MX0MXO portable in laleham park.

On Saturday evening MX0MXO was back on the air again from Laleham park.


         

We experimented tonight in building an inverted Vee antenna
We used a 10 meter telescopic pole, tied the balun to the top and too 2 wires down either side.



Running between 50 and 100 Watts, results were very good.
Working into the USA on 40, 20, 17 and 15 meter bands.
We worked Scotland on 80 meters
We also had good results around Europe and Russia.





Essential evening supplies

ISS to Powys Secondary Schools, Mid Wales, UK

My recording

Echolink AMSAT audio

• A direct contact with students at Powys Secondary Schools, Mid Wales, UK is scheduled for Sat 2016-03-0510:55:19 UTC 59 deg.The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake, KG5BVI.

         ​Please join us in listening to the contact:         - Audio from this contact will be fed into EchoLink *AMSAT* (101377) and IRLP Node 9010 Discovery Reflector
         - Streaming audio will be available at: https://sites.google.com/site/arissaudio/         - Watch the contact live at:  https://principia.ariss.org/Live/ 
Audio on Echolink and 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. Please note that on Echolink there are automatic breaks of 1.5 seconds in the audio transmission. These occur every 2.5 minutes during the event. Breaks on IRLP are manual and occur approximately after every third question.

​Powys Combined Schools represent all secondary schools across the county of Powys in Wales. With students from over 90 primary schools and 12 secondary schools, we represent students from the age of 4 up to 18. As Powys Combined Schools, we have a pool of some 7,700 students aged 11-18 and a similar number of 4-11 year olds in the primary schools.

​Our goal is be to leverage our existing relationships with the primaries in each secondary catchment area to organise a county wide event over the months leading up to the ARISS contact. During which time workshops, projects and activities aimed around STEM subjects would be run.

Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire (Breconshire), and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km² or 2,000 sq miles, making it the largest county in Wales by land area. Most of Powys is mountainous, with north-south transport being difficult.

The majority of the Powys population lives in villages and small towns. The largest towns are Newtown, Ystradgynlais, Brecon, and Welshpool. Powys has the lowest population density of all the principal areas of Wales.

Just under a third of the residents have Welsh linguistic skills: Welsh speakers are concentrated mainly in the rural areas both in and around Machynlleth, Llanfyllin and Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant (where William Morgan first translated the whole Bible into Welsh in 1588) in Montgomeryshire (Welsh: Sir Drefaldwyn), and the industrial area of Ystradgynlais in the extreme south-west of Brecknockshire (Welsh: Sir Frycheiniog).

Weather Satellites NOAA 15, 18 and 19

I used the software called wxtoimg (free) http://www.wxtoimg.com/



I hooked up my ft8900 via a usb sound card dongle. I used the free version of HRD to track the satellites. The results prove that there is something up there sending weather pictures, just that my reception was not so great.

I am told I need wider bandwidth to get clearer pictures, so when the funcube dongle arrives I will try again and publish the results.






The above is the best picture I could get, results varied over the days and different passes.
WXTOIMG software, you need to update the keplars, and when you put it into auto record mode it will tell you the time and the frequency of the next pass.

MX0MXO portable in Laleham Part

Back to Laleham park tonight.
Additional equipment : we now have a stove and kettle, essential on these winter evening out!

ISS contact with Norwich Schools, Norwich/East Anglia, UK,

Here is my recording
Here is the full contact as played on ECHOLINK AMSAT



A direct contact via GB2CNS with students at Norwich Schools, Norwich/East Anglia, UK, was successful Fri 2016-02-26 14:43:39 UTC 29  deg. Astronaut Timothy Peake, KG5BVI answered 16 questions before his responses were lost in the noise. With HamTV in operation, Peake responded to a request  for a wave and demonstrated weightlessness answering questions while floating on his side.

Watch a local media report about the event:  http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2016-02-26/science-lesson-for-norfolk-pupils-that-is-out-of-this-world/

​This contact is a collaborative project between three schools in Norfolk and their local university, UEA. Norwich School employs an Ogden Trust Teaching Fellow whose job is 50% dedicated to Physics outreach and she has led the project. City of Norwich School (CNS) are hosting the link up. Reepham High School have an observatory on site and are hosting a "spot the station" event. 36 schools have signed up to be a part of all we have planned and have each received an age-appropriate radio kit for use in lessons and clubs funded by RCUK through the UEA.

