WB5RMG_20081130

Guess I've gotten old, and set in my ways...

It seems as tho I've been doing packet-radio since it appeared in the mid 1980s, and have experimented with and enjoyed many varied modes for both analog and digital satellite communications. Admittedly I have not tried everything, so I should not be that surprised to find something I have overlooked.

Yes, I did finally put my MFJ-1278 up on the shelf earlier this year (next to the TAPR PSK modem kit), and committed fully to the sound card revolution. I had wanted to try DSP when it became available in the early 90's - but could never justify the price. Now with programs like AGWPE and mixW, my laptop has more power than I could have imagined even 10 years ago. OK, so I have been using UI-View32 and been happy with what I have learned about APRS - but unfortunately still not as active on the satellites as I'd like to be.

Shoot, I'm not as active on any band/mode as I'd like to be . . . . . /;^)

Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2008. I've been pinging ISS recently to help keep Huntsville on the ISS/APRS map - but while STS-126 was in Joint-Ops, the ARISS radio has been off. I've been trying to pay better attention to the AMSAT-BB, as quite a lot of really good information goes thru there on a daily basis. There are so many things I want to learn, so many different ways of doing things these days... I saw a posting by NADER - ST2NH, that led me to his nicely detailed web site. Included there I saw a screen capture of a program he has used, and thought "WOW, look at that user interface ! It has what you need, right there where you can click it.!.!." Guess what, it was UISS...

I knew it was there; I had heard of it, seen reference to it, even seen the UISS tags on raw packets that return from space... but had never gone in search of any detail. Guy Roels - ON6MU, has created a beautiful web site that features his program UISS ... If you've never heard of, or like me - just never tried it, you should download and install this very full-featured program. AND it is not just for satellites, but has terrestrial value as well !! UISS has lots of features you want for APRS, but maybe like me, had not taken the time to learn exactly how best to try some of the features available in today's implementation of 'packet-radio'. This program has 'plug-ins' available for additional features, which lead me to yet another fantastic program that again, I had heard of - but never tried.

Orbitron is a very well thought out program for tracking satellites. Sebastian Stoff has created this and offers it on his web site http://www.stoff.pl/. The UISS program has a plug-in that communicates with Orbitron, and can do all sorts-of neat tricks as a function of which satellite is chosen... This should take my digital satellite operations to a convenience level I have never before encountered.
There are now many more options to consider - AND new documentation and user-forums to review . . . but these are welcome challenges.

Thanks Guy & Sebastian !!!
Keep up the great work !!!

P.S. Don't forget to support your favorite programs (and programmers). .. ...
Just because so many software programs are available for free, doesn't change the fact that space-flight hardware and details like rocket-launches - and still very expensive. Please continue to support your local/regional/international Amateur Radio Satellite Programs (with as much money as possible).