January 2019 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

L Band Uplink Antenna
by BeetleJerald Oliver 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

What is the best antenna for L-Band Uplink? I am using the Yaesu G-5500 system with M2 VHF/UHF CP yagis already... Jerry..KJ4EU

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Antenna and Doppler Question
by NA1SA Loon 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

Greetings, I recently purchased an FT-857D with hopes of working some linear birds. I know it's not the prime radio for the task, but I'm on a budget and would like to remain happily married, although she understands and supports my love for this hobby. The antennas are a rotatable array, each fixed 20 degree elevation, consisting of a Diamond A144S5 for 145mhz and a Diamond A144S10 for 435mhz. The antennas are currently mounted 2 meter horizontal, 70cm vertical. I have had success using this configuration, knowing full well I will not have the coverage I would as if I had circularly polarized antennas for each band (again, budget and marital status come to mind). My thought behind this was if I'm using my Arrow, the 2 meter and 70cm elements are 90 deg to each other and it works, for both FM and SSB birds (seen it on YouTube). Question is, would it be beneficial to put them (a) both horizontal, (b) both vertical, or leave it like I currently have them? Again, I know there is no correct answer due to a tumbling satellite and changing polarity, I just haven't had time to experiment with different configurations, and thought maybe someone has and found that one configuration may have been more consistent than the other. Now for the linear bird question... I have an Icom IC-746PRO that I use to listen to, or for, the downlink frequency. I was told to set the uplink frequency and DO NOT touch it, just tune the downlink frequency. Running CAT control (OmniRig with PstRotator), it is constantly updating both uplink and downlink frequencies for doppler. I thought that was the whole purpose of running CAT control with a doppler updating program, to keep you on frequency, or close anyways. This area of the satellite world is all new to me. I never had the chance to observe some work a linear bird to get an idea on how to do it properly. I certainly do not expect to carry a QSO throughout pass, I'm just seeking to explore another avenue of this hobby and to have fun making a contact or two on a good pass. Like I said this all new to me and I'm just seeking good advice and some positive guidance to be successful. Thanks, NA1SA

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Re: [amsat-bb] CAT Cable and Rotor Controller for FT-736R
by Laird Taylor 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

I have an FT-736R and have just purchased MacDoppler from AMSAT. It will be installed in a MacBook running OS 10.13.6. I’m shopping for a CAT cable to go between the two units. The guy at HRO said the original Yaesu cable to go with Macs has part# FIF-65A but I don’t see anything yet on Google by that moniker. He also said the Yaesu CAT cable for PCs is FIF-232C - which I DO see around. Then I see a caution that there are lots of cheap cables around that use terrible chips that are a nightmare to keep running. The only cable I’ve found so far (on eBay) is $35 and the vendor doesn’t seem to admit which chip set is used. Amazon in the UK has a cable for sale for 16 GBP, which could be one of the cheaper ones. Immediate questions: 1. What subset of the alleged plethora of available cables is MacDoppler compatible with CAT on the FT-736R? 2. Who sells such cables nowadays? So far I’ve found only eBay and Amazon; it’s not even clear they’re selling the same cable - never mind the one I must use... 73 Laird Taylor N7RSR

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AO-92 not staying in L/V for 24 hours
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 07 Jan '19

07 Jan '19

Hi! Twice this weekend, AO-92 failed to stay in L/V mode for 24 hours. When it was first commanded into L/V mode at 0138 UTC Sunday (Saturday evening in the USA): https://twitter.com/AMSAT/status/1081727139974729729 it only stayed in that mode for about 3 hours. By the time AO-92 passed over the USA around 0450 UTC, it had switched back to U/V mode. Mark N8MH reported on Twitter this morning that AO-92 was put back into L/V mode at 1449 UTC: https://twitter.com/N8MH/status/1081938639930691584 and it was back to U/V this evening at 0248 UTC: https://twitter.com/WD9EWK/status/1082107763809873920 Before this weekend, I think there was one previous occasion where AO-92 didn't remain in L/V mode for the full 24 hours. Has something happened to the satellite, where the mode change won't remain in effect for 24 hours? 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/

