AMSAT-BB July 2016

116 participants
165 discussions

by Trevor .

Students at the Ivy League Brown University are developing an amateur radio satellite EQUiSat that will carry a Xenon Flash Tube (XFT) subsystem to act as an Optical Beacon that should be visible to the unaided eye of observers on Earth. See http://www.uk.amsat.org/?p=10635 73 Trevor M5AKA AMSAK-UK http://www.amsat-uk.org/ ----

3 years, 3 months

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-10-26 23:00 UTC

by AJ9N＠aol.com

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2015-10-26 23:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Possible Russian contact with Kursk Tue 2015-10-27 11:35 UTC Dearborn Public Schools, Dearborn, Michigan, USA, direct via K8UTT The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for Option #3: Tue 2015-10-27 16:01:59 UTC 57 deg Watch for a live video stream that should start about 15:00 UTC: (***) http://www.dearbornschools.org https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbhrQiZ62LE Daggett Montessori School K-8, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, direct via K5COW The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Contact is a go for Option #4: Thu 2015-10-29 14:12:56 UTC 31 deg **************************************************************************** ** Interested in hosting an ARISS contact? The window is now open from 2015-09-01 to 2015-11-01. These proposals will be for school contacts during the second half of 2016. Go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact or http://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html for full details. To help organizations in preparing their proposals, the ARISS Program Coordinator will offer hour-long online information sessions. These are designed to provide more information regarding US ARISS contacts and the proposal process and offer an opportunity to ask questions. While attending an online information session is not required, it is strongly encouraged. These will be offered Thursday, September 17, at 2000 UTC; Tuesday, September 22, at 2000 UTC, and Wednesday, September 30, at 2300 UTC. Advance registration is necessary. Email ARISS (ariss(a)arrl.org) to sign up for an information session. **************************************************************************** ** >From 2015-12-20 to 2016-01-04, there will be no US Operational Segment (USOS) hams on board ISS. So any schools contacts during this period will be conducted by the ARISS Russia team. **************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. **************************************************************************** Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Gaston ON4WF with 121 Francesco IKØWGF with 114 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 112 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8061 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2015-10-24 06:00 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1001. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 966. (***) Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 46. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: Arkansas, Delaware, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: http://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** The successful school list has been updated as of 2015-10-24 06:00 UTC. (***) http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correction .rtf Listing of ARISS related magazine articles as of 2006-07-10 03:30 UTC. http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ARISS_magazine_articles.rtf Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 43/44 on orbit Scott Kelly Mikhail Kornienko RN3BF Exp. 44 on orbit Oleg Kononenko RN3DX Kimiya Yui KG5BPH Kjell Lindgren KO5MOS Exp. 45 on orbit Sergey Volkov RU3DIS **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

4 years, 4 months

LVB Tracker USB serial port driver for Windows 7 x64?

by Bill Bordy, NJ1H

Has anyone located a driver for the LVB Tracker internal USB to serial port adapter on Windows 7 x64? If not, has anyone reverted to the serial port connection on LVB Tracker and used an external USB to serial port adapter successfully with SatPC32 on Windows 7 x64? I have an Edgeport multiple USB to serial port that has drivers for Windows 7 x64 that I will use if I have to. I would prefer using the LVB Tracker with its USB to serial adapter if someone has another solution. 73, Bill NJ1H

5 years, 1 month

Re: [amsat-bb] Free content from six satellites via Outernet (APRS?)

