December 2017 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

The Unofficial AMSAT D-STAR net.
by Endaf Buckley 17 Dec '17

17 Dec '17

The Unofficial AMSAT D-STAR net Monday at 03:30 UTC on Reflector 9C. This is not affiliated with AMSAT and is just an informal round table type net discussing all things satellite and more.

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Fwd: AMSAT CW ACTIVITY DAY
by rsoifer1＠aol.com 17 Dec '17

17 Dec '17

-----Original Message----- From: rsoifer1 <rsoifer1(a)aol.com> To: ans-editor <ans-editor(a)amsat.org> Sent: Mon, Dec 11, 2017 7:25 am Subject: AMSAT CW ACTIVITY DAY AMSAT CW ACTIVITY DAY 2018 IN MEMORY OF G3IOR \ You are cordially invited to participate in AMSAT's second annual CW Activity Day. It will be held from 0001 to 2400 UTC on January 1, 2018. This year's event is dedicated to the memory of Pat Gowen, G3IOR. The rules are very simple: there aren't any. Just operate CW through any amateur radio satellite. Straight keys and "bugs" are encouraged, but not required. The important thing is to get on the air and have fun. CU on January 1st! 73 Ray W2RS

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ANS-351 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Chris Bradley 17 Dec '17

17 Dec '17

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-351 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. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * November/December 2017 Apogee View Column Posted on the AMSAT Web * Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-12-13 09:00 UTC * Special Membership Offer Continues for RadFxSat/AO-91 Launch * Donate to AMSAT Tax-Free From Your IRA * Satellite Activity From Azores Islands on Christmas * December 20 Launch for HA-1 CubeSat with FM transponder and SSTV * Information for Requesting UT1FG/MM QSL Cards * Two-Part Video Demonstration Working AO-91 from Down Under * AMSAT Awards Update * KG5CCI and F4DXV 7,634.775 km QSO Sets New Distance Record on FO-29 * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-351.01 ANS-344 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 351.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE December 10, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-351.01 November/December 2017 Apogee View Column Posted on the AMSAT Web The November/December 2017 edition of Apogee View, a comprehensive bimonthly update of AMSAT's activities written by AMSAT President Joe Spier, K6WAO, has been posted on the AMSAT website. https://www.amsat.org/apogeeview/ [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-12-13 09:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Taipei Municipal Ximen Elementary School, Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C., direct via BNØSM (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-12-21 08:49:07 UTC 72 deg ********************************************************************* ******* ** 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. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. ********************************************************************* ******* *** All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. ********************************************************************* ******* *** 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: Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 126 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 100 ********************************************************************* ******* 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 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2017-12-13 09:00 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 http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1199. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1148. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. 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, South Dakota, 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 2017-12-12 18:00 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_cor rection .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. 