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L Band Uplink
by BeetleJerald Oliver 06 Jan '19

06 Jan '19

I currently am operating U/V with great success....Need opinions as to the best way to get started using L Band Uplink (ie: AO-92) and other sats later......antennas and transverters, perhaps..... Tnx Jerry..KJ4EU

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SO-50 1920Z Pass
by Bill Acito 06 Jan '19

06 Jan '19

I would suggest waiting until you can hook-up the scanner. This is exactly why full-duplex is a recommended practice; _you_ should know whether you were getting in or not. Bill W1PA

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KR400 controller question
by Paul 06 Jan '19

06 Jan '19

As both my KR400 controllers have blown bulbs I've modified them to use LEDs as per https://bit.ly/2TzeHud There is however a small difference that I'd like an opinion on as I'm not very electronically minded. Eddie modified his KR-400RC however on my KR-400 controllers there is an additional 100R between the transformer and bulb. What is its purpose and should I leave it in or remove it when adding the diode, limiting resistor and LEDs shown in the mod? CCT grabs showing the difference https://bit.ly/2FbKIo5 Paul Sussex Coast. JO00

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ANS-006 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by JoAnne K9JKM 05 Jan '19

05 Jan '19

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-006 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: * Recurring Donations Feature Added to AMSAT.org * D-STAR ONE Launched, Telemetry Received * Ham Talk Live Podcast Featuring W6RO Satellite Operation * PW-Sat2 Deorbit Sail Deployment - On-Board Camera Footage * JAMSAT NEXUS V/U Mode-J CubeSat Scheduled to Launch January 17 * Australian National Scout Jamboree - AJ2019 * DL50AMSAT Callsign IG HamSpirit Satellite Weekend January 18-20 * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for December 2018 * AMSAT South Africa Dual-Band VHF/UHF Yagi * Upcoming Satellite Operations * AMSAT at Thunderbird Hamfest in Glendale AZ, 12 January 2019 * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-006.01 ANS-006 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 006.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE January 6, 2019 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-006.01 Recurring Donations Feature Added to AMSAT.org Would you like to donate to AMSAT and/or ARISS but can only afford a little at a time? Even small amounts help, especially as they add up over time! You can now use AMSAT’s recurring donations on the new donation portal at https://www.amsat.org/donations/ This is a great way for everyone to donate $5-10 a month over time to make a significant contribution. Thank you for helping keep amateur radio in space. [ANS thanks Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- D-STAR ONE Launched, Telemetry Received German Orbital Systems reports a successful telemetry downlink has been received. Their web page http://www.d-star.one/ reports D-Star ONE Sparrow and D-Star ONE iSat were successfully launched on Dec- ember 27 as part of an ECM smallsat cluster on the Soyuz-2/Fregat from Russia's Vostochny launch site. Additional details can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-DSTAR-ONE During the first orbits, beacons were received in the US, Germany, Czech Republic and Belarus, confirming the successful separations of the satellites on their target orbit 585 km, 97.73 deg, SSO. D-Star ONE Sparrow and D-Star ONE iSat are a pair of 3U cubesats which are equipped with four identical radio modules with D-Star capabilities, all being operated in a half-duplex mode. At press time DSTAR One Sparrow was planned to be used for amateur radio. DK3WN received the first telemetry on December 29, 2018 with more signals received by Scott, K4KDR and Vladimir, EU1SAT. Check the German Orbital Systems web page for LEOP status and satellite availability for contacts. D-Star ONE Sparrow operates as a half duplex repeater: Callsign: DP1GOS Uplink: 437.325 MHz Downlink: 435.525 MHz RF-Power: 800-1200 mW Telemetry: 435.700 MHz 4k8 GMSK Mobitex (CMX990 Mobitex Format) The telemetry format is documented at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-DSTAR-ONE-Telemetry A telemetry decoder is available at: http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?page_id=29535 Technical details for radio amateurs is posted at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-DSTAR-ONE-Amateur A D-Star voice message beacon transmits