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{ "url": "https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/api/list/[email protected]/email/MU4EJNHO2FV3IW2EEMI5SIKZHLV2VB7G/?format=api", "mailinglist": "https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/api/list/[email protected]/?format=api", "message_id": "CAM5+sosvJpvboKYadHBjVomGbZgVQJLov7Lt8uXZERKb03RM-Q@mail.gmail.com", "message_id_hash": "MU4EJNHO2FV3IW2EEMI5SIKZHLV2VB7G", "thread": "https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/api/list/[email protected]/thread/MU4EJNHO2FV3IW2EEMI5SIKZHLV2VB7G/?format=api", "sender": { "address": "mccardelm (a) gmail.com", "mailman_id": "147f14b8d896456cbff7f12049b091a2", "emails": "https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/api/sender/147f14b8d896456cbff7f12049b091a2/emails/?format=api" }, "sender_name": "E.Mike McCardel", "subject": "[ans] ANS-049 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins", "date": "2018-02-18T01:21:19Z", "parent": null, "children": [], "votes": { "likes": 0, "dislikes": 0, "status": "neutral" }, "content": "AMSAT NEWS SERVICE\nANS-049\n\nThe AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor-\nmation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite\nCorporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space\nincluding reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur\nRadio operators who share an active interest in designing, building,\nlaunching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio\nsatellites.\n\nThe news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur\nRadio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.\n\nPlease send any amateur satellite news or reports to:\nans-editor at amsat.org.\n\nIn this edition:\n\n* Upcoming AO-92 Operations Schedule\n* SatPC32 12.8d is released\n* ARRL 2018 Teacher Institute to Include Amateur Satellites, Telemetry\n* Kettering University Student Brings Ham Radio Hobby, Expertise to\n Campus\n* AMSAT Argentina Balloon Flight Completes 2nd Trip Around the World\n* AMSAT Phase 4 Ground Station Update: FPGA, RFNoC, SDSoC\n* AA5UK Announces March 1 Cayman Island Satellite Activation\n* Phase 4 Ground Weekly Report!\n* Volunteer Opportunity - Openings for News Service Rotating Editor\n* ARISS News\n* Satellite Shorts From All Over\n\n\nSB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-049.01\nANS-049 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins\n\nAMSAT News Service Bulletin 049.01\n>From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.\nFebruary 18, 2018\nTo All RADIO AMATEURS\nBID: $ANS-049.01\n\n\nUpcoming AO-92 Operations Schedule\n\nAO-92 operations are scheduled among the U/v FM repeater, L-Band\nDownshifter, Virginia Tech Camera, and the University of Iowa's High\nEnergy Radiation CubeSat Instrument (HERCI).\n\nFor the week of 18 - 24 Feb 2018, the following mode changes are\nscheduled:\n\nApproximately 0200UTC 18Feb we will enable the L band uplink for ~24\nhours\n\nApproximately 0255UTC 20Feb we will enable high speed data in order\nto download from the HERCI experiment for 40 minutes\n\nApproximately 1540UTC 21Feb we will enable high speed data in order\nto download from the VT camera for 40 minutes\n\nApproximately 0215UTC 22Feb we will enable high speed data in order\nto download from the HERCI experiment for 40 minutes\n\nAll other times the U/v repeater will be open continuously.\n\n[ANS thanks Drew KO4MA for the above information]\n\n\n---------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\nSatPC32 12.8d is released\n\nThe English version of SatPC32 12.8d is now available for download on\nthe author's web page.\n\nhttp://www.dk1tb.de/downloadeng.htm\n\nHere's What's New in the 12.8d version:\n\n1. The CAT commands of the IC-9100 have been extended again. The\nprogram now also controls the DV mode (DV for 'Digital Voice') of the\nradio. The operating mode must be entered as DV in the file\nDoppler.SQF. With the FT-817 the program now additionally supports\nthe CWR mode.\n\n2. All SatPC32 programs now process significantly larger Keplerian\nelement source files. Especially because of the numerous new\nCubesats, the number of data sets contained in the source files has\nincreased significantly. For example the file Cubesat.txt currently\ncontains data for nearly 400 satellites. The previous version of the\nSatPC32 programs could only read up to 320 data sets (only SatPC32\nitself up to 500). All SatPC32 programs have been expanded to handle\nsets of up to 1500 satellites.