52 on orbit Randy Bresnik Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA Sergey Ryazanskiy Exp. 53 on orbit Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Alexander Misurkin Joe Acaba KE5DAR [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Membership Offer Continues for RadFxSat/AO-91 Launch AO-91 is open to all and works great! Now is a good time to join AMSAT and receive a free digital copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites"! Visit https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-membership/ and help AMSAT Keep Amateur Radio in Space. AMSAT is making our "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book available for a limited time as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The 182 page book is presented in PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out our other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Thank you, and see you soon on AO-91! [ANS thanks Paul N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Donate to AMSAT Tax-Free From Your IRA Are you over 70-1/2 years of age and need to meet your IRA's Required Minimum Distribution for 2017? Consider making a donation to AMSAT! Under the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, individuals over 70-1/2 years of age may make direct transfers of up to $100,000 per year from a traditional IRA to an eligible charity without increasing their taxable income. Consult your tax advisor or accountant to make certain you are eligible. AMSAT is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational and scientific organization whose purpose is to design, construct, launch, and operate satellites in space and to provide the support needed to encourage amateurs to utilize these resources. AMSAT's federal tax ID is 52-0888529. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Activity From Azores Islands on Christmas Pedro, CU2ZG says he will be active on satellites from grid square HM58 on Christmas. His equipment will include an Alaskan Arrow antenna, Yaesu FT-817ND, Yaesu FT-857D, Kenwood TS-2000 and a Wouxun KG-UV9DPlus. Most of the operation will be done using the TS-2000. Expected operating days are December 23 and 24, plus December 25 during the afternoon/evening hours. Pedro says this will be a family holiday and skeds will be accepted depending on his availability. His exact location will be HM58qm, at the CU7BC QTH (check QRZ.com) Watch his twitter account (@pdsousa) for updates. [ANS thanks Pedro, CU2ZG for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- December 20 Launch for HA-1 CubeSat with FM transponder and SSTV The IARU has announced frequency coordination has been completed for HA-1, a 2U CubeSat developed by the Teenagers Amateur Radio Center of Activity in Huaian, China. HA-1 is planned for launch on December 20. HA-1 will be mainly used for teenagers in Huaian to carry out activities related with amateur radio and aerospace science education. The cubesat is equipped with amateur radio repeater and SSTV(Slow Scan Television) component, which is to validate still image transmission in narrowband voice channel. There is an SSTV beacon, which puts Date/Time/Location information/temp- erature etc on a SSTV picture. Amateurs worldwide can also use HA-1 to test SSTV via the cubesat. Uplink: 145.930 MHz FM Downlink: 436.950 MHz FM Telemetry: 437.350 MHz 9k6 BPSK [ANS thanks the IARU for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Information for Requesting UT1FG/MM QSL Cards John, K8YSE, posted a message on the amsat-bb on behalf of Yuri, UT1FG/MM currently at sea aboard the MV Seahorse, "Yuri has asked that anyone who has not received confirmations from this year and previous year's operations to prepare logsheets so that he can mail them out when he arrives in New Orleans." John has posted an Excel Spreadsheet for you to enter your log data plus an example of a completed log sheet at: http://www.papays.com/sat/ut1fgqsl.html John's web page includes instructions to prepare your logsheet of QSO's that Yuri can print, verify, sign and mail from one of his destination ports. E-mail your logsheet to John at the address he lists in his instructions. John will send an acknowledgement email when he receives your request. This way you will know that Yuri will have your logsheet. Marinetraffic.com anticipates a December 15-16 arrival in New Orleans. John requests you send your logsheet QSL request as soon as possible so Yuri will have time to get them ready for mailing. Yuri's current ship, Seahorse, is a relatively new ship and is wider than previous vessels he has captained so it cannot go through the locks in the Great Lakes. On this voyage he will be more restricted as to possible destinations than he was last season. John concluded, "Yuri has been very busy with his duties and has had little time for anything else. He sends his