by Robert Bruninga

Global Ham channel? We should find someone to work with the OUTERNET folks to add an amateur radio channel to their downlink. Their satellites could provide connectivity to 99% of amateur radio operators on earth. In addition, Ham Radio can bring to OUTERNET an uplink capability that they currently don't have. And the uplink can be from the same remote areas where there is no service... How? Like this. They simply take the APRS packet data stream from the global APRS Internet System (APRS-IS) and stream it in their downlink for hams. Then hams anywhere on earth can transmit traffic via HF back into the system. Since the APRS-IS is one of the world's largest HF receiver-diversity receiver networks in the world, then a packet transmitted from almost anywhere on earth has a reasonable chance of being heard at least once at least somewhere and interjected back into the network, where it gets to the OUTERNET and then in the downlink. The only question, is the atrophy of our HF IGates? Years ago, the HF channel on 10,147.2 MHz had receivers all over the world. I have not listened much recently, but maybe there is still a viable network there. And if not, maybe we could re-invigorate it if it meant global APRS connectivity for ham travelers and hams in remote areas. An HF packet transmitter can be as small as a cigar box and solar powered. Has anyone tuned in the OUTERNET downlink? I have heard anyone with OUTERNET's free ORxPi software and a Raspberry Pi can get the OUTERNET content when plugged into a DVB-S tuner. Then there is of course the arm-chair-lawyers concern of rebroadcast of amateur radio content on a non-ham network? Bob, WB4APR -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Thane Richard Sent: Friday, November 13, 2015 1:22 PM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: [amsat-bb] Free content from six satellites via Outernet Hello everyone, My name is Thane and I lead content and business development at Outernet. Some of you may be aware of us but I suspect most are not. I am writing this email to introduce Outernet to AMSAT. Outernet broadcasts a DVB-S signal <https://wiki.outernet.is/wiki/Coverage_and_transponder_settings> from six different satellites covering 99% of humans on Earth. We created this information service to reach the 4.3 billion people who do not have Internet access and designed it to overcome the problems the Internet presents, namely download speed and recurring cost. Our datacast is completely free to receive, our bitrate is 90 Kbps (~1 GB/day of content), and you can even build your own receiver with a Raspberry Pi <http://store.outernet.is/>. Right now, the content we send is curated by us and a group of editors but we are working on a Reddit/Wikipedia/YouTube mashup where the contents of our broadcast can be decided publicly. Currently, we broadcast Wikipedia, 30,000+ ebooks, PLOS One journal articles, Khan Academy, CK12 textbooks, music from SoundCloud, and more. I want to invite this community to be involved in Outernet and help us build this project. Our current focus is on developing channels to get devices into schools and generally into countries/areas where Internet penetration is very low. Our forum <http://discuss.outernet.is> is very active with users and Outernet staff. Please stop by! Avidly, Thane -- Thane Richard <https://twitter.com/thanerichard> Content and Business Development Lead Outernet <http://outernet.is/> *Outernet in the press:* WIRED <http://www.wired.com/2015/07/plan-beam-web-3-billion-unconnected-humans/> , Inc.com <http://www.inc.com/dev-aujla/a-library-for-all.html>, TechCrunch <http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/13/outernet-joins-the-space-race-for-intern et-accessibility/> , Gizmodo <http://gizmodo.com/what-is-the-outernet-and-is-it-the-future-of-the-inter n-1659647614> , BBC <http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29593734>, CNN <http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/11/tech/internet-for-everyone/>, Fast Company <http://www.fastcolabs.com/3027663/all-about-google-loons-low-cost-space-b ased-competitor-outernet> , LA Times <http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-g-outernet-explained-201 40808-htmlstory.html> , Motherboard <http://motherboard.vice.com/read/how-the-outernet-plans-to-broadcast-free -internet-from-space> Our receiver, Lighthouse, is now available! To show how revolutionary Lighthouse is, we installed one in a remote school in Uganda. Watch the video here <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlQFoGK1aWQ>. _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

5 years, 2 months

LilacSat-2 is ON!!!!!

by Perry Yantis

LilacSat-2 is on today!!!!!! Perry WB8OTH py41(a)att.net sent from my Apple Macbook Pro

5 years, 3 months

Upcoming Foxes (Re: RadFxSat Launch Vehicle Assembly

by Peter Laws

On Wed, Jul 13, 2016 at 11:59 AM, Jerry Buxton <n0jy(a)amsat.org> wrote: > Officially (per launch manifests) vs. Internally: > Fox-1 | (Fox-1A) > Fox-1C | (Fox-1Cliff, it was named Cliff after the launch was secured) > Fox-1D | (Fox-1D) > RadFxSat | (Fox-1B) > RadFxSat-2 | (Fox-1E) Some of the stuff I dug up on amsat.org is a few years old, so see if what I gathered is correct (only Fox names/OSCAR numbers used): AO-85 - U/v (FM) - active Fox-1B - U/v (FM) - 2017Q1 Fox-1Cliff - U/v|L/v (FM) - 2016Q4 Fox-1D - U/v|L/v (FM) - 2016Q4 Fox-1E - V/u (linear) - ??? Is this accurate? -- Peter Laws | N5UWY | plaws plaws net | Travel by Train!