once a minute. All mod- ules are operated in a power save mode. This means that they are in idle for 40 seconds and then in receive mode for 20 seconds. Once a signal has been received, the modules switch to receive mode for five minutes. So it might be necessary to "ping" the satellite a couple of times until an answer is received. Object #43879 continues to be a likely fit for tracking at present. [ANS thanks German Orbital Systems for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Ham Talk Live Podcast Featuring W6RO Satellite Operation If you missed the January 3 Ham Talk Live show featuring Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK, Endaf Buckley, N6UTC, and David Akins, N6HHR, discussing amateur radio and satellite operation on the RMS Queen Mary you can play back a recording of this episode at: https://www.spreaker.com/show/ham-talk-live then select Episode 147 - Aboard the Queen Mary, W6RO. Patrick and Endaf recently made a trip to the ship to do satel- lite operations, so they will report on that special event. David will fill us in on the history of the ship's radio room and the routine amateur radio operations from W6RO. Ham Talk Live is also available as a podcast on nearly all podcast sites: Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Play, SoundCloud, and iHeart Podcasts; and it's also available on YouTube. [ANS thanks Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, and Ham Talk Live for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- PW-Sat2 Deorbit Sail Deployment - On-Board Camera Footage PW-Sat2, the second Polish student satellite, also launched on the SpaceX Falcon 9 SSO-A flight with AMSAT Fox-1Cliff, is a student project with the goal to test a new deorbit sail. The sail was deployed on December 29, 2018. On-Board camera footage of the event can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fbMzI9w4MM Amateur radio operators are invited to take part in this mission. Dashboard software to receive, decode and upload PW-Sat2 frames to the PW-Sat2 cloud is available on their website: https://radio.pw-sat.pl/ The team has posted additional information at: https://github.com/PW-Sat2/HAMRadio/wiki PW-Sat2 transmits on 435.275 MHz using 1k2 and 9k6 BPSK AX25. [ANS thanks the PW-Sat2 team for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ For a limited time, new and renewing AMSAT members will receive a free digital copy of "Getting Started with Amateur Satellites" Join or renew your AMSAT membership today at https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-membership/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ JAMSAT NEXUS V/U Mode-J CubeSat Scheduled to Launch January 17 The Japan AMSAT Association (JAMSAT) and students at the Nippon University are jointly developing a CubeSat called NEXUS which will have a 145 to 435 MHz (Mode-J) transponder and a 38 kbps data downlink. Nippon University students have previously developed the SEEDS and SPROUT satellites. NEXUS is an acronym of “Next Education X (cross) Unique Satellite”, it will be 1U CubeSat with a mass of between 1 and 1.5 kg. The NEXUS cubesat will: + Provide amateur radio communications via the 145/435 MHz transponder and SSTV + Download pictures from the 640×480 pixel camera + Operate the data downlink at 38400 bps QPSK + Compare the performance of the data downlink when using AFSK, GMSK and QPSK modes NEXUS will be launched from the JAXA Uchinoura Space Center located in Kagoshima Prefecture on January 17, 2019 (JST) aboard an Epsilon rocket together with OrigamiSat-1 and AOBA-Velox-IV into a 500 km sun sync- hronous orbit. Linear transponder ------------------ Uplink: 145.900-145.930 MHz (CW/LSB) Downlink: 435.880-435.910 MHz (CW/USB) CW/Data: 435.900 MHz & 437.075 MHz Callsign: JS1YAV Separation from the rocket is planned for T + 4100 seconds after launch at which time NEXUS will be powered on. CW telemetry infor- mation will commence transmission 16 minutes, 40 seconds following power up. The NEXUS team has posted a PDF document in English describing the planned initial operations, telemetry format, and preliminary TLEs at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-Nexus-Initial-Ops NEXUS website in Google English http://tinyurl.com/NEXUS-Satellite NEXUS Blog http://tinyurl.com/NEXUS-Sat-Blog JAMSAT in Google English http://tinyurl.com/JAMSAT Read the AMSAT-UK posting at: https://amsat-uk.org/2014/08/24/nexus-cubesat-mode-j-transponder/ [ANS thanks JAMSAT and Nippon University for the above information.] