M I R E X U P D A T E
____________________
April 29, 1998
Subject: MIREX School Day test QuickLook
Date:
Wed, 29 Apr 1998 17:29:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: Bob Bruninga <bruninga@nadn.navy.mil>
To: sarex@AMSAT.org, amsat-bb@AMSAT.org,
aprssig@tapr.org
This is a
quick summary of the 27/28th MIR School Day
test. The purpose
of the test was to allow
schools and students an opportunity at a
successful packet
exchange with MIR, and to demonstrate the use of
<UI>
BULLETINS for
communicating MIREX information to all monitoring
stations.
Other objectives were to
demonstrate the use of internet linked ground
stations to merge their
data into a common internet feed and to
demonstrate the use of
ground station generated pseudo GPS positions
digipeated by the
spacecraft to show its realtime position.
The MIR TNC was off
for the day of the announced test (27th), but was
on
for three early morning
passes on the 28th. A total of 27 schools
or
other participating
stations were successful during the day-after
test. All stations
reported their position and status and there were
several messages
exchanged. Most stations reported receiving
the MIR
BULLETINS and the MIR
position packets. On the 29th several more
stations
were reported in the
Western USA and South Africa. The results
are posted
on the Academy MIREX
page
http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/mirex.html
where you can also see
the live daily captured downlink files.
THis page
scored 1300 hits during
the event, and a total of 2800 since the
experiment was announced
at the first of April. The test is now
over.
The three internet
linked ground stations provided a continuous feed
from
the USA, Madrid and
Taiwan (telnet to APRServe at 199.227.86.221 port
10001). The live
WEB page www.mirex.net was operational on the
27th when
there were no packets
but died overnight. It was restored at
the last
minute on the 28th but
only caught a half dozen live packets. It
remains
live now.
We wish to thank the
MIREX team and Dr. Larsen N6CO for making this
test
possible.
Bob Bruninga,
WB4APR@amsat.org
Satellite Ground Station
US Naval Academy,
Annapolis, MD 21402
-------------------------------------------------
Here were the Bulletins transmitted by R0MIR:
BLN1:Welcome to the
27 Apr SCHOOL DAY on MIR fm Talgat, Nikolai,&
Andy.
BLN2:We hope all
students enjoy using our HAM RADIO equipment
today
Here are the
bulletins transmitted by other MIREX Ground
Stations:
BLN1 :Kids are our
Future in Space so Study Hard - The MIREX TEAM
BLN2 :WWW.MIREX.NET is
currently showing stations on this SCHOOL TEST
BLN3 :Please do NOT
connect to R0MIR-1 during SCHOOL TEST - Thank You
BLN :School Test
Continues on 28th!
The three linked MIREX ground stations were: EA4RJ-2, BV1AF and W3ADO
Stations heard via
MIR. Edited to remove dupes and protocol
overhead..
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
K5WX>EM10DJ,MIREX*:]K[
PHG5130/hi-M01-
N2JNT>FN32ER,R0MIR*:Greetings
from Jack in Troy, NY * n2jnt@amg
KD4CGA>EM72BM,MIREX*:]K[
KI5QS fm Floyd Magnet,Montg,Al 30 Studnts-M01-
KB3BRT>FN11FW,MIREX*:]K[
WESTFIELD EL. SCHOOL-M02-
MIR>EL96IX,W3ADO*:]0[
Join Sprint Conference call on 888-628-xxxx
VA3HIP>MIREX*>FN04UH:]k[
Greetings from Adam Scott CVI in Peterboro
W3ADO>MIREX*>FM18SX:]'[
US Naval Academy MIREX uplink site
W1TYL>R0MIR*>FN31VK:]K[
TYL Middle School, Oakdale, CT
IW1FQE
\
LU9HXV
\
EA4RCT-5
{ awaiting copies of packets heard in Europe
ON1APG....