\n\n3. In all programs (SatPC32, SatPC32ISS, Wisat32, WinAOS and\nWinListen), the list of satellites contained in the source file\n('Available' list in menu Satellites) is now displayed in\nalphabetical order to facilitate locating individual satellites.\n\n4. The program SatPC32ISS now also allows the creation of up to 12\nsatellite groups. The new Cubesats have also increased the number of\n'in-band' satellites. Originally, in-band operation in amateur radio\nwas only available at the ISS.\n\n5. In order to accelerate a change between the individual satellite\ngroups, the 'Groups' window can now be called up by clicking on\nvacant areas of the main window, except in the Satellite menu. Such\nfree positions are located on the right and left of the frequency\nwindow. Editing the groups (create or delete a group, add or remove\nsatellites) can only be done in the Satellites menu.\n\n6. In the Satellites menu the data sets of the satellites contained\nin the active source file can now be displayed. When called, the data\nset of the currently selected satellite is displayed. The feature\nhelps you to immediately know the identifier of the satellite. This\nallows you to add an entry to the file 'AmsatNames.txt' (menu '?'\n'Auxiliary files'), so that the satellite can be displayed in the\nentire program with its AMSAT name or with a user defined name.\n\n7. The program has improved control of the sub-audible tone required\nby some satellites. For many years SO-50 was the only such satellite.\nSwitching sub tone was no issue. Now we have several (AO-85, AO-91,\nAO-92) The program can now automatically switch the sub tone on/off\nwhen switching between PL tone satellites and others, changing\nbetween u/v and v/u satellites, changing the group, closing the\nprogram etc.\n\n8. In addition, numerous minor changes and error corrections have\nbeen made some people have complained about the difficulty of\nmanually adding a new satellite and its corresponding tuning\ninformation. The Programs menu can now launch the W9KE\nDopplerSqfEditor to aid this process.\n\nPlease read the instructions before installing or updating the\nprogram. You probably want to run the DataBackup program before\nupdating an existing version. Existing registration codes work with\nthe new version.\n\nThanks to Erich Eichmann DK1TB for donating this software to AMSAT.\nSale of registration codes and CDs is a major fund raiser for AMSAT.\nAnd thanks to Erich for providing user support on amsat-bb and\nupdating the program for 20 years. No other satellite tracking\nprogram provides such comprehensive radio Doppler tuning.\n\n[ANS thanks Wayne W9AE for the above information]\n\n\n---------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\nARRL 2018 Teacher Institute to Include Amateur Satellites, Telemetry\n\nAs part of its educational outreach through the Education &\nTechnology Program (ETP), ARRL will offer three sessions of the\nTeachers Institute on Wireless Technology this July. The week-long\nworkshops will be held at ARRL Headquarters in Newington,\nConnecticut, and in Dayton, Ohio — hosted by the Dayton Amateur Radio\nAssociation (DARA). The Teachers Institute (TI) is an expenses-paid,\nprofessional development seminar that provides teachers at all grade\nlevels with tools and strategies to introduce basic electronics,\nradio science, space technology, and satellite communication, as well\nas weather science, introduction to micro-controllers, and basic\nrobotics in their classrooms.\n\nThe Teachers Institute curriculum is designed for motivated teachers\nand other school staff who want to learn more about wireless\ntechnology and bring that knowledge to their students. The goal of\nthe TI program is to equip educators with necessary foundational\nknowledge and — through hands-on learning — generate the inspiration\nfor teachers to continue exploring wireless technology and adapt what\nthey learn to their classroom curricula.\n\nInterested educators can apply online. The $100 enrollment fee is\nrefunded for applicants who are not selected. A qualified applicant\nmust be an active teacher at an elementary, middle, high school, or\ncommunity college/university, or in a leadership or enrichment\ninstruction role in an after-school program.