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Australian National Scout Jamboree - AJ2019 Between January 4-14, 2019, 8400 Scouts from every Australian state plus representatives from 18 nations will converge in Tailem Bend in South Australia to participate in the 25th Australian Scout Jamboree - AJ2019. Their special event station will be active using VI25AJ. The special event station is expecting to showcase Amateur Radio to approximately 2000 scouts over the duration of the Jamboree. They will be active on the satellites as well as HF bands (SSB and digital modes), IRLP and EchoLink. They are looking for amateurs to give them a call during the Jamboree to help give the scouts an amazing experience - and perhaps take up the hobby on their return home. Full schedule, modes and planned frequencies will be posted at: https://www.qrz.com/db/vi25aj [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT and ARISS are currently supporting a FundRazr campaign to raise $150,000 for critical radio infrastructure upgrades on ISS. The upgrades are necessary to enable students to continue to talk to astronauts in space via Amateur Radio. We have reached a great milestone with $16,795 raised or about 10% towards our goal. This would not have been possible without your outstanding generosity!! For more information and to DONATE TODAY visit: https://fundrazr.com/arissnextgen?ref=ab_e7Htwa_ab_47IcJ9 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ DL50AMSAT Callsign IG HamSpirit Satellite Weekend January 18-20 The IG HamSpirit Satellite Weekend January 18-20 will feature the new AMSAT-DL callsign DL50AMSAT on the air from Saxony on the Czech border. Also planned are antenna construction and testing projects and testing satellite tracking programs on a variety of operating systems. IG HamSpirit hosts several radio events during the year with this event dedicated to amateur satellite operating. AMSAT-DL says you can track the event on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #satelliteweekend [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- VUCC Awards-Endorsements for December 2018 Ron, W5RKN has provided the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period December 1, 2018 through January 1, 2019. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL 01Dec 01Jan KO4MA 1627 1656 WC7V 1159 1160 W5RKN 634 660 WD9EWK 513 525 NS3L 350 375 PV8DX 313 360 AE5B 300 342 N3GS 300 332 K8BL 252 257 PT9BM 176 203 AD0HJ 175 200 KK4YEL 102 200 N7AGF 175 200 K9UO 150 175 AD0DX 101 167 W4AQT 125 153 PU8RFL 134 146 PS8MT 130 145 PU8MRS 100 127 LW2DAF 110 115 WD9EWK(DM23) New 104 F6GLJ New 103 WI4T New 101 AI9IN New 100 If you find errors or omissions please contact Ron off-list at <W5RKN>@<W5RKN>.com and he'll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for December 1, 2018 and January 1, 2019. It's a visual comparison so omissions are pos- sible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! [ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT South Africa Dual-Band VHF/UHF Yagi News from South Africa announces AMSAT SA is offering a dual-band VHF/UHF antenna. AMSAT SA is indebted to Dr Gary Immelman ZS6YI who has donated 200 units with all proceeds going to the AMSAT SA Kletskous and AfriCUBE projects. The antenna has two elements on 145 MHz and 3 elements on 435 MHz. The Yagi has a unique element called a 'Open Sleeve' which is a director very close to the driven element. The driven element is sized for 2M. When operating on 70cm the 'Open Sleeve' acts as part of the driven element on 70cm (Third harmonic of 2M). The original concept was developed in 1946 by Dr J T Bolljahn of the Stanford Research institute but was not introduced into amateur radio until the 1950s. The AMSAT SA version is based on a design by DK7ZB with modifications by WB5CXC. The first South African version was a collaboration between Guy Eales, ZS6GUY and Dr Gary Immelman, ZS6YI. It was developed for YOTA 2018 where young people successfully used the antenna oper- ating satellites using hand-held transceivers. Although currently only available in South Africa, interested ama- teur radio operators can access detailed specifications and photos at: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/DualbandYagi.htm [ANS thanks AMSAT SA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations + Central California (CM95, CM96, DM05, DM06, DM07, DM08, DM17, DM18) January 5-6, 2019 - Ron, AD0DX will be roving in Central California. He plans to activate the DM06/DM16 grid line Saturday morning, the DM 07/DM08/DM17/DM18 grid corner Saturday afternoon, and the CM95/CM96/DM05/DM06 grid