Oasis Academy Brightstowe, Bristol, UK

My recording

• A direct contact via GB1OAB with students at Oasis Academy Brightstowe, Bristol, UK is scheduled for  Fri 2016-02-19 14:23:23 UTC 78 deg. The scheduled astronaut is Timothy Peake KG5BVI.

You can watch the contact at https://principia.ariss.org/Live/. Their stream starts about an hour or so prior to contact.
Audio from this contact will be fed to:EchoLink *AMSAT* (101377) and the IRLP Node 9010 Discovery Reflector. Streaming audio will be available at: https://sites.google.com/site/arissaudio/
Audio on Echolink and 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. Audio for this contact is a relay from the Principia website and is dependent on their stream.

• A direct contact via K4UAH with students at University of Alabama, Huntsville Space Hardware Club, Huntsville, Alabama, USA is scheduled for Fri 2016-02-19 17:20:14 UTC 72 deg.The scheduled astronaut is Tim Kopra, KE5UDN.

The Space Hardware Club at the University of Alabama in Huntsville is an engineering club of students that builds balloon payloads, satellites and rockets outside of their regular classes. The club has been working on this contact for over a year. After deciding to focus on 8th grade students, we reached out to Discovery Middle School, Westlawn Middle School, and the Tennessee Valley Homeschool 4-H group – all from the northern Alabama area. The students from Westlawn have been part of Project Lead The Way for 2 years now and have been exposed to robotics, modeling, and 3d printing. The students from the homeschool group all have a passion for STEM, a love of learning and being challenged, and are bubbling with excitement for this opportunity of a lifetime. There are two STEM II classes from Discovery Middle School that routinely rise to the expectations of their accelerated STEM focused curriculum. By the time of the contact, the students will have learned about the ISS, the astronauts and some of the experiments aboard, and amateur radio.  All of the students and club members involved are passionate about this opportunity, and thank you for your time.
​

Royal Masonic School for Girls, Rickmansworth, UK

A direct contact with students at Royal Masonic School for Girls, Rickmansworth, UK was successful Thu 2016-02-11 18:11:09 UTC 88 deg  Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI answered 14 prepared questions from the students and was also able to broadcast live video of the interview using the new amateur radio Ham TV system, which is the first use of the Ham TV system during a school interview. 

Watch a video recording of the event at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cosp6W-gqq4Read a story about the event on the Principia website https://principia.org.uk/news/second-amateur-radio-call/

The Royal Masonic School for Girls is an independent girl’s day and boarding school in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, with an exceptional, unusual and distinguished history. Founded in 1788 with the purpose of educating the daughters of Freemasons who were unable to support their families, it is one of the oldest girls' schools in the country. We attract girls aged 4-18 from across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and North London and boarders from all over the world. We also have a Pre School for boys and girls aged 2 to 4. Our ethos is both aspirational and nurturing and our girls strive to be the very best they can be, academically, morally and creatively. Our public examination results are consistently impressive and each year around 90% of girls leave RMS to take up places at University. Life at RMS is centred on much more than "just" academic success and the School is well known for its exceptional pastoral care, and the wealth of extra-curricular opportunities it offers - including Astronomy as we are one of very few schools in the UK to have our own planetarium and observatory!

M0JFP heard by PSAT

PSAT (Navy Oscar NO84) is another APRS satellite that can digipeat user packets

Live data from PSAT can be found here: http://www1.findu.com/cgi-bin/pcsat.cgi 

"Gesmundo Moro Fiore" Secondary School, Terlizzi, Italy

A telebridge contact via LU1CGB with students at "Gesmundo Moro Fiore" Secondary School, Terlizzi, Italy was successful Sat 2016-02-06 09:09:01 UTC 40 deg.  Astronaut Tim Peake, KG5BVI answered 18 questions prepared by students.

