July 2023 - AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

ANS-197 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for July 16
by Mark Johns, K0JM 16 Jul '23

16 Jul '23

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-197 In this edition: * AMSAT Board of Directors Voting Has Begun * Youth on the Air Camp 2023 To Be On Satellites * HABGab and StratoScience Balloon Launch * Space Shuttle Remembered * Historical Space Tour Before Orlando Hamcation * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution * ARISS-USA Seeks for Director of Education * ARISS News * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Satellite Shorts From All Over The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information service of AMSAT, 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: https://mailman.amsat.org/postorius/lists/ans.amsat.org/ ANS-197 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins To: All RADIO AMATEURS From: Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation 712 H Street NE, Suite 1653 Washington, DC 20002 DATE 2023 July 16 AMSAT Board of Directors Voting Has Begun AMSAT members may access the 2023 Board of Directors election information and balloting now. Candidate statements can be reviewed by voting members via AMSAT’s Wild Apricot membership portal. An email with a link to the electronic ballot was sent to all AMSAT members when the voting opened on July 15th. The nomination period for the 2023 Board of Directors Election ended on June 15, 2023. The following candidates have been duly nominated: Barry Baines, WD4ASW Jerry Buxton, N0JY Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Zach Metzinger, N0ZGO Frank Karnauskas, N1UW As four seats on the Board of Directors are up for election this year, four of these candidates will be seated on the Board, along with one alternate when the voting period concludes on September 15th. To view the candidate statements members may go to https://launch.amsat.org/ and log in using their usual member credentials. Those who need assistance with the login should see the document at https://bit.ly/44LOXPV [ANS thanks Jeff Davis, KE9V, AMSAT Secretary, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The 2023 AMSAT President's Club coins are here now! To commemorate the 40th anniversary of its launch on June 16, 1983, this year's coin features an image of AMSAT-OSCAR 10. Join the AMSAT President's Club today and help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! https://www.amsat.org/join-the-amsat-presidents-club/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Youth on the Air Camp 2023 To Be On Satellites Youth on the Air (YOTA), the camp for young amateur radio operators in North, Central and South America, will operate special event station VE3YOTA while camp is in session from July 16-21, 2023. The camp will also have a contact with an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, and complete a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation. The camp's opening and closing ceremonies will also be streamed on YouTube. Campers will be operating special event station VE3YOTA from the camp at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and the Diefenbunker Cold War Museum in Carp, Ontario, Canada. Additionally, campers will activate a two-for-one POTA location. Activation of the VE3YOTA callsign will begin on Sunday, July 16 and conclude at 2 p.m. on Friday, July 21. Youth will operate the station as they finish projects, between sessions, and during free time. In addition, dedicated HF station operating times will be: Monday, July 17 through Wednesday, July 19 from 2300Z to 0230Z (7 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT). Dedicated satellite station operating time will be: Wednesday, July 19 from 1400Z to 1700Z (10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT). Fifteen QRP stations will activate a two-for-one POTA location, Central Experimental Farm National Historic Site (VE-5095) and Rideau Canal National Historic Site (VE-4882) on 40m, 20m, 15m, and 10m. Weather permitting, the activation will be on the air on Tuesday, July 18 from 1900Z to 2100Z (3 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT) and Thursday, July 20 from 1300Z to 1600Z (9 a.m. to noon EDT). The opening and closing ceremonies and the International Space Station contact will be streamed live on the Youth on the Air YouTube channel. The opening ceremony is Sunday, July 16 from 2100Z to 2315Z, and will feature keynote speaker Phil McBride, VA3QR, the president of Radio Amateurs of Canada. The ARISS contact is currently scheduled to take place on Tuesday, July 18 at 1842Z (2:42 p.m. EDT). The closing ceremony is Friday, July 21 from 1500Z to 1600Z (11 a.m. to noon EDT). The channel will also feature a daily highlight video spotlighting the activities of the previous day. For details about the camp, visit https://youthontheair.org/ For additional information, please contact Camp Director Neil Rapp, WB9VPG at director(a)youthontheair.org. [ANS thanks Frank Karnauskas, N1UW, and YOTA for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Need new satellite antennas? Purchase Arrows, Alaskan Arrows, and M2 LEO-Packs from the AMSAT Store. When you purchase through AMSAT, a portion of the proceeds goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space. https://amsat.org/product-category/hardware/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ HABGab and StratoScience Balloon Launch HABGab 2023 is a special event for the ham radio community in New England taking place in the Summer of 2023. Attached to a 2000g weather balloon will be suspended three payloads: + One will contain a crossband UHF/VHF repeater, built from two linked Baofeng BF-F8HP HTs. This repeater will act as a 2-3 hr. one-time event for hams around New England. Anyone with a ham radio license is invited to try calling into the repeater during the flight. + To make it even more exciting, the second payload will transmit live video of the flight from two cameras. The camera feed and repeater audio will be streamed live on YouTube from New England Sci-Tech. + The third payload will contain a number of science and engineering experiments from middle school students at New England Sci-Tech and Franklin’s BFCCPS school as part of a new program called StratoScience Lab. Each weekend starting in July will be a new potential opportunity for flight, however, much depends on good weather and wind patterns. Current launch date set for Sunday, July 16. Please check https://nescitech.org/clubs/newbs/habgab-launch/ regularly as the launch date approaches to get an up to date countdown. High altitude balloon flights can be frequently scrubbed many times before finally launching. During the flight, the balloon’s real-time position will be available online at https://amateur.sondehub.org under the callsign W1U. The repeater’s frequencies are currently set to: Uplink (your transmit): 146.55 MHz Downlink (your receive): 446.05 MHz When calling in, listen for the W1U station operator then try to making a contact! Please have your four character Maidenhead grid location for the contact exchange. If your contact is confirmed, you will receive a special event QSL card for HABGab 2023! The HABGab and StratoScience payloads will have several ham radio trackers aboard, which provide live position and altitude data to ground stations. These ground stations post this data to the internet in real time. This means you can view the position of the payload at any time during the flight by visiting this website, https://amateur.sondehub.org/, navigating to Massachusetts, and looking for these callsigns: W1U – Main payload (transmitted by repurposed RS-41 radiosonde) W1U-15 – Main payload (transmitted by custom-built APRS transmitter) W0MXX-15 – Autorotation device. A small, unpowered helicopter that will separate from main payload at 81,000 feet and descend to the ground using autorotation. Tracker is a LightAPRS module. KC1SFR-11 – Glider that will separate from main payload at 80,000 feet and glide back to the ground. It will also deploy a parachute at roughly 3,000 feet. Also onboard will be a U4B Pico tracker being tested by KC1OAV in preparation for a circumnavigation flight to happen at a later date. This can be tracked separately at http://qrp-labs.com/tracking.html under the name NESciTech1. HABGab 2023 has been made possible thanks to a grant from the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL). [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, and New England Sci-Tech for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Space Shuttle Remembered Saturday, July 8 marked the 12th anniversary of the last Space Shuttle mission. Ham astronauts operated amateur radio in space on a number of shuttle missions, providing many with their first opportunity to contact an astronaut in space -- an opportunity still actively pursued today through Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). Over three decades, the five NASA space shuttles were launched on 135 flights to orbit. The shuttles collectively traveled more than 537 million miles and spent more than three and half years in orbit. * 355 people flew aboard the shuttles, including Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly to space. Her first mission was aboard the Challenger in 1983. * Missions averaged about 10 days, with the shortest at 2 days, 6 hours and the longest 17 days, 15 hours. * Mission objective included building the International Space Station, carrying large satellites to space and maintaining equipment like the Hubble Space Telescope. Ten missions remain classified, with little to no information publicly available. Ultimately, the fatalities on Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003 helped bring about the end of the Shuttle program. The investigation in the loss of Columbia concluded that safety improvements would be costly. The program was shut down after construction on the ISS was complete. [ANS thanks Axios Space for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Historical Space Tour Before Orlando Hamcation Sadly, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center, a few years ago, stopped offering historical tours of Cape Canaveral and the sites of the Mercury launches and early uncrewed missions. However, Bruce Perens, K6BP, has arranged for a Canaveral tour on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024 (the day before the Orlando Hamcation) at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Only 9 people can be accomodated, U.S. Citizens only, and there will be a _required_ ID process before the tour. Cost will be about $60 each, and lunch or snacks will be offered