October 2020 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

ARISS Inquiry
by David Jordan 23 Oct '20

23 Oct '20

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is seekingLuther Burbank School alumni, families or staff who participated in the hamradio contact with Bill Shepherd on Dec. 21 2000. This is the 20th year since thatevent and ARISS would like to celebrate. Please contact Charlie Sufana AJ9N at aj9n(a)aol.com for more info.

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EN91/FN01 Results
by Bob Liddy (K8BL) 22 Oct '20

22 Oct '20

Gridders, These Calls were uploaded from today's rove to EN91/FN01: AA0QE WE4B W0NBC KB6LTY NS3L W5RKN KQ4DO N4DA WB8PFZ NR1Z KN2K VE1VOX NP4C AC9O K4DCA NM3B W3OFD KB9STR K0JM KD8GBZ N2FYA K5TA W8LR K5IX KF0QS K5ZM W7QL WY7AA WB4LHD WA9JBQ KI7UXT If any is botched or missing, send me an e-mail and I'll re-check my recording with your details. All have now been uploaded to LoTW. TNX/73, Bob K8BL

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ICOM 9700 on FalconSat-3
by Tony 22 Oct '20

22 Oct '20

All: Is anyone using the ICOM 9700 to work FalconSat-3 with either a hardware or sound card modem? If so, can you please elaborate on your setup? The manual is a bit vague on 9600 baud operation. 73, Tony

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-10-22 18:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 22 Oct '20

22 Oct '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-10-22 18:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: TBD ************************************************************************************************************* The latest information on the operation mode can be found at https://www.ariss.org/current-status-of-iss-stations.html (***) The latest list of frequencies in use can be found at https://www.ariss.org/contact-the-iss.html (***) Exp. 62 now back on earth. (***) Congratulations to the entire crew on a job well done! (***) Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner Exp. 63 now on orbit (***) No ARISS school contacts are planned until at least 2020-11-30 (***) Kate Rubins KG5FYJ Sergey Ryzhikov Sergey Kud-Sverchkov ######################################################################################################################################## A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. **************************************************************************************************************************************** ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, I will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates. Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements at https://www.ariss.org/ The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No new schools Cancelled: No new schools **************************************************************************************************************************************** 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 2020-10-22 18:00 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. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2020-10-14 18:00 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between July 1, 2021 and December 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is November 24th, 2020. Proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and the proposal form can be found at www.ariss.org. An ARISS Introductory Webinar session will be held on October 8, 2020 at 8PM ET. The Eventbrite link to sign up is: https://ariss-proposal-webinar-fall-2020.eventbrite.com The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations’ volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. For future proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. 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 ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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, go to: https://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) https://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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 unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* 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 https://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? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. 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 The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 138 Sergey RV3DR with 137 Gaston ON4WF with 123 **************************************************************************** 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. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1403. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1336. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. 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: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 62 now back on earth. (***) Congratulations to the entire crew on a job well done! (***) Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner Exp. 63 now on orbit (***) No ARISS school contacts are planned until at least 2020-11-30 (***) Kate Rubins KG5FYJ Sergey Ryzhikov Sergey Kud-Sverchkov **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-10-22 04:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 21 Oct '20

21 Oct '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-10-22 04:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: TBD ************************************************************************************************************* There is a new radio on board the ISS. The Kenwood D710GA is now in use. The crossband repeater is now available when the radio is not being used for ARISS school contacts. The frequencies are 145.99 MHz up (67 tone) and 437.800 MHz down. Watch the Doppler on the downlink. ######################################################################################################################################## A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. ************************************************* ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, I will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates. The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No new schools Cancelled: No new schools The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements here also. Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) 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 2020-10-22 04:00 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. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2020-10-14 18:00 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS anticipates that the contact would be held between July 1, 2021 and December 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The deadline to submit a proposal is November 24th, 2020. Proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and the proposal form can be found at www.ariss.org. An ARISS Introductory Webinar session will be held on October 8, 2020 at 8PM ET. The Eventbrite link to sign up is: https://ariss-proposal-webinar-fall-2020.eventbrite.com The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations’ volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. For future proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. 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 ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. ******************************************************************************** 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, go to: https://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) https://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ ****************************************************************************** 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 https://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? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. 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 The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 138 Sergey RV3DR with 137 Gaston ON4WF with 123 **************************************************************************** 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. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1403. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1336. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. https://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: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 62 now on orbit Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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EN91/FN01 Line
by Bob Liddy (K8BL) 21 Oct '20