corner on Sunday. Keep an eye on the @ad0dx Twitter feed for more updates https://twitter.com/ad0dx + Super Road Trip (Wyoming to Tennessee to Florida to Wyoming) January 9, 2019 until he gets back home - Starting Jan. 9, RJ, WY7AA, will be travelling from Wyoming to Tennessee to Florida, to New York and back to Wyoming, staying approximately 10 days in each place and activating grids whenever he can. - First stop Tennessee – EM86, and will try roving to EM85, EL87, EL96. - Next on to Florida – EL98, and will try roving to EL88, EL89, EL99. - Next on to New York – FN02, and try try roving to FN01, FN03, FN11, FN12, FN13 Travelling between each place, RJ will try to stop and work as he can, but putting down miles will take priority most often. In addition, RJ will be trying to operate mobile from time to time. FM birds for sure, but will be trying to learn linears while on the trip. Specific pass announcements will be posted to his Twitter feed: (https://twitter.com/WY7AA) and to the AMSAT-bb reflector. + Central California (CM95, CM96, DM05, DM06) – January 12, 2019 David, AD7DB, will be in the area of Kettleman City CA near a convergence of four grids, operating on FM satellites. Grids (maybe gridlines) will depend on the satellite passes. Operation expected from 1700 UTC through 2300 UTC. Updates will be on Twitter as the time approaches: https://twitter.com/ad7db + Quartzfest Arizona (DM23) – January 19-27, 2019 John, N7JY, will be operating FM satellites on a holiday schedule. He may also visit some adjoining grids. There will likely be other hams operating from the event, located a few miles south of Quartzsite AZ. QSL via LOTW, or you can send your card with SASE. + Las Vegas NV and Northwest AZ (DM25, DM26, DM36) – January 20-22, 2019 David, AD7DB, will be in Las Vegas at DM25/26 line, operating on FM satellites on a holiday schedule. In addition, weather permitting, sometime on Monday 01/21/19 he will make a side trip to Beaver Dam AZ to activate from DM36aw. Updates will be on Twitter as the time approaches: https://twitter.com/ad7db + Nevada (DM15, DM16, DM17, DM18, DM25, DM26, DM27, DM28, DM37, DM36) February 8-11, 2019 - Casey KI7UNJ and Jonathan KI5BEX are planning a joint roving trip to Nevada. Planned activations include the DM15/16/25/26 grid corner Friday morning, the DM16/26 gridline Friday afternoon, DM17/18 gridline Saturday morning, DM27/28 gridline Saturday evening, DM27/37 gridline Sunday morning, and DM36/37 gridline Sunday evening. This will be FM only. All contacts uploaded to LoTW upon return. Check out @KI7UNJ Twitter feed for specific passes https://twitter.com/KI7UNJ and follow them on aprs.fi KI7UNJ-7. + Turks and Caicos Islands (FL31) – February 28 – March 9, 2019 Adrian, AA5UK, will be heading to Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands from Feb 28th through March 9th, 2019. He will be operating holiday style on HF and Satellites as VP5/AA5UK from grid FL31UU14. Focus will be on the linear satellites, with some FM act- ivity depending on pile-up civility. Hope to work some European stations as location favors the East. Pass announcements will be made via Twitter: https://twitter.com/AA5UK and periodically via amsat-bb. Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ 2019 is AMSAT's 50th Anniversary! Watch this space for announcements of special events coming in 2019 Get ready to help celebrate with us at the Hamvention Symposium 2019 promises to be a special event Stand by for 50th anniversary operating events and awards +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT at Thunderbird Hamfest in Glendale AZ, 12 January 2019 Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK will have an AMSAT booth at the Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club's Thunderbird Hamfest 2019 on Saturday, 12 Jan- uary 2019. The hamfest will be at a new site, at the Glendale Nazarene Church on the corner of 59th Avenue and Cactus Road in Glendale, Ari- zona. More information about the hamfest is available at: http://www.w7tbc.org/content.php?348-hamfest During the hamfest, Patrick will have demonstrations of satellite operating. If you hear WD9EWK on any passes, please call and be a part of the demonstrations. The hamfest is located in grid DM33, Maricopa County. All QSOs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World after the hamfest. If you would like to receive a QSL card for working WD9EWK during the hamfest, please e-mail Patrick directly with the QSO details. If you are in his log, he will send you a QSL card. Patrick will post updates from the