bar would indicate Ihi s.) An oscilloscope connected to the PK-232 is a great help. and if you have a suitable one you might consider leaving it as pan of the permanent installation. I use a Kenwood SM-220. Put the loop-centered switch in the STF.P switch to either USB or LSB. depending on your receiver luning. Use whichever setting tracks correctly. The loop should remain ccntcred rnrocgnouubc satellite pass. and should not nicker either up or down. If it does. your " dead band" is 100 wide. If all is well. you should now be receiving the downlink perfectly. First, try connecting to your station through either Pacsat or Lusat. For example, KI6QE V LUSAT-I. Keep the transmitter output to 20 walls or less. and use the FM-N position on the FT-736. Ifyou are using an FT-726. be sure the deviation is less than 3 kHz. You should connect almost immediately. Be sure you are using the correct uplink frequency; see the table. You don't have to track the uplink frequency for Doppler since the microsat has suffic iem bandwidth 10 compensate. However, if you are a purist. you may wam to adjust me uplink frequency at the beginning, center, and end of the pass to maintain continuous connect. Now you can try FO·20, First, tunc in the downlink as before on435. 910 MHz , thentry to connect with the Mail box. Use the callsign 8J IJ BS. Please notc that there is no digipcater , so do not try to connect to yourself. II won't work. When you get the connect. wail for the prompt JAS > . If you issue a command before this. you'll get frame-reject respouses. and you'll have to disconnect and Man again. Pressing II will bring a short help screen, and you can go from there . All these packet microsats have four uplink frequencies. You can select the appropriate uplink frequency in accordance with the following formula. suggested by HB9AQZ to avoid congestion on the uplinks: I. If your callsign ends in a letter from A-G; 2. if your 10 73 Amateur Radio Today . March , 1991 callsign ends in a letter from H-M; 3. if your callsign ends in a letter from N-T; and 4. if your callsign ends in a leiter from U-Z. Now. a word about the FT·736 radio. II has a small jack on the back that short-circuits most of the audio processing circuitry . This DATA tN/OUT jack is well worth using for the FM data input from the PK-232. Instead of connecting from the TAPR modem 10 pin 8 on the mike connector. take it to the sleeve of a miniature stereo connector and plug this into the above jack. Don't forget 10 include a ground connection as well. You will be surprised at the improvement in your uplink performance . Connection is usually achieved at the first or second attempt, and through-put is as good as or. in many cases, better than with the local terrestrial BBS. You can even do better than this by laking this connect ion directly to the junction ofR32 and C39 in the TX unit ofthe 736, but unless you are willing 10 get into your new and expensive radio with a soldering iron. I suggest that you fo rego this dubiouspleasure, and put up with the " substandard" perfo rmance as described above. The'Sonware A number of packages are available. Most ofus sian with a simple communications program, such as PC-TALK or PROCOMM ,to interface the computer and the PK·232. This is adequate and flexible. but you have to set things up and remember key commands. PC PAKRAIT from AEA conveniently automates most of lhe functions you need. but u's hard 10 modify, and it hasn't been updated for the latest developments. For example, if you want 10 use KISS or some of the newer commands, you have to resort to dumh terminal mode. which has no real advantage over the simpler communications programs above. A newer shareware program called LAN LINK retains most of the automation of PC PA KRAIT while keeping the flexibility of the simpler programs. You can obtain this from many BBSs and CompuServe. The QU31/;i System The installation described uses a dual home-brew quagi system with 2 x 9 elements on 2 meters. and 2 x 16 elements on 70cm with auto tracking, as already indicated. Others have obtained perfectly satisfactory operarion with vertical antennas for both transmit and receive. If you choose to go this route, be prepared to put more RF power into the antenna; you' ll need at least 100 watts EIRP. If reliable performance is your goal, experience indicates that perhaps 200 watts EIRP is a better fig ure. Finally. what about all that neat telemetry thai pours onto our screens? Whal does it all mean? It's a running commentary on the health of the satellite. There are programs to decode this data into more meaningful numbers. A program called TLM DC is available from some BBS facilities as well as from AMSAT. This decoder requires your PK-232 to be in KI SS mode 10 operate properly. TLMDC takes