21 Oct '20

I need to run over to PA tomorrow and I'll have a chance to activate the EN91/FN01 Line. Not sure of the timing, but I'll pop up on a few FM & Linear SATs. All Qs will be on LoTW a day or so afterward. ...de Bob K8BL

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2020 AMSAT Symposium - Great Job All Around!
by kc4le＠arrl.net 21 Oct '20

21 Oct '20

Thanks to all of those who contributed their time and talents for this event. Clearly, a lot of work went into organizing the symposium, writing the papers, preparing the presentations and compiling the proceedings. Already looking forward to Minneapolis... Red KC4LE

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Virtual Ham Expo March 2021
by tjschuessler＠verizon.net 21 Oct '20

21 Oct '20

The Virtual Ham Expo is soliciting speakers for the next event in March of 2021. I presented at the one back in August and have signed up again. I wanted to see if someone from AMSAT or Field Ops would like to join me as a co-presenter. I would like to see if we can create a better than last year presentation. Please let me know if you are interested. The presentation part is pre-recorded so editing a video is a good way to go beyond PowerPoint. There is also a Q&A session is live on Zoom. I had 130+ in the Q&A session back in August. Last year, I added a video of working RS-44 from my Driveway. Other things could be done as well. Also they do have an "Exhibit hall" which is a "Pay for your space" deal, but perhaps AMSAT would like to buy a space and we could coordinate a group of us to work the virtual table through the weekend. That would be a good way to help bring personal interaction as is always the case for events like Hamcation, Hamvention and Ham-Com. Now is the time to begin planning and arranging, not 2 weeks before. Let me know what you think and maybe we can investigate further. Tom Schuessler, N5HYP EM12ms

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Kenwood TS-2000 And Falconsat-3
by Tony 21 Oct '20

21 Oct '20

All: Is anyone using the Kenwood TS-2000 to work FalconSat-3? It's been a while, but I believe I used the internal modem to work GO-32 years ago before I sold my Kenwood. If I'm not mistaken, the latest TS-2K's still have the built-in modem. Tony

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70cm Lindy design files & construction notes available on Thingiverse
by Curt Laumann 21 Oct '20

21 Oct '20

Hi All! Over the last couple of months I’ve been having a lot of fun with 3D printing and design, working to make a 70cm parasitic Lindenblad that is easy to manufacture and assemble. I’d like to share the design files with the amateur community, inviting people to build and improve on this design. This design heavily leverages the previous excellent work by Tony Monteiro (AA2TX), who created and published the paper: “A Parasitic Lindenblad Antenna for 70cm” AMSAT Proceedings 2006. The AA2TX design uses a central driven dipole surrounded by four tilted parasitic elements. One of the biggest challenges to construct the AA2TX design is holding the parasitic elements in the crazy geometry defined by a Lindenblad configuration. The AA2TX design used irrigation parts, requiring careful alignment by hand and tedious bonding operations. Today with the availability of 3D printing it is possible to remove literally all the critical alignments, designing these spacings and angles into the 3D printed part! Design files, pictures and construction notes can be found on Thingiverse (search for my call sign K7ZOO). I welcome any ideas for improvement and would really enjoy seeing the results of any construction efforts. de K7ZOO

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Rocket Lab launch postponed until tomorrow
by Wendy and Terry Osborne 20 Oct '20