Belgim /
F1RFH>JN33AU
/
WA6LIE-3>QST,MIREX*:Kids
are our Future in Space. Study Hard - MIREX TEAM
KI5OS>EL09QK,R0MIR*:on
battery power
KU4LY>EM60NJ,R0MIR*:]K[
Holley-Navarre Inter., 30 stu., 30w.-M02-
WB5QLD-4>EM12IT,MIREX*:]K[
Riverside Applied Learning Ctr-796-
VE2DWE>FN36KA,MIREX*:]-[
QTH SOREL QC. (HS)-M02-
KB4JHU>EM62UI,MIREX*:]K[
Montgomery, AL Floyd Magnet School 30 Stude
KB0WVJ>EM48RP,MIREX*:]K[
Parkway Central High School-M01-
WA4HEI>EN65UX,MIREX*:]&[
MIR-8 position uplink station
KF6KLI>CM97AA,MIREX*:]K[
Happy Valley Elem Sch-M02-
W6BME>ROCKY,R0MIR*:
VE3ZYD>ID,R0MIR*:[FN03bf]
Jason in Hamilton, Ont. ve3zyd@rac.ca ***
KC5TRB>EM26AE,MIREX*:KB0WVJ
:Hello frm Firehouse 24 in Tulsa,OK
WA6RKE>CM95PI,MIREX*:]k[
Cuesta College - cbuttsch@slonet.org
KB2UYF>FN12XA,R0MIR*:Kopernik
Observatory info www.kopernik.org
end
====================================
28 April 1998
On 27 April
just hours before the school APRS test, there was
a "strange"
failure with
the TNC. The TNC is now working. The MIREX team
has been
able to check
out the health of the TNC, and all looks OK!
MIREX has
been informed that Andy Thomas requests that
stations don't
send packets
while he is on voice. It is suggested that you
monitor the audio
on frequency
(145.985) on the passes to see if you hear
anything before
you try
connection to MIR's PBBS R0MIR-1. If you can't
monitor the
packets on an
external speaker, try looking at your S-meter to
see if there is a
steady signal
in opposed to short packets. If in doubt, listen
first.
MIREX
regrets and can emphasize with all the hard work
from all the
volunteers that
spent countless hours to make the test work!
There will
be another update on the results of the test once
all the
information has
been compiled.
73, Scott WA6LIE
Reply Mail:
wa6lie@juno.com
wa6lie@wa6lie.#wcca.ca.usa.noam
====================================
MIREX School Day Test
27 April 1998
Dr. Larsen
N6CO - Presdent MIREX doc@volcano.net
MISSION: To
permit maximum participation by schools and students
in a joint MIR
communicatons experiment, the MIREX team has authorized
a special MIREX School
Day test on April 27th 1998 between 1000 to
2300 UTC.. The
purpose of the test is to improve the understanding of
students about the
Space Station and demonstrate the factors involved
in space communications
using amateur radio. Of the many schools to
participate, even
schools for the deaf and disabled will be able to
experience the event
through their computer displays.
PARTICIPATION:
There is no limit to the number of stations that can
participate, since any
amateur radio station at any school in the
world may monitor the
downlink of the test. All stations will be
able to capture and log
communications from both MIR itself and the
other schools
authorized to transmit. Due to the limited
capacity
on the uplink, however,
the number of stations authorized to transmit
will be limited to
under 100 per footprint area. In general, only
schools and other youth
group demonstrations will be authorized to
transmit. For
planning purposes, schools intending to transmit should
send Email to
wb4apr@amsat.org including the following brief
information:
1 Callsign
and Point of contact
2 School
Name or affiliation
3 Number
of students that might participate
4
Equipment used at the School (power and antenna type)
After the test, we
would like to hear about any media coverage or any
interesting
observations or special events at your site.
OBJECTIVES: To
allow the maximum probability of success on each orbit,
schools will transmit
via UI frames and the experiment will proceed in
phases. As each
phase is successfully accomplished, then additional
complexity may be added
to the experiment. This phased approach makes
sure that everyone gets
an equal chance of success without congestion
while allowing for
additional capacity if it exists.