\n\nSession Location Dates Instructor\n\nTI – 2 Newington, CT July 9 – July 12 Matt Severin N8MS\nTI – 1 Dayton, OH July 16 – July 20 Larry Kendall K6NDL\nTI – 1 Newington, CT July 23 – July 27 Tommy Gober N5DUX\n\nTopics covered in the TI-1 “Introduction to Wireless Technology”\nworkshop include basic electronics, radio science, microcontroller\nprogramming, and basic robotics. Among other activities, participants\nwill learn how to solder and practice by building a small project.\nThey’ll also learn basic circuit concepts and learn how to use basic\ntest equipment. In addition, TI-1 attendees will learn about Amateur\nRadio, take part in a hidden transmitter hunt, see demonstrations of\nAmateur Radio satellite communication, and build and program their\nown simple robots.\n\nThe TI-2 “Remote Sensing and Data Gathering” workshop will\nconcentrate on analog-to-digital conversion and data sampling.\nParticipants will receive telemetry from Amateur Radio satellites and\napply it to math and science topics. TI-2 participants will also\nconstruct a marine research buoy equipped with environmental sensors,\nbuild a microcontroller to sample the data, configure it for\nAutomatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) transmission, and receive\nand upload data to a spreadsheet for analysis.\n\nHolding an Amateur Radio license is not required for the\n“Introduction to Wireless Technology” workshop (TI-1), but one is\nrequired by those planning to attend the advanced “Remote Sensing and\nData Gathering” workshop (TI-2), and applicants to the advanced\nworkshop must have completed TI-1.\n\nThe grant to attend a TI covers transportation, hotel, and a modest\nper diem allowance to cover meals, instructional resources, and a\nresource library of relevant ARRL publications.\n\nGraduate credit is available through Fresno Pacific University,\nwhich may be applied to satisfy professional growth requirements to\nmaintain teaching credentials. The class is self-contained, and\nparticipants are expected to be able to complete all requirements\nduring the class time. Graduate credit forms may be requested at the\nend of the Teachers Institute.\n\nFor more information, contact Ally Riedel ariedel at arrl.org at\nARRL Headquarters.\n\n[ANS thanks ARRL Headquarters for the above information.]\n\n\n---------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\nKettering University Student Brings Ham Radio Hobby, Expertise to\nCampus\n\nRuth Willet ‘21 has always been fascinated with Morse code,\nespecially when researching World War II. That fascination grew into\na hobby, and she soon found herself engrained in the amateur radio -\nmore commonly known as ham radio - community.\n\nWillet, who is double majoring in Mechanical Engineering and\nEngineering Physics, first got licensed in June 2015 as a ham radio\noperator because of her interest in Morse code. She soon upgraded her\nlicense in order to explore more aspects of the hobby.\n\nOther hams know Willet as KM4LAO (Kilo Mike Four Lima Alpha Oscar),\nthe call letters of her government-issued ham radio license.\n\n“It’s such a special hobby because there’s so many people that want\nto get to know you and want to help you learn and grow. It really has\nenabled me to mature into who I am today. I have gained incredible\nfriends from across the globe,” said Willet, a Georgia native. “This\nhobby supplements very well what I’m doing at Kettering because it\nhas application in a lot of different subjects. I love seeing the\npractical application of electronics, solar weather and the way radio\nsignals propagate around the globe. I am thrilled by the fact that I\ncan talk to someone who’s driving down the interstate 10 miles away,\nbounce signals off of satellites to have conversations hundreds of\nmiles away, or talk around the world to someone in Africa. It’s\nfascinating. You really learn a lot.”\n\nWillet had to pass an exam given by the Federal Communications\nCommission (FCC) in order to receive her call sign and be allowed to\noperate on the air. The three levels of Amateur radio licenses from\nentry-level to most advanced are Technician, General, and Amateur\nExtra. Willet upgraded to the Amateur Extra level license before she\ngraduated from high school.