 ‘’Gesmundo – Moro – Fiore ‘’ is a secondary school formed of two different buildings in the suburb area of Terlizzi. The new school was born this school year from the fusion of two schools. In the last few years some foreign citizens from Eastern Europe to Mediterranean Africa are coming to live in Terlizzi, so the school is having new needs and is facing different realities. The school facility includes laboratories ICT, Technology, Art, conference room , library. multimedia room and big spaces outside with wonderful gardens.

ISS contact with Christ The King School, Rutland, Vermont, USA

A telebridge contact via VK4KHZ with students at Christ The King School, Rutland, Vermont, USA was successful Thu 2016-02-04 18:28:16 UTC 88 deg. Astronaut Tim Kopra successfully answered 19 questions for students.

Here is my recording

Watch a local news media report on the event at http://www.wcax.com/story/31144364/vt-kids-quiz-astronaut-on-international-space-station

Christ The King School is a PK-8 Catholic school in the city of Rutland, VT. The school has a population of 150 students and 17 teachers. Since 1886, Christ The King School (CKS) has dedicated itself to the principles of Catholic education, with academic excellence and community service being the hallmarks of our school. CKS is committed to incorporating technology in the classroom, with every class now having interactive white boards and internet access, middle school students each having access to a chrome book, and the school having a fully equipped computer lab. In 2015, the school received the Innovations in Catholic Education National Award for its implementation of exemplary, innovation programs to improve the teaching and learning of their students, faculty, and staff. Three of our students were chosen to be participants in the NASA Girls and NASA Boys summer program in 2014 and 2015. One of our retired school volunteers is a former Goddard Spaceflight Center Education Specialist and current Vermont Solar System Ambassador who helps insure that the students are able to take advantage of all the wonderful educational resources and opportunities available to them through the various NASA Education Programs. Our mission is to promote our Catholic faith through instruction, prayer, and service to others, assist our parents in their role as primary educators, and create a student-centered program in a structured academic environment that nurtures the development of the whole child.

ISS contact with Wittayanusorn School, Kho Hong District, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand

A direct contact between astronaut Tim Peake, KG5BVI  and students at PSU. Wittayanusorn School, Kho Hong District, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand  was successful Sat 2016-01-30 11:06:23 UTC 63 deg.

Watch a video of the interview at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25gCS1JTPxA

PSU. Wittayanusorn School, established in 2005, is a Prince of Songkla University affiliated private high school in Hatyai, Songkhla Province, Thailand.  The school serves approximately 1,200 students in 7th to 12th grade.  The school's identity colors are blue and grey.  The blue represents sustainability and grey stands for wisdom.  The school motto is "wisdom brings lasting success and happiness".  The guiding principle is "our soul is for the benefit of mankind".  The desired characteristics of our students are "SMART+" which are referred to scientific mind, good manner, aesthetic appreciation, responsibility and reliability, teamwork, and +global citizenship.  Green education is our school's uniqueness which focuses on education for sustainable development.



PSU. Wittayanusorn School is dedicated to create an exceptional teaching and learning environment in which morality is emphasized, science and mathematics concepts are embedded.  The school curriculum is designed to maximize each student's potential for critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, community involvement, and responsible leadership.  Additionally, the school has been selected by the Ministry of Science and Technology to be one of the first four regional schools of the country to host a special three-year science classroom program for high school level, grades 10 to 12, according to the proactive human resources development project to upgrade the science and technology capability of the country.  The selection of students with high ability in mathematics and science for the science classroom program is carried out by the Institute for the Promotion of Teaching Science and Technology and closely collaborated with Prince of Songkla University.  Each student who passes the selection will be entitled to a scholarship from grade 10 onwards, and subjected to certain additional criteria, he/she will be eligible for a scholarship until he/she can complete his/her education up to a doctoral degree level.

PSU Wittayanusorn School was accredited with the score 97.02% by the Office of National Education Standards and Quality Assessment on May 26, 2015.