between the sites. We will go to: * LC-26, LC-5, and LC-6: the (adjacent) launch sites for much early space exploration including the first crewed flights of Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom. Besides walking around the pads and seeing a number of historical space exhibits there, you will be able to access the firing room and the Space Force Missile Museum. * Hangar C, where there are many restored historical space vehicles and missiles, and the Canaveral lighthouse. We will NOT have access to the Mercury Memorial, LC-14 (restored uncrewed flights firing room), and LC-34 (mostly-torn-down site of the Apollo 1 fire), which were (at times) on the old Rise to Space tour. Activity on the base can force us to cancel or can change or curtail the itinerary. Reserve your spot now via email to bruce(a)perens.com [ANS thanks Bruce Perens, K6BP, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Want to fly the colors on your own grid expedition? Get your AMSAT car flag and other neat stuff from our Zazzle store! 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for July 14 Two Line Elements or TLEs, often referred to as Keplerian elements or keps in the amateur community, are the inputs to the SGP4 standard mathematical model of spacecraft orbits used by most amateur tracking programs. Weekly updates are completely adequate for most amateur satellites. Elements in the TLE bulletin files are updated daily. TLE bulletin files are updated to add or remove satellites as necessary Thursday evenings around 2300 UTC, or more frequently if new high interest satellites are launched. More information may be found at https://www.amsat.org/keplerian-elements-resources/ The following satellite has been added to this week's AMSAT-NA TLE distribution: UmKA 1 (RS40S) NORAD Cat ID 57172 IARU coordinated frequencies 437.625 MHz, 435.825 MHz and 2402.400 MHz (Thanks to Nico Janssen, PA0DLO for identification). [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P, and the AMSAT Orbital Elements page for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS-USA Seeks for Director of Education ARISS-USA, a 501(c)(3) educational and scientific non-profit organization, is seeking an experienced educator with extensive leadership experience to serve as our Director of Education. This is a part-time, remote position in the USA which includes a one-year probationary period. ARISS provides and operates Amateur Radio systems on International Space Station (ISS) and elsewhere to inspire, educate, and engage youth and communities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) and to support ISS backup communications. For more detailed information on ARISS, see the About ARISS-USA section, below, or visit the ARISS web sites: www.ariss.org and www.ariss-usa.org. Responsibilities + ARISS Education Senior Leadership: As the Director of Education, work with the ARISS team to develop strategies and a vision to maintain and expand the educational outcomes of youth that participate in the ARISS experience. + Education Engagement Volunteer Team (EEVT) Leadership: Serve as the leader of the ARISS education engagement volunteer team, fostering passion within the team, recruiting new team members, and ensuring each radio contact opportunity meets ARISS’ objectives of inspiring, engaging, and educating youth in STEAM/STEM and encouraging youth to pursue careers in these fields. + Host Organization Contact Competitive Selection: Coordinate the semi-annual request for proposal (RFP) process to solicit and select host organizations (e.g., schools and informal education organizations) for ARISS astronaut radio contacts. Staff the proposal selection team, maintain RFP selection rubric and RFP process, conduct host organization information sessions, serve as the selection official, and coordinate with the ARISS executive team on endorsement of final selections and on ensuring host organizations and external media are promptly and accurately informed of the results. + ARISS Education Ambassadors (AEA): Recruit, train and guide AEAs, selected from the EEVT ranks. AEAs track their appointed ARISS contact host organizations to gather details and insight into how these contact teams are following their educational objectives as outlined in their proposals. AEAs also gather data to document ARISS contact educational outcomes, including photos, parent permission slips, student engagement descriptions, metrics and post-survey compliance. + Diversity and Inclusion: Develop team strategies that explicitly target improvements in ARISS’ engagement with diverse and underrepresented youth and provide opportunities for these youth that motivate them to pursue STEAM careers. + ARISS Lesson Plans: Create or coordinate the development of lesson plans and educational kits that support the educational outcomes of ARISS host organizations. Compile external lessons that can serve ARISS host organizations, including lessons developed by our NASA and ISS National Lab sponsors. Maintain dedicated areas on the ARISS web site for posting these lessons for distribution. + National Science Standards Alignment: Ensure ARISS education initiatives—including the contact experience, lesson plans, and educational kits—align with National Science Standards. + Metric Collection: Work with the education volunteer team to ensure contact metrics and post-contact surveys are submitted. Conduct post-contact surveys and track survey performance over the course of the program. Present metrics and survey results to ARISS executive team and prepare materials and present results of educational outcomes to sponsors, stakeholders and prospective new partners. + Networking: Participate in meetings, conferences, workshops and other opportunities to convey the educational breadth and depth of the ARISS Experience to space agencies, educators, sponsors, stakeholders, education departments, and federal and state governments. + International Coordination: Work with ARISS educators in other countries to develop best practices and to convey the activities and methods employed by the ARISS-USA educator team. Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities + Demonstrated leadership in a formal or informal education setting. + 3+ years of teaching experience in a formal or informal education environment + Graduation from an accredited college or university with a degree in education, education administration or a related field. + Proficient in the use of virtual technology, including Zoom, and ability to learn other virtual tools, such as Google Meet, Teams, Webex, Dropbox, Google docs and Office 365 products. + Enthusiasm in providing education experiences in the STEAM field. + Enthusiasm learning about amateur radio and wireless technologies and to enthusiastically convey these to educators and youth. + Must be a U.S. citizen. Preferred Knowledge, Skills and Abilities + Basic understanding of amateur radio; possessing an amateur radio license preferred; obtaining an amateur radio license required post-hire. License training will be provided upon hiring. + Educator that has previously conducted an ARISS contact. + Experience and/or ability to work and lead a virtual, distributed, nationwide team. + Experience in coordinating experiences, lessons learned and best practices with ARISS international colleagues. + Experience in coordinating with partners, stakeholders and sponsors. + Experience interfacing with space agencies or space organizations. Location Remote, within the USA. Anticipated Salary Part time, 20-hour per week salary range is $23,000-$34,500 per year, depending upon experience. Hours worked per week and during the day are flexible, as long as the candidate supports meeting engagements, meets deliverable times, and works an average of about 20 hours per week. Other Position Information Candidates accepted into this position will be required to first serve a one-year probationary period. All candidates must be U.S. citizens. To Apply If you are interested in making a difference as an ARISS-USA team member, please send your resume or CV to candidates(a)ariss-usa.org. Include a cover letter explaining your interest in the position and why you are the optimal candidate for this position. All position applications are due no later than midnight (Eastern Daylight Time) July 31, 2023 [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS NEWS Amateurs and others around the world may listen in on contacts between amateurs operating in schools and allowing students to interact with astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station. The downlink frequency on which to listen is 145.800 MHz worldwide. UPCOMING: YOTA 2023, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS and the scheduled crewmember is Steve Bowen, KI5BKB. The ARISS mentor is VE3TBD. Contact is go for: Tue 2023-07-18 18:42:54 UTC, 76 degrees maximum elevation. Watch for Livestream at: YOTA will be using https://youtube.com/live/A5bXZUGifYY?feature=share IK1SLD will start about 15 minutes before AOS at http://www.ariotti.com/ Camp William B. Snyder, Haymarket, VA, telebridge via IK1SLD. The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS and the scheduled crewmember is Sultan Al Neyadi, KI5VTV. The ARISS mentor is AJ9N. Contact is go for: Fri 2023-07-21 17:54:29 UTC, 54 degrees maximum elevation. Watch for Livestream at: The Camp will using: https://www.facebook.com/NCACSTEM/ IK1SLD will start about 15 minutes before AOS at http://www.ariotti.com/ The crossband repeater continues to be active (145.990 MHz up {PL 67} & 437.800 MHz down). If any crewmember is so inclined, all they have to do is pick up the microphone, raise the volume up, and talk on the crossband repeater. So give a listen, you just never know. The packet system is also active (145.825 MHz up & down). As always, if there is an EVA, a docking, or an undocking; the ARISS radios are turned off as part of the safety protocol. 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. 