hamfest on his @WD9EWK Twitter account. If you do not use Twitter, you can still see these updates in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK [ANS thanks Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + DK3WN reports that the 145.825 MHz APRS digipeater on NO-84 (PSAT) has been re-enabled and is available for operations. The digipeater is turned off for a recharging period when telemetry shows battery voltage is low. http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=92041 + AO-73 (FUNcube-1) is now back to "Educational" mode after the holiday period (Transponder ON when in eclipse, with low power telemetry; High power telemetry when illuminated in sunlight.) Please keep tracking and sending in telemetry as the FUNcube team tries to better understand the spin effects over the next few months of full orbit sun. (AMSAT-UK) + AMSAT and radio amateurs extend best wishes and thank you to Alain, IZ6BYY and Claudio, IK1SLD for 17 years of service to the amateur space community on their ISSFanClub.com web site. ISSFanClub.com closed down on January 1, 2019. Alain wrote, "I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. Thank you for your visits and your attention". + A new ISS fan presence has been started at http://issfanclub.eu/ Blog entries from January 3 and 4 are posted. Many of the pages are under construction in the new format. + CQ-DATV Magazine for January 2019 is available for download at: https://cq-datv.mobi/67.php Among the several features the article "Arduino SimpleSat Rotor Controller" by Tom Doyle, W9KE may be of particular interest to AMSAT satellite stations. Tom's controller uses the Yaesu GS232 command set to control a Yaesu G5500 AzEl rotor. The controller was designed to be compatible with the SatPC32 tracking program and should work with any tracking program that supports the Yaesu GS232 format. (CQ-DATV Magazine via e-mail) + The Nashua Area Radio Society, N1FD has written a blog about their work in supporting Hudson Memorial School (HMS) in their bid to secure and hold an ISS Crew Contact. https://www.n1fd.org/2019/01/01/iss-crew-contact-journey/ + An NPR radio news feature discusses, "What's Next For Tiny Satellites?". about NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab's Marco cubesats that accompanied the InSight lander mission to Mars. JPL says their next cubesat mission will be a solar sail flight to a near Earth asteroid. Read and listen at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-NPR-CubeSat-News + Good coverage for amateur radio and amateur satellites appeared in the Shropshire Star newspaper's ooverage of the Wellington Young- sters on the Air event, that saw young people talking to others from across the world, all under expert supervision. It was one of the events organised by Telford and District Amateur Radio Society to help attract younger people to the world of 'ham' radio. Read the article at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-UK-YOTA (AMSAT-UK) + Bookings for the AMSAT SA Space Symposium are now open. The Symposium will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at the Accolade Conference Centre in Midrand, South Africa. The rate will be R400 per person for AMSAT SA and SARL members and R600 for non-members. There is an early bird rate of R350 for AMSATSA and SARL Members, if booked and paid for by February 28, 2019. Accommodation is also available at the hotel at R855 plus VAT. More details on www.amsatsa.org.za + A calendar of upcoming astronomical events, launches, and space- craft operations available as Google or iOS calendars: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-NYTimes-Astro-Calendar + Greg, W4GHW, program coordinator for the Coastal Plains ARC, sent a request for a presentation on any amateur satellites at their club. They meet in Tifton, Georgia on the second Saturday of each month. If you can help please e-mail Greg at w4ghw(a)arrl.net + A paper is available for downloading which may be of interest regard- ing telemetry: "Easy-to-Build Satellite Beacon Receiver for Propa- gation Experimentation at Millimeter Bands" can be accessed at: http://tinyurl.com/ANS-006-Millimeter-Telemetry + There are some amateur radio connections with the New Horizons probe which had a successful flyby of Ultima Thule on January 1. Lee, KT4TZ worked on the launch in 2006. Dan, N8FGV works on the New Horizons team now. [ANS thanks everyone 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 and remember to behave and to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM k9jkm at amsat dot org