\n\nWillet can use a hand-held radio to talk with someone across town,\nor she can use a more robust radio that enables her to talk around\nthe world by reflecting her transmitted signal off the ionosphere.\nThere are fast-paced competitive events she participates in where she\nis supposed to talk to as many people as possible within 24 hours.\nShe can operate in multiple ways, including Morse code, voice\ncommunication or digital (which is similar to texting through ham\nradio).\n\n“The fun thing is that’s only the start. Amateur radio satellites\nare orbiting the earth. You can bounce off the satellites and talk to\npeople halfway around the world,” Willet said. “We can also use our\nskills to assist in emergency situations. For example, when Hurricane\nIrma recently hit in Puerto Rico, amateur radio operators were some\nof the only people who could communicate from the island to the\noutside world.”\n\nIn 2016, Willet also participated in National Parks on the Air, a\nworldwide event organized by the American Radio Relay League. Since\n2016 was the centennial of the National Park Service (NPS), hams\nwanted to help celebrate history by getting people to national parks,\nseashores, monuments, and more. Ham radio operators went out and set\nup portable radio stations, got on the air, and helped other hams\naround the world conduct “virtual visits” to parks across the country.\n\nWhen Willet came to Kettering University, she knew she wanted to\ncontinue her ham radio activities. Kettering was appealing to her for\nthe small classes and the close-knit campus feel, on top of the co-op\nexperience.\n\n“After coming for the LITE (Lives Improved Through Engineering)\nsummer program and seeing how personal everybody was at Kettering I\njust really felt like it was a great fit. And I can’t turn down the\nco-op experience,” Willet said. “I was first interested in Mechanical\nEngineering because my grandfather had a book about basic machines\nand how they work. I was fascinated with levers to complicated gears.\nThen senior year of high school I took Physics and I loved it. Being\nable to see the effects of basic physics on daily life was very\ninteresting to me. I’m learning as much as I can at school and\nexploring opportunities both inside and outside the classroom so that\nI can make the most of my time here.”\n\nShe has found that the skills she learns in classes go hand in hand\nwith her amateur radio hobby. Willet plans to start up an Amateur\nRadio Club on campus in the spring 2018 term to get more students\ninterested.\n\n“It’s a stress relief for me. I really enjoy sharing this hobby with\nother students,” she said. “I would encourage people to consider\nexploring amateur radio because it’s a hobby that allows you to\nexplore anything from technical electronics to international\nfriendships. Amateur radio is open to anyone. It will help develop\nyour professional and personal skills, participate in and learn from\nfascinating activities, and connect with an incredible community.”\n\n[ANS thanks Sarah Schuch and Kettering University for the above\ninformation]\n\n\n---------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\nAMSAT Argentina Balloon Flight Completes 2nd Trip Around the World\n\nAMSAT Argentina reports that their earth circling El PicoGlobo\nWSPR beacon balloon has now completed its 2nd lap around the\nworld.\n\nAfter its 2nd crossing of the Pacific Ocean the balloon flew\nover Patagonia, then headed north at 12,000 meters altitude to\nBuenos Aires during the night of February 11. On February 12\nit flew over Uruguay then turned east out over the Atlantic\nOcean to begin its 3rd circle of the Earth.\n\nPicoGlobo transmits a WSPR beacon on 14.0956 MHz.\n\nFlight progress can be followed at:\nhttp://lu7aa.org.ar/wspr.asp\nhttps://aprs.fi/#!call=a%2FLU1ESY-3&timerange=604800&tail=604800\n\n[ANS thanks AMSAT Argentina for the above information]\n\n\n---------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\nAMSAT Phase 4 Ground Station Update: FPGA, RFNoC, SDSoC\n\nMichelle, W5NYV says the latest Phase 4 Ground Station Report\nis available for viewing at: https://youtu.be/moKFVagY_Ro\n\nThis week you'll see a video demo of the Voltera V-one system\navailable for circuit printing, solder paste and reflow to\nenable prototype development.