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 [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, one of the ARISS operation team mentors for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Bruce, VE7PTN, is planning to operate from the CO50/CO60 gridline during July 20 to 22. FM / linear LEO, and Greencube MEO. Posible POTA activation on July 22 from VE-0711. New area for me so not sure what I will find when I get there. Will post more information closer to the date. BI1NJI will be QRV as BI1NJI/3 from ON83, 24 through 27 July, FM and IO-117. Twitter @YankaiP and has said that details will follow. [ANS thanks Ian Parsons, K5ZM, AMSAT rover page manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meetings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. + Small Satellite Conference August 5-10, 2023 Utah State University, Logan, UT More information at: https://smallsat.org/ + 41st AMSAT Space Symposium & Annual General Meeting October 20-21, 2023 Sheraton DFW Airport Hotel 4440 W John Carpenter Fwy, Irving, TX 75063 AMSAT Ambassador Clint Bradford, K6LCS, says, “Think a 75-minute presentation on “working the easy satellites” would be appropriate for your club or event? Let me know by emailing me at k6lcsclint (at) gmail (dot) com or calling me at 909-999-SATS (7287)!” Clint has NEVER given the exact same show twice: EACH of the 150+ presentations so far has been customized/tailored to their audiences. [ANS thanks the AMSAT Events page for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Condolences to the family and friends of well-known satellite enthusiast, rover, and POTA operator Sara R. "Bean" Lefebvre, KC1MEB, who became a Silent Key on July 7 at age 40 after a battle with Auto-Brewery Syndrome. (ANS thanks Ant Lefebvre, NU1U, for the above information) + Volunteer amateur satellite enthusiasts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are needed to help talk Amateur Radio in space to a mostly non-ham audience of all ages at the 2023 edition of an event called "Moon Day" at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, Love Field, Dallas, TX on Saturday, July 22. The event is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with Setup at 8 a.m. Mostly indoor, but we will have a number of satellite passes to work, cubesat simulators to show off, The FOX Engineering model, and other cool things to show off. If you can help/participate, contact Tom Schuessler, N5HYP, via email, n5hyp(a)arrl.net immediately. For more information see https://www.flightmuseum.com/moon-day/ (ANS thanks Tom Schuessler, N5HYP, for the above information) + AMSAT-DL was founded in 1973, so with a view to the 50-year history of AMSAT-Germany and its mission of promoting amateur radio via satellites, a celebratory conference “From OSCAR 10 to OSCAR 100: 50 years of AMSAT-DL in service to science, research and education” is planned for September 15-17, 2023, at the Bochum Observatory, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. For more information, see https://bit.ly/44rhPNE (ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information) + NASA has marked the first anniversary of the James Webb Space Telescope’s scientific debut this week with the release of a new image, demonstrating the telescope’s ability to re-envision the universe. The dramatic, somewhat hallucinatory image captures the dynamism of the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the closest star-forming region to Earth, where planetary systems like our own could be in the initial stages of forming: http://bit.ly/3PX0ZSb “The telescope is working better than we could have possibly hoped for,” said NASA astrophysicist Jane Rigby, who earlier this month became the senior project scientist for the JWST. (ANS thanks The Washington Post for the above information) + The Mars Sample Return mission — a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency — is currently under a major review. The cost of the mission may have increased from $4 billion or $5 billion to $8 billion or $9 billion, according to one estimate. NASA confirmed that one estimate in the review of the program was in that cost range, but added, "all scenarios are highly speculative." If the sample return mission does come with a higher price tag, it could impact NASA's entire planetary science portfolio, as other missions are also experiencing technical delays and schedule problems. (ANS thanks Axios Space for the above information) + Chinese private rocket firm Landspace achieved a global first late Tuesday, July 11 by reaching orbit with a methane-fueled rocket. Zhuque-2 beats a range of other methalox rockets, including SpaceX’s Starship, the ULA Vulcan, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, Rocket Lab’s Neutron and Terran R from Relativity Space, in reaching orbit. These other launch vehicles will be much larger and feature much greater payload capacity. A methane-liquid oxygen propellant mix offers advantages in performance and reduces issues of soot formation and coking for purposes of reusability. (ANS thanks SpaceNews for the above information) + India’s second attempt to land on the Moon, Chandrayaan-3, launched on July 14. The mission is a replacement for Chandrayaan-2, which crashed while descending to the lunar surface in September 2019. Chandrayaan-3 is scheduled for an August 23 or August 24 arrival. The lander and rover are scheduled to operate for one lunar day, which is about 14 Earth days. (ANS thanks The Parabolic Arc for the above information) --------------------------------------------------------------------- Join AMSAT today at https://launch.amsat.org/ In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership to: * Societies (a recognized group, clubs or organization). * 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 student rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. * Memberships are available for annual and lifetime terms. Contact info [at] amsat.org for additional membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio in Space! This week's ANS Editor, Mark Johns, KØJM k0jm [at] amsat.org