5 years, 5 months

AO-85

by skristof＠etczone.com

Was AO-85 quiet on the most recent pass (in the past few minutes) or did the roofers disconnect my antenna? Steve AI9IN

5 years, 5 months

XE1AY/P Concinas Island

by Clayton Coleman

I spoke with Ismael, XE1AY this morning on SO-50 at 12:04 UTC. He mentioned that he would later be visiting Cocinas Island, DK79kn and would operate from there. 73 Clayton W5PFG

5 years, 6 months

EO-79 active

by Alan

This morning during the AMSAT-UK symposium Wouter, PA3WEG reported that the transponder is active. Shortly afterwards, a QSO was announced. Note that power budget and resets may limit the duration of activity. 73s, Alan WA4SCA ----------------------------------- Keep Calm and Carry On

5 years, 6 months

ANS-213 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins

by Joseph Spier

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-213 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * ARISS International Face-to-face Meeting Announced for 2016 * RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Nearing Completion * AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium 2016 July 29-31 * Dayton Hamvention® 2017 Venue Announcement * Good-Bye, Hara Arena! Hamvention to Relocate in 2017! * UK Astronaut Tim Peake, KG5BVI/GB1SS, Heads Ham Contingent to 10 Downing Street * South African SDR Transponder Working Group * Past AMSAT President Doug Loughmiller, W5BL, SK * AMSAT Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-213.01 ANS-213 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 213.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE July 31, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-213.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS International Face-to-face Meeting Announced for 2016 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) International Face-to-face Meeting for 2016 will take place in the Houston, Texas area, hosted by ARISS-US team members who will welcome the worldwide ARISS team. The dates are November 15 – 18, 2016. Meeting attendees can go on a special tour Monday afternoon, November 14 at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). ARISS-International Face-to-face Meetings are always open to the public from around the world as observers, and there is no registration fee. The meeting immediately follows the 2016 AMSAT Space Symposium to accommodate symposium attendees who can extend their stay. Meeting dates selected coincide with ARISS’s 20th anniversary and the team will be celebrating its 20 successful years. In November 1996, the first international ARISS meeting took place at NASA Johnson Space Center, as well. Many ARISS international team members plan to participate in this year’s meeting. The ARISS-International Face-to-face Meeting agenda is being worked and will center around ARISS’s hardware development project and future initiatives, sustaining the ARISS program through strategic partnerships and fundraising, and making a quantum improvement in educational outcomes. Other topics and discussions will be on: · how the full ARISS worldwide team can leverage the major outcomes achieved by the ARISS United Kingdom team members during Astronaut Tim Peake’s mission, · educating the team on expectations of ARISS’s two new benefactors: NASA Space Communications and Navigation and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space · celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of ARISS, and · additional topics critical to the future of ARISS. The ARISS team welcomes all people from around the globe to the ARISS-International Face-to-face Meeting as observers. ARISS hopes attendees new to ARISS will decide to begin volunteering after learning about the many things the ARISS team does. Those interested in coming to the meeting during any part of November 15 - 18 can e-mail Rosalie White (k1sto(a)arrl.org) or Frank Bauer (ka3hdo(a)verizon.net). Information will then be forwarded about the hotel that will offer a special rate . About ARISS Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, go to: www.ariss.org www.amsat.org www.arrl.org Also, join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status [ANS thanks ARISS and the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Nearing Completion RadFxSat flight unit has been assembled and is going through various stages of testing before it is put through environmental (shock, vibe, bakeout) testing in August for completion in early September. Launch is scheduled for January 20, 2017. In a recent test stop in Fox Labs for a few days, most of the testing was streamed live on YouTube to give enthusiasts an opportunity to “look over the shoulder” of VPE Jerry Buxton, N0JY as he conducted tests on the flight unit along with other Fox Engineering Team members on GoToMeeting. If you missed the live video, you can view the archives at http://www.youtube.com/c/n0jy/live RadFxSat is expected to be back in Fox Labs around August 11 for another round of tests and it is planned to have live streaming during those tests as well. http://www.amsat.org/?p=5379 [ANS thanks Jerry, N0JY, AMSAT Vice President of Engineering for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium 2016 July 29-31 The 2016 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium is taking place