\n\nWork has been progressing on the FPGA or field programmable\ngate array which is at the heart of many modern software defined\nradios. Having powerful reconfigurable digital logic realizes a\nlot of the promise of SDRs. Balancing the workload between the\ngeneral purpose processor and the FPGA is a big challenge.\n\nThe RFNoC, or Radio Frequency Network on a Chip from Ettus Research\nfor the 300 series USRPs before. RFNoC lets you place blocks that\nrun on the FPGA in GNU Radio as if they were being run by the host\ncomputer. This lets you use the FPGA to full advantage within GNU\nRadio Companion.\n\nA comparison is made with the SDSoC, the Software Defined System\non a Chip ,a tool from Xilinx.\n\nThe team is looking for your help! If you can help ease the process\nof learning this environment, please let Michelle know:\[email protected]\n\n[ANS thanks Michelle, W5NYV and the AMSAT Phase 4 Ground Station\n team for the above information]\n\n\n---------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\nAA5UK Announces March 1 Cayman Island Satellite Activation\n\nZF2, CAYMAN ISLAND (Satellites, Grids, HF). Adrian, AA5UK, will once\nagain be operating as ZF2AE from Grand Cayman (between March 1-4th)\nand ZF2AE/ZF8 from Little Cayman (between March 5-10).\n\nActivity will be holiday style (usually) on 40-10 meters using a IC-\n7300 and vertical antenna.\n\nOperations will be focused on the Digital modes (FT8, RTTY,\nPSK and other digital modes upon request)with possibly some SSB, and\nthe satellites using 2x FT-817s and Arrow Antenna for satellite. Most\nof his activity will be in the afternoons and evenings. For the\nlatest operational updates, watch his Twitter links <@AA5UK and @\nZF2AE>. QSL direct to AA5UK with a SAE/SASE, LoTW or eQSL.\n\n[ANS thanks Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1351 for the above information]\n\n\n---------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\nPhase 4 Ground Weekly Report!\n\nVoltera Circuit printer for prototyping is up and running the Hello\nWorld circuit.\n\nVideo of this report at https://youtu.be/rdjKZCc9g74\n\nThere will be plenty more reports and feedback about the badge\ndesign over coming week as the JoCo Cruise embarks. Several of our\nteam members are on the cruise and we can't wait to hear all about\nit. Everything that we've learned on this effort will be applied to\nthe Hamvention badge, and to the Phase 4 Ground radios.\n\nWe have some Software Defined System on a Chip progress. We have\nreceived our Xilinx specific JTAG Cable. Here it is!\n\nCharles Brain has been battling Petalinux and linux builds for his\nenvironment. Plenty of learning going on there. Some of us have\nreceived additional hardware from LimeSDR and there is more on the\nway.\n\nWe have received very positive news from from Critical, the makers\nof Snickerdoodle, that official board definition files are in\nprogress and will be available very soon. This means that those of us\nthat are ordinary tool users, and not necessarily advanced tool\nmakers, will be able to experiment and make progress with the\nSnickerdoodle, Xilinx Vivado, and the Xilinx SDK, more easily.\n\nSDSoC allows you to take functions written in C and C++, evaluate\nwhether they would be better run on either the general purpose\nprocessor or the FPGA, and then assign them to the proper hardware.\n\nThe 5GHz RF team is learning a lot about the impact of connectors on\nperformance, and are evaluating some higher quality solutions.\n\nSeveral sets of team members are working on transverter designs.\nThis is a very active and interesting area of investigation. There's\na large number of tradeoffs and design patterns involved. We have a\n10GHz specific effort, a high-performance multi band effort, the 5GHz\nRF team previously featured, and more. If you are interested in RF\ndesigns, then we are here to help.\n\nEd Friesma at UNLV is taking on more of the correlator design. Our\nnext report will be all about the progress on the DVB-S2 correlator,\nthe GNU Radio block, what we can leverage from the GPU\nimplementation, and next steps.\n\nOn the 28th of February, we will have two guest speakers at our\nregular ASCENT conference call. Nate and Neal from Ettus Research\nwill be addressing questions about the Careful COTS design of a USRP\n300 series board for use in space. Having a powerful SDR at the heart\nof an amateur radio payload would put us in excellent position to\ndeploy any modulation scheme we want. The Careful COTS version of a\nUSRP is why Phase 4 Space was founded, and we've had a very good week\nin terms of outreach and evangelism.