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ARISS News Release No. 23-34
by David Jordan 15 Jul '23

15 Jul '23

ARISS News Release No.23-34 Dave Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org FORIMMEDIATE RELEASE ARISSContact is Scheduled with Participants at Youth on The Air (YOTA) 2023 Summer Camp,Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada July15, 2023—Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has receivedschedule confirmation for an ARISS radio contact between an astronaut aboardthe International Space Station (ISS) and participants at the YOTA 2023 locatedin ON, Canada. ARISS conducts 60-80 ofthese special amateur radio contacts each year between students around theglobe and crew members with ham radio licenses aboard the ISS. Youth on the Air (YOTA) Summer Camp is a week-long event foryoung amateur radio operators ages 15 to 25 from North, Central, and SouthAmerica. This is their third year ofoperations, with YOTA activities designed to demonstrate how these youngparticipants can connect with each other through amateur radio communicationsand STEM activities. YOTA is also aboutfostering a worldwide community though amateur radio. Throughout the week YOTA participantshave learned to build antennas and telegraph machine kits, talked to hams aroundthe world on high frequencies (HF) from both permanent and portable ham radiostations, and learned how to operate using Morse Code. Camp participants havealso launched and tracked a high-altitude balloon, and communicated through low-earthorbit amateur radio satellites. This will be the first ARISS contactopportunity for many of these students, demonstrating how amateur radio canconnect with the ISS. After thisexperience, students will come away with a better understanding of the life ofan astronaut on the ISS, and perhaps motivate them to pursue STEM-relatedfields. This will be a telebridge Contact via Amateur Radio allowing YOTA participants toask their questions of Astronaut Steve Bowen, amateur radio call sign KI5BKB.The downlink frequency for this contact is 145.800 MHz and may be heard bylisteners that are within the ISS-footprint that also encompasses thetelebridge station. The ARISS amateur radio ground station(telebridge station) for this contact is in Casale Monferrato, Italy. Theamateur radio volunteer team at the station will use the callsign IK1SLD, toestablish and maintain the ISS connection. TheARISS radio contact is scheduled for July 18, 2023 at 2:42:54 pm EDT (ON, CAN) (18:42:54UTC, 1:42 pm CDT, 12:42 pm MDT, 11:42 am PDT). Thepublic is invited to watch the live stream at: https://youtube.com/live/A5bXZUGifYY?feature=share IK1SLD will start about 15 minutes before AOS at http://www.ariotti.com/ _______________________________ Astime allows, students will ask these questions: 1.What is your favorite view from the cupola? 2.How does amateur radio factor into life and science on the ISS? 3.What radios and antennas are used for the ARISS program? 4.How does your training in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory compare toextravehicular spacewalks? 5.What is your favorite food to eat on the station and is it the same as here onearth? 6.Does the ISS have an HF setup and have you ever used it? 7.Does the ISS provide weather data from visual observations to ground stations? 8.What advice do you have for someone wanting to become an astronaut? 9.What sorts of creative outlets do you get while on the ISS? 10.What types of experiments are being done on the ISS? 11.Once we have interstellar travel figured out, which celestial object would youlike to visit first? 12.What current experiments are you conducting that will help benefit life onearth? 13.What is the coolest space station repeater contact you have made? 14.How has learning multiple languages affected your daily life on the station? 15. How are QSOs logged and sent to groundstations from the ISS? 16.Do you have a favorite DSLR camera and lens combination for taking picturesfrom the ISS? 17.Are there property taxes for the ISS and if so, what district would they go to? 18.Do you have any go-to life advice? About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the InternationalSpace Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radiosocieties and the space agencies that support the International Space Station(ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur SatelliteCorporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS NationalLab-Space Station Explorers, Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) andNASA’s Space Communications and Navigation program (SCaN). The primary goal ofARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, the arts,and mathematics topics. ARISS does this by organizing scheduled contacts viaamateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students. Before andduring these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities takepart in hands-on learning activities tied to space, space technologies, andamateur radio. For more information, see http://www.ariss.org MediaContact: DaveJordan, AA4KN ARISSPR Findus on social media at: Twitter:ARISS_Intl Facebook:facebook.com/ARISSIntl Instagram:ariss_intl Mastodon:[email protected] Checkout ARISS on Youtube.com.