binary data from the downlink and writes it directly to disk. or decodes it to me screen or another disk file. KISS is available on all PK-232 machines. However, if you don 't have the 1989 firmware. you need 10 change the follo.....ing parameters to gel into the KISS mode: KISS OS, IlPOlL OFF. PPERSI~'" ON. RAWHOLC ON . COS MODE TRANSPARENT. and HOST Ol'i. If you have the 1989 fi rmware in your PK·232, all you have to do is type KISS ON at the CMD prompt. As soon as you have entered these parameters. exit the communications program and bring up TLMDC by ty ping TLMDC CO~I1 :I200 ,n,8 .l. You will be able 10 sec the actual telemetry in meaningful numbers. Another program. WHATS-UP. is available from Joe Kasser G3ZCZ at P.O. Box 3419, Silver Spring MD 20918. It doesn't require KISS. having its own communications program. and it' s probably the best way to go if you are just starting up. There arc two land-line BBSs which carry AMSAT news and the software referred 10 in this article. The official AMSAT board is operated by the Dallas Remote Imaging Group at (214) 394- 7438. In Southern California. the Califo rnia Astronomers Group has a section in their BBS, phone number (714) 738-433 1, for AMSAT; il carries the sarnc material as the Dallas BBS. I'd be more than happy 10 assist you with problems in similar systems; you can write 10 the address below. but please send an SASE with your request. Since this article was first prepared some dramatic new developments have taken place in the Microsat World. Both LUSAT (LO 19) and PACSAT (AO- 16) have new BBS software loaded and ope rating. To lake advantage of these very advanced technology satellites you will need the following software packages in your ground slation. These arc obtainable from AMSAT. PR.EXE This program allows you 10 copy broadcast bulletins, ell'. PG,EXE This allows you 10 gel a file directory and 10 up and download fi les. rfllADn,EXE This prepares files for up- loading. You cannot upload without first using this utility. PIIS.EXE This processes downloaded files and allows you 10 display their contents. II is imponant to note that PG requires your TNC 10 be in the TRANSPARENT mode, whereas PB requires KISS mode. This causes PK-232 users some inconvenience in switching from one program to the other whereas if you are using a TNC-2 this is not so. This is a fast developing field so keep your eyes on the AMSAT Bulletin Boards. In parneuter. watch the 75-meter nels on Tuesday evenings on 3.840 kHz. III David Mt'd/t'), KJ6QE ",as fim licensed in Australia as VK3MJ in tht' '30s. He emigrcaed to this country with hisfamily in the early '60s to wort f or the Collins Radio Company in Dallas, Texas. He retiredin /987. You may contact him ot 1450 Bayview Heights Drive, Los Osos CA 93402. Again , please includean SASE.
If you always thought a mtcrcproceescr-contrcned repeater had to be expensive, LOOK AGAIN! You could easily spend this much just for a controller. REP-200 REPEATER A premIum repeater with autopatch and many versatile dtmf control features at less Ihan many charge for a bare-bones repeater! We don't skimp on rf modules, eitherl Check the features on R144 Receiver, for In stance: GaAs FET front-end, helical re s o n at o rs , sharp crystal taters, hysteresis squelch. HIGH PERFORMANCE XMTRS & RCVRS FOR REPEATERS, AF & DIGITAL LINKS, TELEMETRY, ETC. FM EXCITERS: k ~ s $99. w/l $169. ZW oonlin UOU$ duly. TCXO & lCIal oven optionS available, FCC ~ (JC:Cf1ptoo lor com'l uhf & hi bend$. • TASt ier 2M. 150-17-4. 220M"'. • TA451 tor l:I'lI. • TA901 lor 902·928MHZ, (O,SW oul; w/l orlVI • VHF. UHF AMPUFIER$. Fortm. ssb.lIIv, o~ ~, 'I....~ >.f!.l : I~ cJ'1~ from 'f1Nto lroN. aI models. kits starting 8l $79, FM RECEIVERS: kl!:S $139. w/l $169. • R1U/R220 FM RECEIVERS lor 2M. 150-174.or22OM~ GeAsFET fronI end. 0,1 SuV $8I'lIilivIIVl Both crystal & cerami 1COdB at t 12kHz (best av~1lIlyWhere1) Flutter1JfClClf hysteresis aqueleh; alc tracee drift Kit $ 1095; wit only $1295! • Available for the 2M. 22OMHz, 440MHz, 902MHz bands. FCC ~ aeeepted (vhf lind uhf commere;al band$). • Rugged .xcller and PA. designed for oontinuOuS duty. • P~ outpul 15-1f!N (2SW option) OIl 2M or hi-band; l SW OIl 22OMHz; 1(]N on lI1f or 902MHz . • Accessory add-on PA's avaAble wiltl po_ I.....I. up to l 00w. • SIx eourt.., beep types. nctuding IWO pleasant sequential. multi-lOnu tuslS. • AUTOPATCH: IIithsr open or closed aocest. tolkall r..lncl auto--disc:orw1el1 • R....er... Aulopelch. two !)'PeS:~or mg lone on the ai". • DTMF CONTROL r:Net 45 !ln::tions can be comroled by lolJc:h.lone. Sepiv8le 4-digII COllllol ecce lor eecn wceco, plus eKtr8 4-ing ta>ge' ~ ..&:sa, l3,-I50. ItIQ- In. 110-130. «10--470; '" tJlX)-1lSO /dHl LNW-(*) MIN IATURE GaAs FET PREAMP ONLY $24f1
Page 1 and 2: I • • Hams in Space!
