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

Field Day 2020
by Bruce 24 Sep '20

24 Sep '20

For those interested in results, I have posted the results on the AMSAT web site. You can either click this direct link https://www.amsat.org/field-day-2020-results/ or Click on Events, Field Day and Field Day 2020 Results I carried the satellite info for 10 years 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Member 2016-2022 ARRL Awards Field Checker (WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0100z on Echolink - Conference *AMSAT* Also live streaming MP3 at http://www.amsatnet.com Podcast at http://www.amsatnet.com/podcast.xml or iTunes Latest satellite news on the ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org AMSAT on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/amsat

1 0

Re: [amsat-bb] Election Results??
by Jim Walls 24 Sep '20

24 Sep '20

On 09/24/2020 06:02, Tanner Jones via AMSAT-BB wrote: > Interesting... I don’t think I received the separate email, but I did catch it in the ANS. > Neither did I (receive it via AMSAT-BB). But I did it via ANS. -- 73 ------------------------------------- Jim Walls - K6CCC jim(a)k6ccc.org Ofc: 818-548-4804 http://members.dslextreme.com/users/k6ccc/ AMSAT Member 32537 - WSWSS Member 395

2 1

Election Results??
by Joe Leikhim 24 Sep '20

24 Sep '20

Have election results been tallied??? -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

3 2

70 cm Lindenblad progress - notable support structure for parasitic elements
by Curt Laumann 24 Sep '20

24 Sep '20

Hi All, Over the past few months I've been designing & assembling a few 70 cm Lindenblads. The current version is shown in the attached picture (link below). Arrow shafts are used for parasitic elements. The shafts are bonded in place with fiberglass resin. Rubber end caps (from McMaster) cover the shaft ends. The notable part of this design is the central structure (supporting parasitic elements) is 3D printed as *one part*. Virtually all of the angles and spacings are achieved in the 3D printing process. After struggling to align and bond various PVC and irrigation parts in other versions, it was a breeze to assemble this design: one nylon machine screw, one nut, four bonding points. The design could be easily modified to accommodate 0.125 inch diameter parasitic elements as well. Regards, Curt / K7ZOO Tucson AZ https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i2c6T5lZtI00KChbJuyphvvechzBvlNw/view?usp=…

8 11

Elections
by Clint Bradford 22 Sep '20

22 Sep '20

BOB>> … [someone else] also ran so this move by me doesn't leave AMSAT without a second alternate. The electorate spoke. It is YOU who was needed. Please reconsider - and serve AMSAT-NA in that capacity. Please do NOT let the choice of the voters slip away … Clint Bradford K6LCS

1 0

What's the deal with having to pay to access Symposium Proceedings?
by Bill Gaylord 22 Sep '20

22 Sep '20

What's the deal with having to pay to access the Symposium Proceedings? Shouldn't these documents be open to members or is there something I am missing? As I have been pointed to look at the Symposium Proceedings a few times while looking into how the Fox Sats work. William Gaylord KD9KCK

2 1

Re: [amsat-bb] Regarding election results, How many members does AMSAT have?
by Bruce Perens 21 Sep '20

21 Sep '20

I think we should open a mailing list on the ORI side for satellite operators. Because obviously AMSAT isn't the only US satellite organization, so you shouldn't have to feel alienated out of a piece of your hobby just because AMSAT makes a choice. I'll get that done and then announce it. There already is the "ground station" mailing list where most engineering discussion takes place. Thanks Bruce On Mon, Sep 21, 2020, 1:45 PM Michael Tondee <mat_62(a)charter.net> wrote: > Is that a matter of public record? Looking at the vote totals of the > election is what made me ponder the question. I'll be quietly moving on > now and enjoying other aspects of the ham hobby but I'm really curious > what your membership totals are and what the percentage of turnout was > for what was such an important election. > > 73, > > Michael, W4HIJ > >

1 0

Major Grant for Open Source Amateur Radio Satellite Service Work
by Michelle Thompson 21 Sep '20