at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, over the weekend of July 29-31. The event is open to all. The presentations will be streamed at https://beta.batc.tv/live/amsatuk A full program of presentations, covering all aspects of the amateur satellite world, has been developed for the Saturday and Sunday and a “Beginners Session” was scheduled for the Friday afternoon. AMSAT Vice President of Operations, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA was scheduled to give an update on the AMSAT-NA Fox Satellites on Saturday. Download the PDF Schedule https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/schedule-2016-amsat-uk- colloquium-issue-h.pdf Sessions will include updates on the many new satellites that are expected to be launched over the next few months. This includes Eshail-2 which will carry the first ever geostationary amateur radio transponder and provide more than 8 MHz of new intercontinental spectrum – it will provide coverage to five continents. Additionally we will have a session on how to develop software receivers using GNU radio, reviews of the Tim Peake GB1SS ARISS contacts and the STEM results achieved, information about a new 76 GHz satellite project, a review of how to operate “in the field” and lots more. [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dayton Hamvention® 2017 Venue Announcement The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) regrets to inform our many vendors, visitors and stakeholders that, unfortunately, HARA has announced the closing of their facility. We have begun execution of our contingency plan to move Hamvention® 2017 to a new home. DARA and Hamvention® have enjoyed many successful years working together with HARA Arena and we wish the Wampler family the best. DARA and Hamvention® have been working on a contingency plan in the event HARA would become unavailable. We have spent many hours over the last few years evaluating possible locations and have found one in the area we believe will be a great new home! Due to logistics and timing issues, we will make a formal announcement introducing our new partner. This information will be coming soon. We all believe this new venue will be a spectacular place to hold our beloved event. Please rest assured we will have the event on the same weekend and, since it will be in the region, the current accommodations and outside events already planned for Hamvention® 2017 should not be affected. http://hamvention.org/dayton-hamvention-2017-venue-announcement/ [ANS thanks DARA, Ron Cramer, KD8ENJ, and the Hamvention Staff for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Good-Bye, Hara Arena! Hamvention to Relocate in 2017! Hamvention® has announced that Hara Arena, the home of Hamvention since 1964, is closing, but Hamvention will continue. Hamvention 2016, the event’s 65th running, was also the last held in the six-building Hara complex. Hamvention 2017 will be held at a new, yet-to-be-disclosed location in the Dayton area. “The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) regrets to inform our many vendors, visitors and stakeholders that, unfortunately, Hara has announced the closing of their facility,” a news release from Hamvention General Chair Ron Cramer, KD8ENJ, said today (July 29). “We have begun execution of our contingency plan to move Hamvention® 2017 to a new home. DARA and Hamvention have enjoyed many successful years working together with Hara Arena and we wish the Wampler family the best.” The news has struck the Amateur Radio community like a lightning bolt — albeit tempered only by DARA’s assurances that Hamvention will not be going away as well. “We are painfully aware of the loss this announcement will generate, which is why we have fought so long and hard to prevent it,” Hara Arena Marketing Director Karen Wampler said in a news release. According to Cramer, DARA and Hamvention have been working on a contingency plan in the event that the deteriorating Hara Arena ever should become unavailable. “We have spent many hours over the last few years evaluating possible locations and have found one in the area we believe will be a great new home!” The announcement said that DARA and Hamvention expect to make a formal announcement soon “introducing our new partner.” “We all believe this new venue will be a spectacular place to hold our beloved event,” Cramer said. “Please rest assured we will have the event on the same weekend and, since it will be in the region, the current accommodations and outside events already planned for Hamvention 2017 should not be affected.” “We look forward to your continued support as we move to a new future with The Dayton Hamvention.” A hockey team’s cancellation of its upcoming season earlier this month had raised questions about the future availability of Hara Arena for Hamvention®. Hara Arena has been facing long-standing financial problems — including unpaid property taxes. Renovations promised for the 2016 Hamvention never materialized. Hamvention attracted more than 25,000 visitors this spring and is worth millions of dollars to the Dayton area economy. The Wampler family has owned and operated Hara Arena since its humble origins in the 1950s, when Wampler Ballarena — then a dance hall and now an exhibit hall familiar to Hamvention visitors — was built in what had been a family- owned