Page 3 and 4: MFJ, Bencher and Curtis team up to
Page 5 and 6: THETEAM PUBLISHER/EDITOR Wayne Gree
Page 8 and 9: TS-680S All-mode multi-bander • 6
Page 10 and 11: • • The SAHEX STS-37 Mission Th
Page 14 and 15: Number 5 on your Feed~c:knrc! Weath
Page 16 and 17: f7 ,.. '0 ' ''~, " ~H~ '~" '" " LT(
Page 18: i • Choice Selection. Nc:M' }OU c
Page 21 and 22: Introducing the only HF amateur rad
Page 23 and 24: Number 7 on your FHdback card Eleme
Page 25 and 26: KITTY SAYS: WE ARE NOWOPEN 7 DAYSA
Page 27 and 28: 9 Aut r y Ir vine. CA 927 18 (7 14)
Page 29 and 30: '. .COMMUNICATIONS ELECTRONICS INC.
Page 31 and 32: 0:: w>- >ffi - wO u'" U)Ul Z..J
Page 33 and 34: HF Equipment IC-16S Xevr/ps/keyer/a
Page 35 and 36: , • ALlNCO'S DR·590T DUAL BAND T
Page 37 and 38: , REMEMBER...A LOW COST POWER PACK
Page 39 and 40: z o ; ? « D April 26, 27, 28, 19
Page 41 and 42: tuning is common, and can be elimin
Page 43 and 44: VERSATILITY! MEASURE POWER FROM 2rn
Page 45 and 46: Amateur RadioToday SWEEPSTAKES Over
Page 47 and 48: OUTBACKERTM Chester QSL Cards e ·
Page 49 and 50: ................ PRESENTING .......
Page 51 and 52: AR models give you fTl()(e than 20d
Page 53 and 54: NOW IT'S ATAD SMALLER! (MUCH SMALLE
Page 55 and 56: • tions during daylight, so don '
Page 57 and 58: Photo C. Mall Flagg, a senior at Ne
Page 59 and 60: GORDON WEST RADIO SCHOOL I #04 ZI·
Page 61 and 62: Joe MoeII PE KIOV POBox2508 FullerT
Page 63 and 64:
Never Say Die Continued from page 4
Page 65 and 66:
SELECT 5 BOOKS for only $4 95 TlI Q
Page 67 and 68:
Table 2. Sample of Packets ReceIved
Page 69 and 70:
G5RV All-Band QuicKits ' " ",,", .,
Page 71 and 72:
Heterodyne Headache #14.256 Get fas
Page 73 and 74:
~ RLC·6
Page 75 and 76:
ABOVEANDSEYOND CL Houghton WB61GP S
Page 77 and 78:
Number 20 on your Feedback card HAM
Page 79 and 80:
Desert Voices Continuedfrom page 18
Page 81 and 82:
M&N ELECTRONICS All your TEN-TEC ne
Page 83 and 84:
SIMPLEX REPEATER USE ONE RADIO T" S
Page 85 and 86:
CHIL.E Robert M. Wright X06EK Casil
Page 87 and 88:
Number 27 on your Feedback card DEA
Page 89 and 90:
0J • How 10 WOn< Ihe Competition
show all

Hams in Space!

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?