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TEVEL-2 request for help
by david.greenberg＠bezeqint.net 15 Jul '23

15 Jul '23

Hello All, Some not so good news. Yesterday and today, telemetry beacon was not received from TEVEL-2. The telemetry beacon is transmitted every 20 seconds. The transmission is very short and can regularly be seen on a waterfall. The frequency is 436.400MHz, 9600bps BPSK G3RUH modulation and can be decoded by the appropriate UZ7HO software. Decoding is preferable but waterfall report is helpful. ( If there is an overlap with another sat, you may see beacon bursts from the overlapping satellite. Doppler shift can help to identify.) Please try to receive and report. TNX and 73, David 4X1DG

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Re: G5500DC Rotator Failure
by Jim_WØNBC 15 Jul '23

15 Jul '23

Hi Ray, Had same problem with mine also. Mine is in attic too. After doing some examination of the azimuth rotor I found that it was heating up from the attic heat and the gear grease was coming out of the side. So just replace the AZ unit. Not much help but I believe the attic heat is too much for the rotor. Still using it. Best of luck. Jim Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone On Saturday, July 15, 2023, 11:36 AM, crohtun--- via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: I should have mentioned: I swapped cables at the antenna and ran the az motor using the el cable and el side of the control box. The az rotator ran fine and the el meter on the box responded to the changing position. So it would appear the fault is not inside the motor housing but in either the az cable (very unlikely given everything is indoors) or in the az side of the control box. I will do a bit more swapping and see if the az cable can be eliminated as the problem. I think that’ll leave the meter circuitry on the az side of the box as the problem. Ray KN2K Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS On Saturday, July 15, 2023, 11:30 AM, crohtun--- via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: I’ve had the rotator about two years and use it with antennas in the attic. Everything is working normally except the az meter on the controller no longer registers. The controller runs fine and the az and el motors are moving as they should. Fox Delta displays az and el properly, and matches what SatPC32 is telling it. But no reading on the G5500DC az meter anymore. The el meter remains fine. I can’t find a schematic for the DC version of the 5500. Anyone else had this problem and cured it? 73, Ray KN2K Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS ----------------------------------------------------------- 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. Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org ----------------------------------------------------------- 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. Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org

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Re: G5500DC Rotator Failure
by crohtun＠aol.com 15 Jul '23

15 Jul '23

I should have mentioned: I swapped cables at the antenna and ran the az motor using the el cable and el side of the control box. The az rotator ran fine and the el meter on the box responded to the changing position. So it would appear the fault is not inside the motor housing but in either the az cable (very unlikely given everything is indoors) or in the az side of the control box. I will do a bit more swapping and see if the az cable can be eliminated as the problem. I think that’ll leave the meter circuitry on the az side of the box as the problem. Ray KN2K Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS On Saturday, July 15, 2023, 11:30 AM, crohtun--- via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: I’ve had the rotator about two years and use it with antennas in the attic. Everything is working normally except the az meter on the controller no longer registers. The controller runs fine and the az and el motors are moving as they should. Fox Delta displays az and el properly, and matches what SatPC32 is telling it. But no reading on the G5500DC az meter anymore. The el meter remains fine. I can’t find a schematic for the DC version of the 5500. Anyone else had this problem and cured it? 73, Ray KN2K Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS ----------------------------------------------------------- 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. Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ View archives of this mailing list at https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at https://mailman.amsat.org