regards to all." [ANS thanks John Papay, K8YSE for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Two-Part Video Demonstration Working AO-91 from Down Under Peter Parker, VK3YE, has published two excellent introduction to amateur satellites videos. Note that some of the QSO customs shown are a little different than the common practice in Europe and North America, but the tips are still generally applicable. Peter, VK3YE, describes his two-part video demonstration as, "A new amateur satellite has just gone up and it's super easy to work. You just need a pair of handhelds on 2m & 70cm FM. Watch this video to find out how to make contacts through AO91 with equipment you probably already have." Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=astteV2umOg Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNB7Nc4HFYs&feature=youtu.be [ANS thanks Peter Parker, VK3YE, and Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Awards Update We have a good list of recipients this time for the AMSAT Awards. This will also be the last update for 2017. With the new satellites this year and a crop of new ones coming in 2018 there will be a lot of operating going on. AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award for making their first satellite QSO Perikles Monioudis, HB9IQB Tae-Ryon Kim, DS5DNO Lawrence Witker, KE8BHX Adam Zabrowski, W8OOO Robert Twigg, KE8GDD Dan Howard, VA3MA ------ AMSAT Communications Achievement Award Ed Poccia, KC2LM, #579 ------ AMSAT Sexagesimal Award Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA, $180 Mac Cody, AE5PH, #181 ------ AMSAT Century Club Award George Carr, WA5KBH, #53 ------ AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award Carlo Morandi, IK4JQQ, #93 Mac Cody, AE5PH, #94 ------ Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards [ANS thanks Peter Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- KG5CCI and F4DXV 7,634.775 km QSO Sets New Distance Record on FO-29 David Swanson, KG5CCI, and Jerome Lecuyer, F4DXV completed a 7,634.775 km QSO on December 12 via FO-29. This eclipses their previous record on that satellite by 26.62 km and greatly exceeds the theoretical maximum range of the satellite, which is calculated at 7,502 km. Video of the QSO as recorded by F4DXV can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sPe9wSOvAY&feature=youtu.be [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Did you know you can help AMSAT by logging into your Amazon account using http://smile.amazon.com/ch/52-0888529 to designate AMSAT-NA as the organization of your choice. When shopping on-line you must use the URL http://smile.amazon.com for AMSAT to receive the donation from your purchases. + 2017: FUNcube Status and New Developments - Wouter Weggelaar, PA3WEG walks us through the whole FUNcube family of spacecraft at the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium in Milton Keynes, October 15th 2017. Watch on-line at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELFoLtm44Kc&feature=share + While waiting for the next satellite pass have a listen at http://www.livemeteors.com/ to hear meteor pings as they happen. The pings are a bit more frequent during the popular meteor showers. + Hackaday posted an article showing how to build your own azimuth- elevation rotor: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-344-HackadayRotor (via Bernhard, VA6BMJ) + The 3Y0Z DXpedition Team on Bouvet Island is asking the amateur radio community to help with flying costs. See the details on the web: http://www.bouvetdx.org/news-and-updates/ + European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZØJPA, is compiling TimeLapseADay videos and is sharing them on-line. These can be found on his playlist posted on YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-344TimeLapseADay + The December 2017 issue of SatMagazine has been posted at: http://www.satmagazine.com/ Vytenis Buzas LY1ZY features in this issue, see pages 76-77. + Read about new analysis of the famous Hubble Deep Field images and watch a video scan across the Deep Field. Each of those blobs and dots is a galaxy. See: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-344-UniverseToday --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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. And, with that consider that bowling is more advantageous than golf since you rarely lose a bowling ball. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Chris Bradley, AA5EM aa5em at amsat dot org