ISS contact with Brihaspati Vidyasadan, Kathmandu, Nepal

A telebridge contact via VK5ZAI with students at Brihaspati Vidyasadan, Kathmandu, Nepal was successful today at 08:37:04 UTC 26 deg. Astronaut Tim Peake, KG5BVI  answered 17 questions for students. An audience of about 300 included students from 10 other schools, as well as the British Ambassador to Nepal, the Cultural Affairs Officer from the US Embassy, and a member of the National Human Rights Commission and former Ministry for Science and Technology.

Some local news media video reports are available at http://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/british-astronaut-tells-nepali-students-to-follow-their-cherished-dreams/   and http://e-visitnepal.blogspot.se/2016/01/talk-to-astronauts.html

A video of the interview is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Asaa1xb6fGo&feature=youtu.be

​Brihaspati Vidyasadan is a 32 year old High school, located in Kathmandu, Nepal. Brihaspati runs classes from nursery to 100 at secondary level and the 10+2 program in Science and Management at the higher secondary Level. Besides these Brihaspati also runs Diploma in Hospitality Managemant and Tourism in affiliation with Confederation of Tourism and Hospitality (CTH), UK.

Brihaspati is known for its academic excellence. To date Brihaspati has produced over 2000 SLC graduates and over 600 +2 graduates who have achieved excellent academic achievements. Brihaspati has also been awarded the "Best School in Nepal" in 2055BS.

Brihaspati is also known for its co-curricular and extra-curricular activities including sports, debates and concerts. Over the years the school has achieved Inter-school successes in football (soccer), cricket and basketball at national levels. School has also successes in inter-school competitions like debate, elocution and concerts.

For its academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular achievements Brihaspati has been placed among the Class A schools of Nepal by the Ministry of Education, Government of Nepal.

Brihaspati staff and students have been known for their innovation in education. The school is reputed to be the first school in Nepal to introduce computer education. Brihaspati houses clubs like Lokopakar, which is a student club that looks into Humanitarian aid.  Brihaspati students recently started gThink Inkh, an activity designed using the principles of Extreme Design from Stanford for instilling critical thinking and problem solving skills in students. This program has gained attention of a lot of people in the academia at a very rapid pace.

Brihaspati is located in a 25 acre land space at the heart of Kathmandu within the Balmandir compound. It  has academic facility that is of very high standards. It houses the Free and Open Source Research Lab and Ham (amateur radio) facility that students and staff have access to.

Recently during the earthquake of Nepal, one of the buildings of Brihaspati was used by ham radio operators from Nepal and India to coordinate search and reconciliation of families where over 500 families were reunited with their loved ones.

ARISS connection with the Secondary School of First Instance "Benedetto Croce", Civate, Italy

Follow the event live Wednesday January 13, 2016 , starting at 11:30 (early contact with the ISS at 12:29 )

Will answer students' curiosity American NASA astronaut Tim Kopra , to the ISS in December 2015, flight engineer of Expedition 46 commander and the upcoming Expedition 47

Links to various articles of the event:
 
http://www.lecconotizie.com/attualita/civate-che-successo-il-collegamento-radio-con-la-base-spaziale-287627/
 
http://www.leccoonline.com/articolo.phpidd=14720&origine=1&t=Civate%3A+l%26rsquo%3Bastronauta+Tim+Kopra+risponde+alle+domande+degli+studenti+dallo+spazio
 
http://lecconews.lc/news/cronache-dallo-spaziodialogo-tra-tim-koprae-gli-studenti-di-civate-137258/

A successful ARISS telebridge contact was held atScuola Secondaria di Primo Grado “Benedetto Croce”, Civate, Italy on January 13, 2016 through amateur ground station VK5ZAI in Australia. The astronaut for the contact was Tim Kopra, KE5UDN, using callsign NA1SS. 20 student questions were answered.

There was an audience of 150 students, teachers, administrators and guests and the event was covered by a local TV station and newspaper. Audio of the event was carried by the amateur radio services Echolink and IRLP.  