orchard. http://www.arrl.org/news/good-bye-hara-arena-hamvention-to-relocate-in-2017 [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- UK Astronaut Tim Peake, KG5BVI/GB1SS, Heads Ham Contingent to 10 Downing Street UK Astronaut Tim Peake, KG5BVI/GB1SS -- just back from a duty tour on the International Space Station -- headed a contingent of radio amateurs and youngsters invited to visit the new Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing Street earlier this month. The July 18 reception at the PM's residence celebrated the success of Peake's "Principia Mission" and his time in space. Sandringham School student Jessica Leigh, M6LPJ, and her head teacher Alan Gray, G4DJX, were among those also on hand, along with students from the Principia Mission schools. Jessica, then a brand-new ham, was the first student in the UK to speak with Peake during an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) ham radio contact with the ISS. Peake inaugurated the use of the ISS Ham TV system when he spoke on January 8 with Jessica and other students at Sandringham School in Hertfordshire, England. Also attending the reception at 10 Downing Street were Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, IZ0UDF, and the UK's first astronaut, Helen Sharman, GB1MIR, who traveled to the Russian Mir space station in 1991. Cristoforetti was among those responsible for configuring the Ham TV digital Amateur Radio TV (DATV) system on the space station. Peake dedicated part of his 6 months in space to educational activities for youngsters on Earth. He described his Principia Mission as the largest and most ambitious educational outreach program of any European space mission. It was supported by ARISS, the UK Space Agency, the ESA, and others on a long list of educational institutions and organizations. The July 29-31 AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium in Guildford will feature presentations about Peake's Principia Mission, and Sandringham School students will talk about their ARISS experience. [ANS thanks ARISS and the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- South African SDR Transponder Working Group During the first AMSAT SA SDR conversation, who met on Wednesday 27 July 2016, the participants discussed various aspects of changing transponders on future satellite missions to Software Defined Radio. The first step in the process is to develop a roadmap. The first roadmap proposals will be discussed at the group's next Skype conversation on Wednesday 10 August. The group is also working on setting up an information sharing platform. Visit www.amsatsa.org.za for more information on how to become a member of AMSAT SA and to join the SDR conversation. [ANS thanks the South African Radio League News for Sunday, 31 July 2016 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Past AMSAT President Doug Loughmiller, W5BL, SK Past AMSAT President and AMSAT Journal Editor Doug Loughmiller, W5BL, of McKinney, Texas, died on July 22. An ARRL Life Member, he was 60 and had been suffering from cancer. “This is very sad news,” said Al Ward, W5LUA. “He will be missed greatly.” Loughmiller was probably best known in recent years as a high-altitude Amateur Radio ballooning enthusiast, and he evangelized on that topic at the ARRL Centennial Convention in 2014 as well as at Dayton Hamvention®. He was the co- moderator of the BalloonSat Forum at Hamvention, and the co-founder of ARBONET (Amateur Radio Balloon over North East Texas) — described as “a poor man’s space program.” He also held a pilot’s license and was interested in motor sports, fishing, and scuba diving. He also was an active Amateur Radio instructor, and he was the recipient of the 2008 Herb S. Brier Award bestowed by the ARRL to recognize a volunteer Amateur Radio instructor. Loughmiller grew up in Indiana and, after graduating from high school there, he attended Paris Junior College in Texas. His first career was as a baker, but from there he jumped to a job in the Satellite Communications Department at the University of Surrey, in England, as a payload supervisor. Subsequently he pursued a successful career in the electronics component industry, working for Arrow Electronics, Future Electronics/FAI, and RAM Electronic Sales. Loughmiller ran for elective office in the ARRL West Gulf Division and in the North Texas Section. He was a member of the Denton County Amateur Radio Association and the Red River Valley Amateur Radio Club, where he served as president in the 1980s. A service was helded in Paris, Texas, on July 27, with many AMSAT, ARRL, and amateur radio friends in attendance. http://www.arrl.org/news/past-amsat-president-doug-loughmiller-w5bl-sk [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Events Information about AMSAT activities at other important events around the country. Examples of these events are radio club meetings where AMSAT Area Coordinators give presentations, demonstrations of working amateur satellites, and hamfests with an AMSAT presence (a table with AMSAT literature and merchandise, sometimes also with presentations, forums, and/or demonstrations). *Saturday, 6 August 2016 – Austin Summerfest in Austin TX *Saturday, 13 August 2016 – KL7KC Hamfest in Fairbanks AK *Saturday, 20 August 2016 – Spark in the Park in Wyoming MI *Saturday, 3 September 2016 - Shelby Hamfest in