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Re: G5500DC Rotator Failure
by V Chu 15 Jul '23

15 Jul '23

Try to clean all connection points at your router de VE3XRE, VA3HJ mobile On Sat., Jul. 15, 2023, 11:30 crohtun--- via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > I’ve had the rotator about two years and use it with antennas in the > attic. Everything is working normally except the az meter on the controller > no longer registers. The controller runs fine and the az and el motors are > moving as they should. Fox Delta displays az and el properly, and matches > what SatPC32 is telling it. But no reading on the G5500DC az meter anymore. > The el meter remains fine. > > I can’t find a schematic for the DC version of the 5500. Anyone else had > this problem and cured it? > > 73, > > Ray KN2K > > > Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS > <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aol-news-email-weather-video/id646100661> > > ----------------------------------------------------------- > > 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. > Acceptable Use and Privacy Policies available at > https://www.amsat.org/about-amsat/ > > View archives of this mailing list at > https://mailman.amsat.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to amsat-bb-leave(a)amsat.org > Manage all of your AMSAT-NA mailing list preferences at > https://mailman.amsat.org

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G5500DC Rotator Failure
by crohtun＠aol.com 15 Jul '23

15 Jul '23

I’ve had the rotator about two years and use it with antennas in the attic. Everything is working normally except the az meter on the controller no longer registers. The controller runs fine and the az and el motors are moving as they should. Fox Delta displays az and el properly, and matches what SatPC32 is telling it. But no reading on the G5500DC az meter anymore. The el meter remains fine. I can’t find a schematic for the DC version of the 5500. Anyone else had this problem and cured it? 73, Ray KN2K Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

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AMSAT Field Day logs due
by Bruce 14 Jul '23

14 Jul '23

If you would like to participate in the results from AMSAT Field Day 2023, the submission sheets are due by July 25, 2023 at 11:59 PM. We are using the same due date as the ARRL this year. Send you submission sheet in PDF or TXT or DOC format to kk5do(a)arrl.net and kk5do(a)amsat.org Sent to both just in case one bounces. I will also send you a reply that I received it. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Member 2016-2024 ARRL Awards Field Checker (DXCC, WAS, 5BWAS, VUCC), VE Houston AMSAT Net - Wed 0200z 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

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QSO today academy
by Thomas Schuessler 14 Jul '23

14 Jul '23

I was wondering if anyone from the organization has signed up to do a presentation for the QSO today academy which is coming up on the weekend of September 9 and 10? It would be nice to see if a couple of us can come up with a really nice concise 30 minute presentation to build for that. The deadline for filing applications for presentations is August 1, and the deadline for creating that presentation and submitting it is September 1. The final 20 minutes of the 50 minute presentation time is a live Q&A with attendees. So the presentation part is pre-recorded but a Q and a is live. There is also the opportunity for live interaction spaces where people can gather and talk the subject of their choice, running throughout the entire event. I have not filed an application for a presentation yet, but I wanted to throw this out to the group in general, and to folks who consider themselves amsat ambassadors, and try and work up a plan to get something registered before the deadline. I believe this is a very good opportunity for us, as involved members of the organization, to make a good showing to the general Ham population, and to provide opportunities for people with a developing interest to come to a better understanding about how amateur radio satellites work. Reply here, or let’s talk off-line. Tom, N5HYP Sent from my iPhone

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TEVEL-6,7,4
by david.greenberg＠bezeqint.net 14 Jul '23

14 Jul '23

Hello All, TEVEL-6,7,4 FM transponders have been activated, starting from today, 14.07.23 19:00U for 72 hours. 73, David 4X1DG

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