20 Oct '20

Weather at the Launch site was not good today :(. They are going to try again tomorrow see: https://twitter.com/RocketLab/status/1318041165669699584 73, Terry Osborne ZL2BAC

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Get ready for more space junk
by Zach Metzinger 20 Oct '20

20 Oct '20

Everyone is rushing to put The Cloud into LEO, it seems. This morning's WSJ: "Microsoft Teams With Elon Musk’s SpaceX to Push Cloud Battle With Amazon Into Orbit" https://tinyurl.com/y4q6uy5w > Microsoft would help connect and deploy new services using swarms of > low-orbit spacecraft being proposed by SpaceX, and more traditional > fleets of satellites circling the earth at higher altitudes. > Microsoft’s initiative targeting commercial and government space > businesses, formally launched Tuesday, comes about three months after > Amazon Web Services, the e-retailer’s cloud unit, disclosed its > space-focused effort. Shorter story here, too: https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/microsoft-teams-with-elon-musks-spac… --- Zach N0ZGO

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RS-44
by Glenn Miller AA5PK 20 Oct '20

20 Oct '20

Worked XE2YWH on RS-44 this morning. Good to hear it's back. Glenn AA5PK

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PO-101
by Chris Pohlad-Thomas 20 Oct '20

20 Oct '20

So, I've not worked PO-101 before, but when I tried to earlier I was getting no voice. I checked on Satnogs and it appears the same for others with this. Are they not doing FM Voice right now? -- Chris Pohlad-Thomas

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G5500 left turn relay failure
by k.swaggart＠charter.net 19 Oct '20

19 Oct '20

My G5500 control box won't command the rotor left, but right works fine. No voltage to the #4 connector when I press "left", but if I put some pressure on the relay the voltage intermittently returns. So, guess the relay contacts are dirty. Looking at the schematic it looks like both the right and left relays are the same, but use different connections. So. thinking I'll just remove and the two and swap relays. (This unit has been in daily use since 2002!) Are these relays available from Yaesu or someone in the US? Did a quick Google and DigiKey search but didn't find them. Just noticed there is a little lid on the top of the relay. When I popped that open there is a lot of black residue on the inside of the lid and I just might be able to clean the contact! Ken, W7KKE

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JN15 by F4DXV Monday 19Oct 2000utc RS-44
by john＠papays.com 19 Oct '20

19 Oct '20

jerome, F4DXV, will be operating from a 1500M summit in JN15jo on Monday, 19 October at 2000UTC on RS-44 specifically for North America. The operation has been planned around the coverage of this specific pass such that much of eastern North America will have an excellent chance for a contact with this rare grid. The last 200M of elevation to the summit is on foot. Jerome will arrive at the summit in daylight but will make the descent back to the road after this pass in darkness. Weather may also be an issue. This is not a walk on the beach. Jerome is an experienced operator and will do his best to work everyone that can hear him. Good Luck. 73, John K8YSE

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RS-44 status
by Ronald Parsons 19 Oct '20

19 Oct '20

There has been no active status on RS-4 since 1300Z. Did I miss Ron W5RKN

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AO7 reports requested please!
by andy thomas 19 Oct '20

19 Oct '20

hi I am uplinking a qrp cw (attended) beacon on 145.900 today onto AO7 mode A, and would appreciate any swl reports, it's a bit chirpy! Will e-qsl too. I plan to uplink at around 14:40 (east of me)and also 16:32 (west) local time. many thanks andy g0sfj

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FO-29 operation schedule for Nov. 2020
by JH3XCU 19 Oct '20

19 Oct '20

FO-29 operation schedule for Nov. 2020 Time in UTC Nov. 1 03:15- Nov. 3 01:30- 03:10- Nov. 7 01:15- 03:00- Nov. 8 03:50- Nov.14 01:50- 03:35- Nov.15 02:40- 04:28- Nov.21 02:25- 04:10- Nov.22 03:15- 05:05- Nov.23 02:20- 04:05- Nov.28 01:15- 03:00- Nov.29 02:05- 03:50- https://www.jarl.org/Japanese/3_Fuji/fuji3-201907.htm 73, Hideo - JH3XCU