\n\nThere's good news in an update to the Phase 4B mission on the Wide\nField Of View satellite, with a launch scheduled for 2020. You can\nread about it in the article linked in the notes, from this past June.\n\nOur job on Phase 4 Ground is to make sure that you have a radio that\ncan use this or any other payload that uses the Five and Dime air\ninterface. And of course we want to fill up terrestrial microwave\nwith the same fun and easy to use broadband digital microwave\nsignals. If you're interested in learning more, then get in touch.\n\nhttp://www.losangeles.af.mil/…/final-rfp-released-for-laun…/\n\nPlenty going on and lots of fun to be had. We will have a booth at\nDayton as soon as possible, and we will be asking for time to talk at\nthe Hamvention SDR forum about the Careful COTS effort, open source\nsuccesses, and the impact of SDR advances on licensed and unlicensed\nservices.\n\nAfter Hamvention is DEFCON. And we might have something up our\nsleeves this year.\n\nI'm working very hard on setting up a workshop and hackfest at GNU\nRadio Conference 2018, which will be held September 17-21 in\nHenderson, Nevada. This hackfest will focus on developing GNU Radio\nreceiver blocks for DVB-S2 and S2X. If you are on the team or a\nsupporter or find yourself interested in all of this, then please\nconsider coming to the conference and participating in this effort.\nTickets will be available very soon. It's a volunteer run event made\npossible by people just like you.\n\nAnd, there's an open space initiative from Lockheed Martin that we\nneed to take a serious look at, and some new products on the market\nthat might make our GSE and DVB-S2X manufactured solutions a bit\neasier. Howie DeFelice is on that trail and will report back. See you\nnext week!\n\n[ANS thanks Michelle W5NYV for the above information]\n\n\n---------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\nVolunteer Opportunity - Openings for News Service Rotating Editor\n\nIf you're open to volunteering to help AMSAT this is your chance!\nWe have openings for a few volunteers willing to help as an AMSAT\nNews Service editor.\n\nOur editors work on a rotating schedule with each taking turns as\nthe current week's news editor. Using input received from members,\nthe amateur radio community, officers, plus our other editors your\njob is to assemble the AMSAT News Service bulletin for your week.\n(Template is provided to help you format the message.)\n\nIf you can help contact our Senior News Service Editor, Lee McLamb,\nKT4TZ via his e-mail: kt4tz at amsat.org\n\n(Ed. note: the need for at least one, hopefully many volunteer\n editors, is immediate. K9JKM will be retiring at the end of March\n with extensive travel plans, often out of reach of the internet.)\n\n[ANS thanks the AMSAT News Service for the above information]\n\n\n---------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\nARISS News\n\n+ A Successful contact was made between Naka Junior High School,\n Kakamigahara City, Japan and Astronaut Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP using\n Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2018-01-22 10:23 UTC and lasted\n about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via 8J25D.\n ARISS Mentor was Satoshi 7M3TJZ.\n\n+ A Successful contact was made between The English School, Nicosia,\n Cyprus and Astronaut Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP using Callsign NA1SS. The\n contact began 2018-01-24 10:35 UTC and lasted about nine and a half\n minutes. Contact was Telebridge via W6SRJ.\n ARISS Mentor was Armand SP3QFE.\n\n+ A Successful contact was made between Central Magnet Math &\n Science ES/Batesville School District, Batesville, AR and Astronaut\n Joe Acaba KE5DAR using Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began 2018-01-31\n 16:42 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was\n Telebridged via IK1SLD.\n ARISS Mentors was Keith W5IU.\n\n+ A Successful contact was made between Moore Square AIG/GT Magnet\n School, Raleigh, NC and Astronaut Scott Tingle KG5NZA using Callsign\n NA1SS. The contact began 2018-02-05 18:32 UTC and lasted about nine\n and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via KG4AKV\n ARISS Mentors were Steve W1HQL and Ryan W4NTR.