21 Sep '20

I'm very happy to announce that two grants have been made for open source amateur radio satellite work. This closes out an extraordinarily successful summer of regulatory progress, published designs, community development, and fundraising. All of this work directly benefits AMSAT. It benefits AMSAT regardless of whether it's ignored in the short term, attacked, ridiculed, or stolen. One of the new grants, for $4200, is for AmbaSat-inspired nanosat microwave designs. These lightweight designs will be useful for high-altitude balloons as well as space. Intended for University level education, this project will produce repeatable and manufacturable open source designs. The other grant is for $507,020. It is for the second phase of engineering work for the complete digital ground station and payload design. This grant took 14 months of very hard work to obtain. All are welcome to participate. All work is published in a way that makes it accessible to the general public at no cost, with standard licensing and full compliance with all regulations. A third grant, for Rent-a-GEO, is still under review. You can look back through the archives to find out more about that proposal. AMSAT leaders were informed of these grant applications. AMSAT was informed and invited to be part of the Commodity Jurisdiction Request, in writing, multiple times. AMSAT members were invited to contribute, review, participate, comment, and critique the grant proposal. Many members did. The process of writing the grants has been open, with workshops at major amateur events, recruitment of a committee from a diverse technical background, forum presentations, paper presentations, hardware experiments, work carried out on a public mailing list, and so on. There were at least six significant re-writes based on unflinching feedback from the community, ARDC technical review board, and committee members. That is what "very hard work" means. Before the transponder grant was awarded, ORI board offered a technical support contract that would share all funds with AMSAT/ARISS/AREx. As long as the work was mutually beneficial, the funds would be openly available to AREx. That contract can be found here: https://github.com/phase4ground/documents/blob/master/Papers_Articles_Prese… This was presented as a starting point draft, open to negotiation and tailoring. However, it was declined without an explanation. This is not the only negative response to fundraising and regulatory work from AMSAT. Attacks against the landmark Commodity Jurisdiction Request, personal attacks by leadership on anyone associated with this grant, and the open ridicule of the previous YASME, ARRL Foundation, and ARDC grants seem to be what a bit more than half of members want. That is certainly what AMSAT leadership is currently providing. Calling successful engineers that have dozens of projects in space "liars" and "grifters", and shrieking that this grant is going to be "completely wasted" by an AMSAT member society while sharing photos of cash on fire on social media, is not a great look for the Executive Vice President of AMSAT. Ridiculing a desperately needed Final Determination letter from the State Department as a "self-indulgent publicity stunt" is a shockingly stupid thing for the VP of Engineering to publicly state. Rejecting written offers of six-figure fundraising support, and rejecting dozens of competent volunteer recruits' free labor, seems kind of dumb to me. AMSAT would be in great shape if it took advantage of the gifts of time, talent, and treasure that have been consistently and freely offered. Instead, we have a raft of resignations, continued silence, and ugly memes. In looking at the low numbers of AMSAT voters, it may seem kind of silly to keep showing up with seriously needed solutions (ITAR/EAR, several world's-first technical advancements, major funds) when they are rejected so clumsily. However, just because it seems silly now, does not mean it is wrong to keep trying. Nearly half of voters wanted open source and a return to technical leadership this year. This is a huge increase looking at the past three years (from zero!) and is extremely good news. Unfortunately, this time around, non-technical and litigious leadership managed to keep their seats. However, the trend is clear, the regulatory framework has changed, and open source work is rapidly leapfrogging opaque, authoritarian, and exclusionary mindsets. There is a very bright future unfolding. Do you want to make a difference? Consider running for the board. The time to start preparing for 2021 is now. It's well worth the effort and time. If I can make the difference that I have in the past year, in terms of regulatory work, technical work, and fundraising, just imagine what you can do! There has never been a better time to get into amateur microwave, digital design, FPGAs, and space. -Michelle W5NYV

2 1

The AMSAT Journal, July/August 2020
by Robert Bankston 21 Sep '20

21 Sep '20

Due to COVID-19, the July/August 2020 issue of The AMSAT Journal will only be available to members on AMSAT’s Member Portal. Please visit launch.amsat.org to view/download your copy today. The AMSAT Journal is a bi-monthly magazine for amateur radio in space enthusiasts, published by the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT). Each issue is your source for hardware and software projects, technical tips, STEM initiatives, operational activities, and news from around the world. Inside the Current Issue: Engineering Update Jerry Buxton N0JY User Services Update Robert Bankston KE4AL Treasurer's Report Robert Bankston KE4AL Educational Relations Update Alan Johnston KU2Y AMSAT Field Day 2020 Bruce Paige KK5DO For Beginners — Amateur Radio Satellite Primer VI Keith Baker KB1SF/VE2KSF Satellite Cyber Threats Omar Álvarez-Cárdenas XE1AO; Miguel A. García-Ruiz VE3BKM; Margarita G. MayoralBaldivia XE1BMG; Raúl T. Aquino-Santos (SWL) Integration of a Distributed Ground Station Network M.A.Mendoza-Bárcenas (SWL); Rafael Prieto-Meléndez (SWL); Alejandro Padrón-Godínez (SWL); Gerardo Calva-Olmos (SWL), Omar Álvarez-Cárdenas XE1AO; Margarita G. Mayoral-Baldivia XE1BMG; Alfonso TamezRodríguez XE2O Satellite Antenna Tracking Using Goto Telescope Mounts Dwayne Sinclair NA6US Not an AMSAT member? Visit launch.amsat.org and JOIN TODAY! Robert Bankston, KE4AL Vice-President, User Services Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)

2 1

UT1FG/MM QSL Confirmations
by john＠papays.com 21 Sep '20

21 Sep '20

Yuri, UT1FG/MM, is back on the Goldeneye and is sailing from Columbia to Jacksonville Florida today, September 21, 2020. At Jacksonville he will have a good opportunity to mail out confirmations from last season as well as others prior. Please follow the procedure at papays.com/sat and email your pdf's to me. I will forward them to Yuri. If you have sent pdf's in the past and not received an answer, please send them again. As he gets closer to Jacksonville, he will not be able to work on the confirmations so please get your requests in now. That way you will have a better chance at getting the confirmations mailed. 73, John K8YSE

1 0