The connection will be made telebridge mode, with the support of the Australian station VK5ZAI operated by Tony Hutchison.
Here the official announcement from the site of ARISS Europe:  http://www.ariss-eu.org/documents/archive/2016_01_11.txt

Chertsey Radio club introduces MB6ICU

Today after friendly discussions with Ofcom and ETCC, We are very happy to announce the Chertsey DMR / Brandmaster hotspot MB6ICU

Access is on 434.5125 Talkgroup is TG9 (local)  colour code 1 and slot 2

MB6ICU is mostly on Brandmaster channel 4400



You can control the channel by setting your code plug up as follows

In contacts you will need each of the groups you wish to access
So popular in the UK 4400, 4401, 4402 and 4403 also add 4000(no-link)

next set up the channels
In digital channels you will need to create the following

MB6ICU-Main
frequency tx / rx: 434.5125
colour code 1
timeslot 2
TX contact Local TG9



Next create

MB6ICU-Drop (this will disconnect current channel)
frequency tx / rx: 434.5125
colour code 1
timeslot 2
TX contact 4000

Next create

MB6ICU-to-4400
frequency tx / rx: 434.5125
colour code 1
timeslot 2
TX contact 4400 UK

Next create

MB6ICU-to-4401
frequency tx / rx: 434.5125
colour code 1
timeslot 2
TX contact 4401 UK1

Add 4402 and 4403 and any other channels you require to your channel list.

Next you will need to create a ZONE

Call the zone MB6ICU
Add each of the channels starting with MB6ICU-Main
to the zone.



Now save your code plug and upload to your radio.

To operate MB6ICU tune radio to MB6ICU / MB6ICU-Main
Listen, to ensure no one else is using the hot-spot.
If they are please join in say hello.

If not firstly rotate the channel knob to MB6ICU-Drop and TX for about 5 seconds
This will drop all channels and return the hot-spot to disconnected
Next rotate the channel knob to the channel you wish to use, again tx for 5 seconds
This will force the hot-spot to connect to your chosen channel.

Next you need to change channel back to MB6ICU-Main

You are now connected and can use the hotspot on your chosen channel.

any questions my details are on qrz.com

Enjoy the hot-spot

M0JFP / Chetsey radio club.

ISS-Tim_contact Sandringham School, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, UK

Here is what I heard from my home in Staines Middlesex UK (IO91SK)

M0JFP recording-ISS-Tim-8-1-16

Here is the AMSAT echolink recording of the contact 

AMSAT-echolink-iss-tim-8-1-16

On the AMSAT echolink they played this recording as part of the warm up:

recorded message-happy-new-year

7 Minutes before AOS, warm up message for the school

7 Mins to go warm up

This is the end of the speeches and thank yous!

End of speech and Thanks

Found this video of the ISS pass from YouTube

• A direct contact with students at Sandringham School, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, UK is scheduled for Fri 2016-01-08 08:47:47 UTC 83 deg. This will be the first ARISS contact associated with astronaut Tim Peake and the Principia Mission.  An audience of 1300+ is expected. During the morning, the BBC will be devoting their live national BBC Breakfast news program to the pre-contact activities and the contact itself at the school.

• The BBC covered the event and posted these reports: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35261160 and http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/35261190.
•  A video of the interview is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-XF1GCz87g  The video begins with the students of Sandringham School introducing their school and the activities that they have been involved with as part of their study into space.
• Another video includes an interview with one of the Sandringham students whose first contact as a radio amateur was with astronaut Tim Peake:  http://news.sky.com/video/1619375/ringing-the-iss-from-school. 
• An ARRL news story tells more about the preparations for the event http://www.arrl.org/news/uk-students-enjoy-first-ariss-contact-with-astronaut-tim-peake-kg5bvi
• Find more information about the Peake's Principia Mission at https://principia.org.uk/.

Sandringham School is a high performing coeducational non-selective and non-denominational secondary school, consistently graded Outstanding by Ofsted and being in the top 100 highest performing non-selective schools in England for the past 3 years.
 
The school is a specialist science college, arts college and leading edge provider. It is also designated as one of the first ‘World Class Schools’ in the country. The school operates a significant amount of community and outreach activities, is an Initial Teacher Training provider and runs a Teaching School Alliance for Hertfordshire.  Sandringham is also a “Gifted and Talented” lead school and International School, with significant international activities taking place throughout the year. The school also coordinates National Initiatives with the Education Endowment Foundation and has a significant reputation in the country for delivering outstanding comprehensive education.
 