\n\n+ A Successful contact was made between Vilniaus Jono Basanaviciaus\n Gymnasium together with Vilniaus Jono Basanaviciaus Progymnasium,\n Vilnius, Lithuania and Astronaut Joe Acaba KE5DAR using Callsign\n OR4ISS. The contact began 2018-02-14 12:37 UTC and lasted about nine\n and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via LY1BWB\n ARISS Mentor was Eskil SM5SRR.\n\n+ A Successful contact was made between Los Angeles Academy Middle\n School, Los Angeles, CA and Astronaut Joe Acaba KE5DAR using\n Callsign NA1SS. The contact began 2018-02-15 17:45 UTC and lasted\n about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via W6RVD\n ARISS Mentor was Charlie AJ9N.\n\nUpcoming ARISS Contact Schedule\n\n\"Galaxy - Children and Youth Center for Space Education\", Kaluga,\nRussia, direct via TBD\nThe ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS\nThe scheduled astronaut is Alexander Misurkin\nContact is a go for 2018-02-18 10:45 UTC\n\nAgrupamento de Escolas do Fundão, Fundão, Portugal, direct via CS5DBB\nThe ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS\nThe scheduled astronaut is Scott Tingle KG5NZA\nContact is a go for: Wed 2018-02-21 09:38:11 UTC 33 deg\n\nMuseum of Science & Technology - Danforth Middle School, Syracuse,\nNY, direct via K2MST\nThe ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS\nThe scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP\nContact is a go for: Fri 2018-02-23 14:08:52 UTC 28 deg\n\nSchool in Kursk, Russia, direct via TBD\nThe ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS\nThe scheduled astronaut is TBD\nContact is a go for Sat 2018-02-24 08:45 UTC\nWatch for possible time update\n\n[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above\n information]\n\n\n---------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\nSatellite Shorts From All Over\n\n+ European FOSDEM Talks Playlist\n\n The Free and Open source Software Developers' European Meeting\n (FOSDEM) is a two-day event organized by volunteers to promote\n the widespread use of Free and Open Source software. A playlist\n of the talks is posted at:\n https://tinyurl.com/ANS49-FOSDEM\n\n [ANS thanks FOSDEM for the above information]\n\n+ Congratulations to Mikey White, K7ULS for completing his Worked\n All States - Satellite on February 13. Mikey says state #50 was\n Rhode Island. Bob Mattaliano, N6RFM provided the connection at\n the Rhode Island end. Mikey posted a video at:\n https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaMBERls6Ww&feature=youtu.be\n\n [ANS thanks Mike K7ULS via AMSAT North America Facebook]\n\n+ Photos needed for 2018 edition of AMSAT Getting Started With\n Amateur Satellites.\n\n Steve Belter, N9IP, recently tweeted that the editors of the 2018\n edition of \"AMSAT Getting Started With Amateur Satellites\" are\n looking for action photos of people in the act of operating the\n satellites. Submissions with credits should be emailed to Steve\n n9ip at amsat dot org.\n\n [ANS thanks Steve N9IP for the above information]\n\n+ The AMSAT Office will be closed on Monday, February 19th in\n observance of Presidents' Day.\n\n [ANS thanks Martha for the above information.]\n\n+ On February 16 Jeff, WB8RJY worked Jose, EB1AO in Spain via AO91.\n The satellite was at 0.8 degrees for Jose and at 0.6 degrees for\n Jeff for this QSO. Jeff commented, \"Thats stretching the old\n string pretty tight! Once again, amazing bird!\" (via Twitter)\n\n [ANS thanks Jeff WB8RJY for the above information.]\n\n\n---------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n\n/EX\n\nIn addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the\nPresident's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining\ndonors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi-\ntional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT\nOffice.\n\nPrimary and secondary school students are eligible for membership\nat one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students\nenrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu-\ndent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status.\nContact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership\ninformation.\n\n73,\nThis week's ANS Editor,\nEMike McCardel, AA8EM\naa8em at amsat dot org\n", "attachments": [] }