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ANS-351 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Chris Bradley 17 Dec '17

17 Dec '17

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-351 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. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * November/December 2017 Apogee View Column Posted on the AMSAT Web * Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-12-13 09:00 UTC * Special Membership Offer Continues for RadFxSat/AO-91 Launch * Donate to AMSAT Tax-Free From Your IRA * Satellite Activity From Azores Islands on Christmas * December 20 Launch for HA-1 CubeSat with FM transponder and SSTV * Information for Requesting UT1FG/MM QSL Cards * Two-Part Video Demonstration Working AO-91 from Down Under * AMSAT Awards Update * KG5CCI and F4DXV 7,634.775 km QSO Sets New Distance Record on FO-29 * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-351.01 ANS-344 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 351.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE December 10, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-351.01 November/December 2017 Apogee View Column Posted on the AMSAT Web The November/December 2017 edition of Apogee View, a comprehensive bimonthly update of AMSAT's activities written by AMSAT President Joe Spier, K6WAO, has been posted on the AMSAT website. https://www.amsat.org/apogeeview/ [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2017-12-13 09:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Taipei Municipal Ximen Elementary School, Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C., direct via BNØSM (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Contact is a go for: Thu 2017-12-21 08:49:07 UTC 72 deg ********************************************************************* ******* ** 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. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. ********************************************************************* ******* *** All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. ********************************************************************* ******* *** 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: Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 126 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 100 ********************************************************************* ******* 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 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2017-12-13 09:00 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 http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1199. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1148. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 47. 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, South Dakota, 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 2017-12-12 18:00 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_cor rection .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. 52 on orbit Randy Bresnik Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA Sergey Ryazanskiy Exp. 53 on orbit Mark Vande Hei KG5GNP Alexander Misurkin Joe Acaba KE5DAR [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana AJ9N for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Special Membership Offer Continues for RadFxSat/AO-91 Launch AO-91 is open to all and works great! Now is a good time to join AMSAT and receive a free digital copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites"! Visit https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-membership/ and help AMSAT Keep Amateur Radio in Space. AMSAT is making our "Getting Started With Amateur Satellites" book available for a limited time as a download with any paid new or renewal membership purchased via the AMSAT Store. This offer is only available with purchases completed online, and for only a limited time. A perennial favorite, Getting Started is updated every year with the latest amateur satellite information, and is the premier primer of satellite operation. The 182 page book is presented in PDF format, in full color, and covers all aspects of making your first contacts on a ham radio satellite. Please take advantage of this offer today by visiting the AMSAT store at https://www.amsat.org/shop/ and selecting any membership option. While there, check out our other items, including the M2 LEOpack antenna system, Arrow antennas, AMSAT shirts, and other swag. Thank you, and see you soon on AO-91! [ANS thanks Paul N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Donate to AMSAT Tax-Free From Your IRA Are you over 70-1/2 years of age and need to meet your IRA's Required Minimum Distribution for 2017? Consider making a donation to AMSAT! Under the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, individuals over 70-1/2 years of age may make direct transfers of up to $100,000 per year from a traditional IRA to an eligible charity without increasing their taxable income. Consult your tax advisor or accountant to make certain you are eligible. AMSAT is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational and scientific organization whose purpose is to design, construct, launch, and operate satellites in space and to provide the support needed to encourage amateurs to utilize these resources. AMSAT's federal tax ID is 52-0888529. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Activity From Azores Islands on Christmas Pedro, CU2ZG says he will be active on satellites from grid square HM58 on Christmas. His equipment will include an Alaskan Arrow antenna, Yaesu FT-817ND, Yaesu FT-857D, Kenwood TS-2000 and a Wouxun KG-UV9DPlus. Most of the operation will be done using the TS-2000. Expected operating days are December 23 and 24, plus December 25 during the afternoon/evening hours. Pedro says this will be a family holiday and skeds will be accepted depending on his availability. His exact location will be HM58qm, at the CU7BC QTH (check QRZ.com) Watch his twitter account (@pdsousa) for updates. [ANS thanks Pedro, CU2ZG for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- December 20 Launch for HA-1 CubeSat with FM transponder and SSTV The IARU has announced frequency coordination has been completed for HA-1, a 2U CubeSat developed by the Teenagers Amateur Radio Center of Activity in Huaian, China. HA-1 is planned for launch on December 20. HA-1 will be mainly used for teenagers in Huaian to carry out activities