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CAS4 A &B
by Andy Brian 19 Oct '20

19 Oct '20

Hi, Why CAS4A and CAS4B are not included in amateur.txt on celestrack.com? BR Andy

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Help For Abbreviations Etc.
by Gerald Payton 18 Oct '20

18 Oct '20

Abbreviations and acronyms are a real headache for me from time to time. I was told that in the past the AMSAT Journal sometimes printed a table of abbreviations used frequently. I have some Journals from Sept/Oct 2019 to current issue, but do not include such table. Is there such table available and where may I find it, please? I listen to Saturday's Symposium and was overwhelmed with the terms used. I wrote down and looked up later a few of the terms. I realize that it probably take time to learn, but a list or table would help! Thanks, and 73 to all. Gerald "Jerry" Payton AB5R EM12kh

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AO-92
by Chris Pohlad-Thomas 18 Oct '20

18 Oct '20

So I just learned today that AO-92 is dead. Does anyone know what happened? -- Chris Pohlad-Thomas

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Congratulations to 2020-2021 AMSAT Officers
by Clayton Coleman W5PFG 18 Oct '20

18 Oct '20

I'm excited for the upcoming year at AMSAT. Congratulations to our new Officers and recently installed Directors. It's a great team. There is no shortage of opportunities for growth at AMSAT. If you are contemplating volunteering at AMSAT, there has never been a greater time. I appreciate each of you who've reached out to me over the past year with words of support and encouragement. 73 Clayton W5PFG Immediate Past President (2020), AMSAT

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ANS-292.02 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT Board of Directors Elects Robert Bankston, KE4AL, President
by Paul Stoetzer 18 Oct '20

18 Oct '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-292.02 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: SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292.02 ANS-292.02 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 292.02 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE October 18, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-292.02 * AMSAT Board of Directors Elects Robert Bankston, KE4AL, President At its annual meeting, the AMSAT Board of Directors elected Robert Bankston, KE4AL, of Dothan, AL, President, succeeding Clayton Coleman, W5PFG. Bankston is a Life Member of AMSAT and has previously served as Treasurer and Vice-President User Services, as well as volunteering in several other capacities for AMSAT, including the development and launch of AMSAT’s online member portal and chairing the 2018 AMSAT Space Symposium held at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, in Huntsville, Alabama. He also is an ARRL Life Member and holds an Extra Class license. Immediate Past President Clayton Coleman, W5PFG, said “It has been both a joy and privilege to serve as President of AMSAT in 2020. In what has been a rather difficult year for many individuals in amateur radio, AMSAT, through its many supportive members, volunteers, and donors, has continued course on our vision of Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. With our initiatives such as modernizing the AMSAT office with a self-service member portal and the Linear Transponder Module, the organization has moved forward. With the talented and capable individuals sitting on AMSAT’s new Board and its Officers, I am confident in a bright future ahead for AMSAT and the amateur radio satellite service.“ Other officers elected by the Board were: • Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, of Washington, DC, as Executive Vice President • Jerry Buxton, N0JY, of Granbury, TX, as Vice-President - Engineering • Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, of Brooksville, FL, as Vice President - Operations • Jeff Davis, KE9V, of Muncie, IN, as Secretary • Steve Belter, N9IP, of West Lafayette, IN, as Treasurer • Martha Saragovitz, of Silver Spring, MD, as Manager • Alan Johnston, KU2Y, of Philadelphia, PA, as Vice President - Educational Relations • Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, of Burnsville, MN, as Vice President - Development [ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors 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. President's Club donations may be made at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-PresClub. 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. Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space, This week's ANS Contributing Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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Frequency Guide
by Chris Pohlad-Thomas 18 Oct '20

18 Oct '20

Does anyone know where I can access the most recent frequency guide from AMSAT? Mine from May 2020 might still be the most up to date but I'd like to know for the future. -- Chris Pohlad-Thomas

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