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ZL2VAL > SAREX 05.01.04 04:41l 82 Lines 3806 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 32707_ZL2AB
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Subj: ARISS Op's Update 4.01.2004
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Sent: 040105/0330Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:32707 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g $:32707_Z
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : SAREX@WW
From:"Frank H. Bauer"
Date:Sun, 04 Jan 2004 21:34:27 -0500
To:sarexAtAMSAT.Org
All,
I have been sifting through the many e-mails I have received over the past
few days regarding ISS ops. I will attempt to clarify some of the
observations many of you have made as well as some of what has been seen
from the ISS Ham radio system since about a week ago.
Before I start this discussion, I need to explain to you all that we are
currently using the Kenwood radio system in its "raw" form. What I mean
by this is that the ARISS team has not yet run a formal engineering
checkout of the hardware and the ISS crew has not gotten the operations
procedures uplinked to them yet. The ISS crew kind of surprised the space
agencies by getting the radio system installed much earlier than they had
anticipated. (Would you expect anything less from an ISS crew that are
avid ham radio operators). As a result, the ARISS team has been working
feverishly with the space agencies to get the procedures uplinked and
engineering checkouts scheduled. As could be expected, the space agencies
didn't feel the need to schedule these until the equipment was installed.
It is important to note that the ARISS team felt that it was more important
to get the system on the air in voice and packet as-soon-as-possible than
to wait another few weeks while we get the system optimized for general ops.
So, my word of caution to all is to proceed lightly with the radio system
(the Kenwood and the new antennas). They are still in their infant stages.
Like all infants, expect it to grow and mature over time.
Digi Operations
At this point in time the Kenwood radio system is not properly configured
for digi operations. A reconfiguration change occurred about a week ago
which has led to this issue. So, what you see right now will probably not
be what you will see in the future.
We hope to get this corrected in the next few days. This issue has more
to do with the fact that our on-board procedures for the radio system have
not yet made it up to the ISS crew. It is our understanding that these
procedures are expected to be uplinked early this week.
Signal Fading
Some of you have observed that the signals on ISS are a bit different with
the new radio system. You have noticed some fading or drop outs. We are
now using the new antenna system located on the Service Module, as compared
to the antennas on the FGB. The FGB antenna system is configured with a top
looking and bottom looking antenna. Currently, the Service Module antenna
is using a single, bottom mounted antenna. Since the structure of ISS is
very large, it is quite possible that we are getting some signal blockage.
We will continue to evaluate the antenna system performance. Since we have
4 antenna systems that can support 2 meter and 70 cm operation, we have a
lot of possibilities with the antenna system, including signal splitting,
if needed.
Packet Heard During the School Contact
Those who listened to Friday's school contact got a bonus....packet on the
downlink. Those who heard it witnessed history, the first ISS multiple
radio operations. What you heard was the Phase 1 Ericsson radio system
doing the school contact with the Phase 2 Kenwood radio system active doing
packet. As I stated, our procedures for the Kenwood radio are not on-board
yet. I would not expect that this issue to happen during future school
group contacts.
As Miles Mann has pointed out, the age of multi-mode, multi-op radio has
begun on ISS. Let's all proceed forward, slowly, as we get the system
fully operational for you. In the meantime, enjoy!
73, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
----
Via the sarex mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA.
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