related with amateur radio and aerospace science education. The cubesat is equipped with amateur radio repeater and SSTV(Slow Scan Television) component, which is to validate still image transmission in narrowband voice channel. There is an SSTV beacon, which puts Date/Time/Location information/temp- erature etc on a SSTV picture. Amateurs worldwide can also use HA-1 to test SSTV via the cubesat. Uplink: 145.930 MHz FM Downlink: 436.950 MHz FM Telemetry: 437.350 MHz 9k6 BPSK [ANS thanks the IARU for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Information for Requesting UT1FG/MM QSL Cards John, K8YSE, posted a message on the amsat-bb on behalf of Yuri, UT1FG/MM currently at sea aboard the MV Seahorse, "Yuri has asked that anyone who has not received confirmations from this year and previous year's operations to prepare logsheets so that he can mail them out when he arrives in New Orleans." John has posted an Excel Spreadsheet for you to enter your log data plus an example of a completed log sheet at: http://www.papays.com/sat/ut1fgqsl.html John's web page includes instructions to prepare your logsheet of QSO's that Yuri can print, verify, sign and mail from one of his destination ports. E-mail your logsheet to John at the address he lists in his instructions. John will send an acknowledgement email when he receives your request. This way you will know that Yuri will have your logsheet. Marinetraffic.com anticipates a December 15-16 arrival in New Orleans. John requests you send your logsheet QSL request as soon as possible so Yuri will have time to get them ready for mailing. Yuri's current ship, Seahorse, is a relatively new ship and is wider than previous vessels he has captained so it cannot go through the locks in the Great Lakes. On this voyage he will be more restricted as to possible destinations than he was last season. John concluded, "Yuri has been very busy with his duties and has had little time for anything else. He sends his regards to all." [ANS thanks John Papay, K8YSE for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Two-Part Video Demonstration Working AO-91 from Down Under Peter Parker, VK3YE, has published two excellent introduction to amateur satellites videos. Note that some of the QSO customs shown are a little different than the common practice in Europe and North America, but the tips are still generally applicable. Peter, VK3YE, describes his two-part video demonstration as, "A new amateur satellite has just gone up and it's super easy to work. You just need a pair of handhelds on 2m & 70cm FM. Watch this video to find out how to make contacts through AO91 with equipment you probably already have." Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=astteV2umOg Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNB7Nc4HFYs&feature=youtu.be [ANS thanks Peter Parker, VK3YE, and Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Awards Update We have a good list of recipients this time for the AMSAT Awards. This will also be the last update for 2017. With the new satellites this year and a crop of new ones coming in 2018 there will be a lot of operating going on. AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award for making their first satellite QSO Perikles Monioudis, HB9IQB Tae-Ryon Kim, DS5DNO Lawrence Witker, KE8BHX Adam Zabrowski, W8OOO Robert Twigg, KE8GDD Dan Howard, VA3MA ------ AMSAT Communications Achievement Award Ed Poccia, KC2LM, #579 ------ AMSAT Sexagesimal Award Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA, $180 Mac Cody, AE5PH, #181 ------ AMSAT Century Club Award George Carr, WA5KBH, #53 ------ AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award Carlo Morandi, IK4JQQ, #93 Mac Cody, AE5PH, #94 ------ Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards [ANS thanks Peter Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- KG5CCI and F4DXV 7,634.775 km QSO Sets New Distance Record on FO-29 David Swanson, KG5CCI, and Jerome Lecuyer, F4DXV completed a 7,634.775 km QSO on December 12 via FO-29. This eclipses their previous record on that satellite by 26.62 km and greatly exceeds the theoretical maximum range of the satellite, which is calculated at 7,502 km. Video of the QSO as recorded by F4DXV can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sPe9wSOvAY&feature=youtu.be [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Did you know you can help AMSAT by logging into your Amazon account using http://smile.amazon.com/ch/52-0888529 to designate AMSAT-NA as the organization of your choice. When shopping on-line you must use the URL http://smile.amazon.com for AMSAT to receive the donation from your purchases. + 2017: FUNcube Status and New Developments - Wouter Weggelaar, PA3WEG walks us through the whole FUNcube family of spacecraft at the AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium in Milton Keynes, October 15th 2017. Watch on-line at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELFoLtm44Kc&feature=share + While waiting for the next satellite pass have a listen at http://www.livemeteors.com/ to hear meteor pings as they happen. The pings are a bit more frequent during the popular meteor showers. + Hackaday posted an article showing how to build your own azimuth- elevation rotor: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-344-HackadayRotor (via Bernhard, VA6BMJ) + The 3Y0Z DXpedition Team on Bouvet Island is asking the amateur radio community to help with flying costs. See the details on the web: http://www.bouvetdx.org/news-and-updates/ + European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZØJPA, is compiling TimeLapseADay videos and is sharing them on-line. These can be found on his playlist posted on YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-344TimeLapseADay + The December 2017 issue of SatMagazine has been posted at: http://www.satmagazine.com/ Vytenis Buzas LY1ZY features in this issue, see pages 76-77. + Read about new analysis of the famous Hubble Deep Field images and watch a video scan across the Deep Field. Each of those blobs and dots is a galaxy. See: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-344-UniverseToday --------------------------------------------------------------------- /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. And, with that consider that bowling is more advantageous than golf since you rarely lose a bowling ball. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Chris Bradley, AA5EM aa5em at amsat dot org