The total number of students on roll is 1300 and expanding, with children from age 11 – 19, including a very large and academic sixth form. The catchment area is local, serving the needs of St. Albans and Wheathampstead although sixth form students join the school from further away if they meet the entrance criteria.
 
We have over 100 teachers in the school including specialist teachers of computing science and three female physics teachers all of whom have a specialist interest in space and astronomy. In addition, the headeacher is a very active radio amateur who is extremely supportive of this contact.

Hytera 685 getting started series: Install USB drivers

USB driver for Hytera 685 can be downloaded from HAM-DMR.nl
Make sure you choose 32 or 64 bit depending on your computers hardware.

Using 7zip or winrar or winzip open the file
Double click on folder DMR_SW_usb driver......




Double click on the DMR_SW_usb driver folder



Double click on driverinsstaller


You should now see a long list of files
Double click on setup.exe



Click run


Click Install





Be patient can take a couple of minutes


Click on OK

Hytera 685 getting started series: Install Customer Programming Software CPS

The Hytera CPS can be downloaded from ham-dmr.nl

Save the file and open it with 7zip winzip or winrar
Double click on setup.exe



Click on Run



The password is in SN.txt or copy and paste this: D78V70007022EM5C00
Click next



Click on Next


Click on accept the terms and then click on Next


Fill in your name or call sign and put anything for company.
Click on Next


if you need to change file location click on change (not usually needed)
Click on Next


Click on Install


Click on Finish

ISS contact with Frederick W. Harnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts, USA *Tim Peake*

Here is my recording from Echolink of the school contact

Pre contact speech

Link set up

Principal speech and details of radio / ISS contact

ISS contact recording   <<<<<====This is the main contact with Tim Peake

End of contact thanks








A telebridge contact via K6DUE with students at Frederick W. Hartnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts, USA was successful Tue 2016-01-05 17:42:06 UTC 81 deg. Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI answered 14 questions for students and an audience of 600.
 
​Frederick W. Hartnett Middle School is a vibrant school in the central Massachusetts town of Blackstone, adjacent to Rhode Island’s northern border. It houses sixth through eighth grades for the regional school district that serves the towns of Blackstone and Millville.   This is a quiet, somewhat suburban to rural area where most town residents choose to remain to raise their own families. The major land-form in the area is the Blackstone River, which runs southeast through our towns. Because of this river, like many New England towns,  these areas were prominent mill towns in the late industrial era, and our landscape is dotted with old mills near the river, many which have been re-purposed for factory work, storage or condo living.
Our regional school district has two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.  Our ten-year-old building was built to keep our students up-to-date with technology. We are proud to say that we have 5 computer labs and a STEM program for each grade.  It is our sixth-grade students who will be asking the questions to the chosen ARISS astronaut. Sixth graders have just completed an extensive set of lessons about the ISS, its mission, the country partners who sponsor and keep the ISS going, its components, astronauts, some of the science happening on board, and a little bit about astronaut training. Earlier in the school year, they learned about our Universe, its history, the formation and the lives of stars and galaxies, our Sun and its solar system and Earth’s place in all of this.

Students are very excited to have this opportunity to speak with an ISS astronaut. In our classes, we often follow the path of the ISS, and we watch the Earth from the High Definition Earth Viewing System (HDEV) cameras placed on the ISS.  We watched today’s Soyuz TMA-19M launch and ISS docking, bringing the three new crew members for Expedition 46.  We have also had some very successful ISS viewing parties where students returned to school with their parents after dark to view the ISS when it passed overhead.  We know you astronauts can’t see us, but we waved anyway!

Thank you ARISS, NASA, ESA and all the ISS partners, our ARISS helpers Charlie Sufana and David Taylor, and all the astronauts who have participated in this great program which gives so many students a glimpse into and a personal connection with the science of space exploration and communication, on Earth and in space! 