BULLETIN PHASE: Receive the special MIREX
bulletin. The MIR packet
system will downlink a
brief BULLETIN once every 3 minutes. Each school
should expect to
capture these bulletins on their Bulletin display at
some time during the
pass.
POSITION PHASE: Concurent with the Bulletin Phase,
the next
objective is for each
transmitting school to successfully relay a
position/status report
via MIR and for all other schools to receive
them. A position
packet will look something like this:
W3ADO>GGggGG,R0MIR*:]k[ US Naval Academy. 75 Students
35w. Hi MIR!
Here, the GGggGG is the
stations grid square which is sufficient to locate
the school to within
about 3 miles. The ]k[ is the map ICON for a
school.
Stations may transmit
these single packets at about a one-a-minute rate
until successful.
Once they see their position in the downlink,
then they should stop
sending their position.
MESSAGE PHASE: After each school has captured one
full page of
position packets (16
stations) from other schools, indicating others are
being successful and
their station is hearing the downlink, then the
authorized
schools may send a single message packet to any other
station.
For each additional
page of 16 positions that each school captures, it may
send additional packets
up to a maximum of 5.
MONITORING
SOFTWARE: A special version of packet software
called MIRMON
has been donated for
unlimited use during this experiment. MIRMON will
capture all position
reports, bulletins and messages and give schools a
consistent display of
the event. The software may be downloaded and
further test details as
well as a replay of the last such experiment are
available on the Naval
Academy MIREX WEB page:
http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/mirex.html
Schools with at least a
2m FM 25 watt radio and omni antenna and
conventional TNC should
be successful. Individual HAMS desiring to
participate are welcome
to monitor the test in RECEIVE ONLY, or to visit a
school and set up a
demonstration to qualify to transmit... This means
all stations should be
manned and not operated unattended.
Even schools without
current ham radio equipment can monitor the event via
the live WEB pages
above and also at www.mirex.net. We are trying to
find dedicated ground
stations, at least one per continent, that can
link their receiver to
our growing network. Currenlty we have feeds in
the Eastern USA,
Mexico, and Spain under construction. To see the
combined feed from
these staitons, BROWSE the web site above or TELNET to
www.mirex.net.
For school info contact
Bob at wb4apr@amsat.org
====================================
Latest
INFO on April 27 Test!
Subject:
April 27 MIREX experiment
Date:
Tue, 21 Apr 1998 12:59:20 -0400 (EDT)
From:
Bob Bruninga <bruninga@nadn.navy.mil>
To:
aprssig@tapr.org, aprsnews@tapr.org
CC: sarex@AMSAT.org
There are about 40
schools signed up for the test. Since MIREX has
authorized APRS packets
for most passes that day between 1000 and 2300
UTC, and since we
demonstrated last time that more than 30 stations per
footprint can be
successful, there is room for a few more experimenters.
Especially overseas.
BUT to keep from
saturating the channel, we must be SELECTIVE. Here
is
the new criteria:
You may transmit your
UI position via MIR on 27 April if you meet the
following
categories. All other procedures remain the same as
posted on
the web page:
http://web.usna.navy.mil/~bruninga/mirex.html
SCHOOLS or other Youth Groups
ALL
non-North American stations
TRAINS
Boats
Aircraft
BackPack portable... running on battery power.. Use
runner symbol.
or Campground.
Send Email to me so we
can maintain a count. Watch for any last minute
instructions on your
MIRMON or APRS Bulletin page on the 27th.
CAUTION: Do not
send any conventional traffic to the MIR Crew via the BBS
regarding this
experiment. They do not have MIRMON or APRS
software on
board and are not
familiar with the test. They are being informed via
MIREX. ANy other
random uplinked BBS messages may confuse them.
de WB4APR, Bob
====================================
March '98 MIR / APRS School Experiment!
It was extended thru 3/11/98
1550z
It was a big
success.