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SATPC32
by radiomb 17 Dec '17

17 Dec '17

Does the current version of SATPC32 run on Windows 10? Thanks and 73, Mike K4MIA

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Wouxun KG-UV8D
by jim＠beeson.cc 16 Dec '17

16 Dec '17

Does anyone use the Wouxun RG-UV8D handie for any sats? If so would you mind sharing your program (.KG) file? Thanks! 73's Jim WA5QAP

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Satellite radio's query
by Francis Geraci 16 Dec '17

16 Dec '17

>From WB1FXX - Marathon, Fla. In the past there had been a discussion about different satellite radio's, who produces them and their availability. I recently purchased a IC-9100 just for satellite operations. I have not seen much discussion about this radio on the Amsat BB. I am curious why this radio has hardly been mentioned. It seems to be the perfect replacement for my aging IC-821. Even has the "funny" little knobs, like the 821, that control the RF power and mic gain. The IC-9100 has the look and feel of a "real" radio. Is it the price ? $2100.00 USD ? Not the cheapest rig out there. The IC-7610 is "flying" off the shelves at $3900.00 USD. Can't be about the price ! Thanks for any comments - WB1FXX

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Rocket Lab Launch Analysis from Tuesday's attempt
by Wendy and Terry Osborne 16 Dec '17

16 Dec '17

Rocket have released their analysis from Tuesday. “Analysis of yesterday's launch attempt is complete. Launch was aborted due to rising liquid oxygen temperatures - the result of a LOx chilldown bleed schedule not compatible with the warm conditions of the day. The fix is simple. Next attempt tomorrow! #StillTesting “. Well it was about 30 degrees C (86 F) at the Launch site and the rocket is black. The weather forecast for the launch site today is for showers this morning but clearing this afternoon. First rain for about a month. See: https://twitter.com/RocketLab for updates. 73, Terry ZL2BAC

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APRS birds
by Sean Waite 16 Dec '17

16 Dec '17

Hi all, There was a comment on the recent experimenters thread about using the APRS birds. I'm new at this game - I've made 2 satellite QSOs so far - and would love to know more. Is there a good document on how to use these satellites, and maybe some tips on how to get a TH-D72A to do it? I've only used it to beacon APRS, messaging with the service isn't something I've tried. Thanks and 73, Sean WA1TE

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT Embroidered Cap ?
by Stephen E. Belter 16 Dec '17

16 Dec '17

Stan, We normally sell embroidered caps at the Dayton Hamvention. Inventory not sold at the Hamvention is then sold on the AMSAT store. The hat was very popular this year; the few not sold at the Hamvention went quickly from the store. If you’re not going to Hamvention, pay close attention to the store in late May. 73, Steve N9IP -- Steve Belter, seb(a)wintek.com On 12/14/17, 6:10 PM, "AMSAT-BB on behalf of Stan Musick" <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org on behalf of W5PDQ(a)outlook.com> wrote: >Hello, > >Has AMSAT ever had an embroidered cap available? >Does anyone know if they have plans in the future to have any available? > > Thanks, > Stan, W5PDQ > >_______________________________________________ >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

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