Frederick W. Hartnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts,

A telebridge contact via K6DUE with students at Frederick W. Hartnett Middle School, Blackstone, Massachusetts, USA was successful Tue 2016-01-05 17:42:06 UTC 81 deg. Astronaut Timothy Peake KG5BVI answered 14 questions for students and an audience of 600.
 
​Frederick W. Hartnett Middle School is a vibrant school in the central Massachusetts town of Blackstone, adjacent to Rhode Island’s northern border. It houses sixth through eighth grades for the regional school district that serves the towns of Blackstone and Millville.   This is a quiet, somewhat suburban to rural area where most town residents choose to remain to raise their own families. The major landform in the area is the Blackstone River, which runs southeast through our towns. Because of this river, like many New England towns,  these areas were prominent mill towns in the late industrial era, and our landscape is dotted with old mills near the river, many which have been repurposed for factory work, storage or condo living.
Our regional school district has two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.  Our ten-year-old building was built to keep our students up-to-date with technology. We are proud to say that we have 5 computer labs and a STEM program for each grade.  It is our sixth-grade students who will be asking the questions to the chosen ARISS astronaut. Sixth graders have just completed an extensive set of lessons about the ISS, its mission, the country partners who sponsor and keep the ISS going, its components, astronauts, some of the science happening on board, and a little bit about astronaut training. Earlier in the school year, they learned about our Universe, its history, the formation and the lives of stars and galaxies, our Sun and its solar system and Earth’s place in all of this.

Students are very excited to have this opportunity to speak with an ISS astronaut. In our classes, we often follow the path of the ISS, and we watch the Earth from the High Definition Earth Viewing System (HDEV) cameras placed on the ISS.  We watched today’s Soyuz TMA-19M launch and ISS docking, bringing the three new crew members for Expedition 46.  We have also had some very successful ISS viewing parties where students returned to school with their parents after dark to view the ISS when it passed overhead.  We know you astronauts can’t see us, but we waved anyway!

Thank you ARISS, NASA, ESA and all the ISS partners, our ARISS helpers Charlie Sufana and David Taylor, and all the astronauts who have participated in this great program which gives so many students a glimpse into and a personal connection with the science of space exploration and communication, on Earth and in space! 

Hytera data apps file transfer and text

***Tested the Text and voice application between 2 Hytera radios, 1 connected to the pc and the other free standing, was able to send and receive text just fine, incoming text displayed on the screen**

Edit code plug

Firstly connect your radio and PC via the USB cable

Open the Customer programming software (CPS)

Read the data FROM the radio (OK) (OK)

open conventional--general settings and then double click on network

Now write the code plug back to the radio.

Download the Hytera data transfer and the Text and voice dispatch applications

http://www.hytera.com/upload/resources/Software/Freesoftware/Text_Voice_Dispatch.zip 

http://www.hytera.com/upload/resources/Software/Freesoftware/DMR_SW_DTP_V1.00.03.000.rar 

Install these on your PC connected to the radio

Set the radio(s) to a DV simplex channel

Data Transfer App

Open data transfer app and wait for it to detect the radio, see the green dot in the middle of the picture above with the radio ID number.

In Target ID you will need to type in the ID of the radio you want to sent a file to, they will also need to be connected to a PC with this application running.

Choose your file by clicking on the green folder icon, note file size must be under 500K, I created a small txt file for this test.

To transmit the file, click on send, you should now see the Radio transmitting.

At this point as I do not have another radio to test with the application timed out, but I did see the radio TX several times.

Text and Voice dispatch application

For this one to work one radio needs to be attached to the PC, the other radios just need to be in range.

Open the appliation and wait for the app to recognise the radio,  see at the bottom of the screen: device: xxxxx is connected

Click on Contact configure, which is the small cog up on the left see image above muse is pointing to it.

In here click on Add, set message type as private and put in the radio ID you wish to send a message to. In contact alias put a call sign or name.

Click on save and then click the red X to close that window

In the message window you can send text up to 255 characters, in this example a quick hello is going to be sent.
up towards the left *private alias* select the contact to send the message to
To send the message click send as shown in the image above.

The message list should now the message as sent, you will see here as I don't have a second radio the text message failed.