I (KC5TRB)
was able to get digi'd by the
MIR Space
Station on
the 0909z, 1045z, 1223z and the
1401z
passes
here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I have a
confirmation
as far
away as Boston. I had stations popping
up all
over my
APRS screen from Washington
state, Canada,
Florida,
the East coast and all points in
between. The
javAPRS
Internet link got broken and only a few
stations
showed on
the map. One of them was Pete KF5RD From
the Tulsa
area. It was worth the lost sleep.
Maybe???
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!
See all the stations on the javAPRS map at the following link
======================================
Results of the Test /
Experiment
APRS/MIR PACKET TEST
11 March 1998
Bob Bruninga, WB4APR
On 11 March
1998 a special MIREX/APRS test was
conducted via the packet
system on the
Space Station MIR. The test was to
show possible methods
for improving
the visibility of MIREX communications to
students and
schools.
The objectives were to:
APRS/MIR
TEST: Since the Mir packet system
has been operating well the
last few weeks,
Dr. Larsen [ N6CO] of the MIREX group
suggested the APRS
Mir test be
conducted as soon as possilbe since
precession was taking
Mir passes
earlier every day and it would soon be
out of view during
school
hours. He authorized the APRS/MIR
test on only two orbits on
the 10th of
March. Unfortunately the MIR packet
system went off the
air on these
two orbits, so the test was extended to
the next few
orbits over the
USA. The test was limited to the
USA only because
it had the
largest numbers of existing APRS ground
stations ready to
test in
sufficient numbers to fully load the
system. But the delay
further
complicated matters since the next orbits
over the USA were
between 0230 AM
and 0400 AM local time. As a
result, the test was
extended for a
full 5 orbits to allow testers to choose
a pass and
still get some
sleep.
Although these 5 pass's of MIR covered
70% of the world Hams
To make Mir
appear to move on all groundstation maps,
three special
tracking-uplink
stations beaconed the moving position of
MIR via the
MIR
digipeater. One from California
using the callsign MIR-6, one
from Michigan
using MIR-8, and one in Maryland using
MIR-3 to match
their callsign
areas. West coast stations
typically saw the moving
MIR-6, midwest
stations typically saw the incoming MIR-6
change to
a MIR-8 and
then east coast stations saw the moving
ICON on their
maps change to
a MIR-3.
To inject the
downlink from Mir into the Internet, a
few of the normal
APRS I-Gates
tuned their radios from the normal APRS
frequency to the
Mir downlink
frequency. These Mir packets were
intermingled with the
normal stream
of APRS packets into the APRServe
Internet
system.
ALthough they would be seen on the main
www.aprs.net maps
they would be
hard to distinguish from the usual 1000
to 1200 or more
APRS stations
on the air. To provide a unique
display of the APRS/Mir
packets alone,
a special WEB page was designated to
filter out only
the APRS/MIR
packets and display them spearately to
users. During
the day of the
event there were over 11,000 hits on the
server system
representing a
peak load of 150 simultaneous users and
as many as
1000 users.
CONCLUSIONS:
THe test was completely successful in
meeting all of the
original
objectives. THe short notice and
early morning hours helped
to reduce the
number of participants to a nominal 100
stations. We
think this
number is representative of the nominal
number of schools
that could be
authorized to simultaneously participate
in future
such Mir
experiments. The test demonstrated
the value of
using a UI
frame one-to-all packet protocol to
improve the delivery
of information
to all ground stations. Further,
the test demonstrated
the value of a
few special MIREX ground stations to
uplink the moving
Mir position
reports and to relay real-time MIREX
bulletins and
announcements
that can be received by all stations in
the footprint
including
receive-only school stations.
Finally, the test showed
the value of
multiply internet connected ground
stations for not
only providing
a continuum of data from the downlink
across the whole
country, but
also for providing WEB access to students
and schools
outside of the
footprint or without amateur radio
equipment.
All of the APRS
stations want to thank the MIREX team and
also those
normal Mir BBS
users who were inconvenienced by this
test, for this
opportunity to
conduct this important experiment.