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Pembroke Junior Senior High School, Corfu, NY
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 05 Jan '19

05 Jan '19

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Pembroke Junior Senior High School, Corfu, NY on 08 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 15:28 UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10 minutes before this time.The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between NA1SS and LU8YY. The contact should be audible over portions of Argentina and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Pembroke Junior Senior High School is a comprehensive public high school enrolling approximately 450 students in grades 7 through 12. It is located in the rural community of Pembroke, New York, midway between Buffalo and Rochester. In 2017, Pembroke was recognized by Business First as 3rd Most Over-Achieving School in Western New York out of the 96 schools assessed. We work diligently to provide challenging and rigorous courses that meet the diverse needs of our students. For a small school, we pride ourselves on offering an extensive selection of high-level classes and acceleration to our students. We also offer a variety of extracurricular opportunities for students in athletics, arts, science, and technology. Many of our students are very well rounded as a result of being involved in multiple sports, clubs, and music groups. Many of our students also volunteer and fundraise for multiple nonprofit organizations in Western New York. We have strong bonds with our community and are known for being able to do a lot with a little. We have enjoyed working with local amateur radio enthusiasts who have enhanced our STEM curriculum and have expanded our knowledge outside of the classroom particularly in sharing the wide range of fields that use radio communication. We have been eagerly anticipating our contact by keeping up with the events related to the International Space Station and can't wait to speak with David Saint-Jacques. We look forward to hearing about his experience so far as a new crew member on the ISS. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Did you always know that you wanted to become an astronaut? 2. What do you do for fun while you are in space? 3. What items did you bring with you to space? 4. What food do you miss the most? 5. What does it feel like to exit the atmosphere? 6. How do you know if it is day or night on the ISS? 7. What surprised you the most when you arrived at the space station, or has it been just as you expected? 8. To help us understand the size of the space station, can you compare it to the size of something on Earth? 9. Do you follow Eastern Standard Time in space? 10. What is the most difficult everyday activity or task to complete in space? 11. How do you clean up spills and messes in space? 12. Does the space station help to predict weather? 13. How do you prepare for the lack of gravity that you experience in space? 14. Which do you enjoy more, being in space or on Earth? 15. Do you celebrate Christmas or other holidays on the space station? 16. How do you maintain your water supply in space? 17. Can you spot specific constellations from space? 18. How would you take care of an open wound in space? 19. What equipment do you use to contact your family? 20. How do you exercise in space? 21. What is your favorite part about being on the ISS? 22. What do you believe is the future for manned spaceflight? 23. Who inspired you to become an astronaut? 24. How does a flame act in space? 25. What is the coolest thing you have seen on Earth from space? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): TBD 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), the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) and 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, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-01-05 22:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 05 Jan '19

05 Jan '19

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-01-05 22:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Pembroke Junior Senior High School, Corfu, NY, telebridge via LU8YY The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is David St-Jacques KG5FYI Contact is go for: Tue 2019-01-08 15:28:49 UTC 32 deg The ISS Fan Club website has now changed. (***) The ISS Fan Club website is: http://www.issfanclub.eu (***) ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS-US program’s education proposal window open Oct. 1 - Nov. 30, 2018 has now closed. The next window should go open in the spring of 2019. The ARISS webpage is at http://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, click here. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Keigo Komuro, JA1KAB, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) ****************************************************************************** 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: Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 135 Francesco IKØWGF with 132 Gaston ON4WF with 123 Sergey RV3DR with 108 **************************************************************************** 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 2018-12-31 19:30 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 1285. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1228. 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: 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 2018-12-14 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_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. 58 on orbit Oleg Konenenko David St-Jacques KG5FYI Anne McClain **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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