Shelby, NC (ARRL North Carolina State Convention) - AMSAT Forum Only *Saturday and Sunday, 10-11 September 2016 Boxboro Hamfest in Boxborough, MA (ARRL New England Division Convention) *Friday, 23 September 2016 – presentation at Jet Propulsion Laboratory Amateur Radio Club in Pasadena CA *Friday and Saturday, 21-22 October 2016 – CopaFest 2016, south of Maricopa AZ *Saturday, 12 November 2016 – Oro Valley Amateur Radio Club Hamfest in Marana AZ *Saturday, 3 December 2016 – Superstition Superfest in Mesa AZ *Saturday, 14 January 2017 – Thunderbird Hamfest 2017 in Phoenix AZ *Saturday, 4 February 2017 – Palm Springs Hamfest in Palm Springs CA *Friday-Sunday, 10-12 February 2017 Orlando HamCation in Orlando, FL *Friday and Saturday, 17-18 February 2017 – Yuma Hamfest in Yuma AZ [ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News Successful Contacts * A telebridge contact via W6SRJ with students attending the ESA Space Camp 2016 in Lenk, Switzerland, was successful Mon 2016-07-25 . * A telebridge contact via W6SRJ with students at United Space School hosted by the Foundation for International Space Education (FISE), in Seabrook TX, USA was successful Tue 2016-07-19. * A telebridge via VK4KHZ with students at the YOTA Camp 2016 IARU-R1 in Salzburg, Austria,was successful Mon 2016-07-18. * A telebridge via W6SRJ contact with students participating in Frontiers of Flight Museum's “Moon Day 2016”, Dallas TX, USA was successful Sat 2016-07-16. * A telebridge contact via W6SRJ with students from a consortium of schools attending the ISS R&D Conference, San Diego, CA, USA as part of STEM Day was successful Thu 2016-07-14. . Upcoming Contacts * A direct contact via BNØSH with students at Sacred Heart Primary School, New Taipei City, Taiwan, R.O.C, is scheduled for Tue 2016-08-02 08:36:03 UTC. The scheduled astronaut is Takuya Onishi, KF5LKS. The Sacred Heart Primary School in Taiwan was founded in 1965 and is part of the world family of Sacred Heart Schools which can be found on five continents. Its philosophy of education is rooted in the development of the whole person. This founding vision was that of a great educator- Madeleine Sophie Barat - who lived at the time of the French Revolution. In her day, as in ours, the social fabric was disintegrating. Her response was to try to rebuild and transform society through an education based on solid intellectual training and spiritual values leading to the development of the whole person. Sacred Heart Education People in East Asia are, to a large extent, shaped by Confucianism, whose tradition stresses respect for teachers and family. Our teachers are provided with regular in service training to enable them to meet the unique challenges of personal and social responsibility, posed by the influence of modern technology and the Western stress on individualism, which are rapidly changing our world. At the same time, they learn to nurture a global awareness and concern in their students. Sacred Heart School strives to give students a well-rounded education, based on the conviction that each person has talents and capacities which can contribute to the betterment of society. We believe that school is the place for students to both acquire a love of learning and experience hope, joy and fullness of life. We are convinced that true human development is based on faith in God's love for each person.Youngsters of various religious beliefs are welcome. Faith is integrated with life and students are offered an education which teaches personal values and emphasizes mutual respect among all people. At the same time, a deep appreciation for intellectual values is cultivated, allowing students to be knowledgeable, questioning, and reflective. Our students are taught to be persons capable of being both independent and able to work with others; of having a compassionate heart ? especially for the marginalized of society and of experiencing joy in service and in living for others. Creativity is encouraged in the teaching of all subjects so that the students can develop their own vision and learn to live with commitments. Profile At present the school has 781 students from 7 to 12 years of age. The campus is ideally situated in the suburbs, at the foot of the Goddess of Mercy Mountain, with the Tamsui River in the foreground. School buildings are surrounded by spacious gardens with abundant flowers, birds and trees. We believe that both dedicated educators and a healthy environment are essential to quality education which will influence the students for life. * A telebridge contact via IK1SLD with Scouts participating in Space Jam 10, in Rantoul IL, USA, is scheduled for Sat 2016-08-06 15:59:03 UTC. The scheduled astronaut is Kate Rubins, KG5FYJ. Greetings from the participants and volunteers of Space Jam 10 in Rantoul, Illinois. Though primarily a weekend Scouting and STEM education event, we are open to all interested youth. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts from 27 states have come together in an educational and fun format to learn life skills that will prepare them for the increasingly complex future. We are adding Art to STEM this year making STEAM. While it is well known that Scouting teaches pioneering skills like camping and wilderness survival, the new pioneers and wilderness are in outer space and we are working hard at 44 technology oriented Merit Badges and activities, plus some fun things like the Duct Tape Merit Badge. Talking to the astronauts on the ISS is an unforgettable part of the experience at Space Jam and that's next on our list. We will not know for many years whether one of these youths becomes an astronaut themselves but it is certain that they are all part of tomorrow's leaders. Watch http://www.ariss.org/upcoming-contacts.html for information about upcoming contacts as they are scheduled. [ANS thanks ARISS, Dave, AA4KN, and Charlie, AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over Fripp Island Activation EM92 On the AMSAT-BB, Nick, KE8AKW reports: On around July 30th to around August 6th we are going to be working the satellites from Fripp Island, South Carolina, EM92 and also will be activating IOTA NA-110 (Fripp Island) on HF 40-10 meters using a FT-857D and either a Buddipole or End fed dipole. As for our satellite work we are working all available satellites SSB/FM, the gear consists of a Arrow antenna and a IC-821. Note that we will be working the satellites and HF casually but will try to get it on air as much as possible. The operators will be either me or my Dad N8XQM behind the mic. Will try to post updates here either on the AMSAT-BB or my Twitter on how the operations are going. Fripp Island is a small island near the border of Georgia close to Savanna, it is a gated community noted for its nice vacation spot. Hope to hear you from Fripp Island. [ANS thanks Nick, KE8AKW for the above information] Chinese Rocket Burns Up Over North America The body of China's experimental Long March 7 rocket re-entered Earth's atmosphere on Wednesday night, July 27th, around 9:38 p.m. Pacific Time, creating a bright fireball over the western USA. The glowing trail was spotted in Utah, Nevada and much of California. The re-entry signaled the Long March 7's return from one month in space. It began its mission on June 25, 2016, in a night launch from the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Hainan Island off China's southern coast. The flight tested new technologies essential to China's developing space program. The Long March 7 is expected to play a key role in the construction of a Chinese space station planned for the decades ahead. Videos of the can be viewed here https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=E1JRauKggsc [ANS thanks SpaceWeather.com for the above information] National Parks on The Air - Satellite Activation - Blue Ridge Parkway Video John Brier, KG4AKV, has post a video on YouTube of his recent NPOTA Activity. https://youtu.be/EyXZ59-t8BQ John reports this was filmed on Sunday July 17th, 2016 on the Craggy Overlook Trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. I think this video is pretty fun! This was my first National Parks on The Air (NPOTA) activation and it couldn't have been more exciting and beautiful. I made ten contacts, which is the minimum required to get credit for an NPOTA activation, and half of those contacts were from a short pileup immediately after I put my call out on the bird, SO-50. This pass is from Sunday July 17th 2016 but I technically did my first activation the day before at the same place, and I even made 14 contacts on that near overhead pass, but I had more video sources (four) from Sunday than Saturday, and I also operated better, with more efficiency and with less screwups (though not none), than the Sunday activation. Saturday felt very hectic as I struggled to operate well while also tracking the relatively faster moving satellite overhead. If I make a video of that pass I'm sure it won't seem that bad to others but that's just how it felt. I probably will make a video of that pass too but I definitely also want to make more opportunities for me to experience pileups like this. That's why it was so exciting. As I said at the end of the video there are three national parks on the Outer Banks of North Carolina: Cape Lookout, Cape Hatteras and the Wright Brothers National Memorial. I'm sure those would be great places to get some cool video, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to use my DSLR out in that harsh environment! They'll also just be fun to visit. I'm thinking of trying HF operation too as I bet I could get a pileup there too. Maybe I'll get a Buddipole. That would be a cool addition to my operating because over the last year I've done almost exclusively satellite communications. It would be another opportunity for a different kind of video too. Stations contacted: 01) K8II 02) NP4JV 03) W7JSD 04) N6UA 05) KC3FHV 06) NX9B 07) W5CBF 08) KD8ATF 09) KD8VRX 10) K8YSE Please Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/SpaceComms1?sub_confirmation=1 Links to videos featured at the end: TOMSK Bandit ISS Repeater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svnB7h_k7_M My First Perfect ISS SSTV Image: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7to9uX1sWC4 Equipment I use for ISS Reception: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3JwOwjYIkM ISS Reception (Kopernik Observatory): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGFEanljOG8 [ANS thanks John Brier, KG4AKV for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Joe Spier, K6WAO k6wao at amsat dot org

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AMSAT-BB July 2016