- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

Is This AMSAT's Future?
by Joe Leikhim 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

Why not? QO-100 is a success. The antennas for up link and downlink for such a station are easily made or procured. The LNB a simple decades old modification. The stations would be friendly to HOA and apartment dwellers alike. I dont see the objection. "These new projects - seems like they are “marketed” towards a very small segment os satellite operators. Is there truly a worthwhile “return on investment" when a ground station might have to include … “ … radio system is a 10 GHz downlink that will support 1 Mbps. You'll need a 10 GHz antenna that can be steered to track a LEO satellite and probably a low-noise block downconverter (LNB) feeding an SDR. I think similar receivers are used for QO-100, so a Google search may yield some designs that are currently working, although QO-100 is nearly stationary … “ Feels like a very few hams will partake … Exciting, indeed. But surely not geared to the masses … Clint Bradford K6LCS" -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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Upgrade of equipment
by Russ Kinner 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

When I first got my license, 2 meters was the highest freq. typically used, 440 was an experimenters band and anything above that was AT&T Microwave links for phone and network video. It took a few years but now you can buy 1.2 GHz gear from several sources. The experimenters area becomes common to all in a few years. I At my radio beginning, there were no PCs, mobile radios were crystal controlled mostly, and you bought a keypad to generate telephone tone pairs to use a repeater auto-patch and wired it in yourself. Things change to meet the demand and it won't take long to have microwave gear and antennas easily available. Just takes a demand that a HEO or better satellite in orbit generates. It's one of the reasons AO-92 has L/v mode. I welcome the change. Rusty, WA8ZID

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LVB Tracker vs. Yeasu GS-232B
by Robert MacHale 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

What is the status of the LVB Tracker - I notice it was once promoted by AmSat, but is currently out of stock. The Yeasu GS-232B feels a little over priced at $589. What is the current recommendation for connecting the Yeasu G-5500 to tracking software? [1] For reference, AmSat: https://www.amsat.org/product/lvb-tracker-complete/ [2] For reference, HRO: https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-002778 73 Robert MacHale . KE6BLR Ham Radio License . http://www.aprsat.com/predict . http://www.spaceCommunicator.club . Supporting Boy Scout Merit Badges in Radio, Robotics, and Space Exploration Silly Joke: What did the little mountain say to the bigger mountain? Hi Cliff! He who dares not offend cannot be honest. -- Thomas Paine

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Is This AMSAT's Future?
by Clint Bradford 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

These new projects - seems like they are “marketed” towards a very small segment os satellite operators. Is there truly a worthwhile “return on investment" when a ground station might have to include … “ … radio system is a 10 GHz downlink that will support 1 Mbps. You'll need a 10 GHz antenna that can be steered to track a LEO satellite and probably a low-noise block downconverter (LNB) feeding an SDR. I think similar receivers are used for QO-100, so a Google search may yield some designs that are currently working, although QO-100 is nearly stationary … “ Feels like a very few hams will partake … Exciting, indeed. But surely not geared to the masses … Clint Bradford K6LCS

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Re: [amsat-bb] Is This AMSAT's Future?
by Clint Bradford 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

>> This could very well be. Tech changes over time. IMHO, Hams need to change over time to keep the hobby viable. That required station is quite a jump from enjoying LEOs - and getting involved in satellite communications for well under $200, though. Clint Bradford K6LCS - Still having clubs approach me for info on “Getting Started … “ (g)

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Open Source Thruster (was: Elections HEO QO-100' Linear NB + Digital WB)
by Daniel Schultz 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

I've been going to Electric Propulsion conferences for over a decade now, and I always had a sneaking suspicion that I could build one of those things in my garage, but then common sense takes over when I remind myself how long it would take me to accomplish that. It looks like he is way ahead of me in getting a vacuum system up and running. One thing the twitter feed does not mention, where is Applied Ion located? An open source electric thruster is a very key element in returning AMSAT to HEO. Is there anything we can do to help him along? Dan Schultz N8FGV ------ Original Message ------ >As it happens, Applied Ion is reporting partial success with a thruster >design today: https://twitter.com/Applied_Ion >His cost per thruster is much closer to Zach's $100. Two thrusters of a >previous design of his are scheduled to fly on the AMSAT-EA Genesis >satellites, NET September. These are Open Source designs.

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Re: [amsat-bb] My Ballot arrived - now what?
by Clint Bradford 22 Jul '20

22 Jul '20

They’ll never do it. Clint Bradford K6LCS > On Jul 21, 2020, at 7:36 PM, amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org wrote: > > I challenge each candidate to address the issue and detail a plan to > deal with it.

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Re: [amsat-bb] Because I am being asked
by Brennan Price 21 Jul '20

21 Jul '20

Zach, I will be checking returned ballots against the voter list as they are returned as an aid to determine who might be eligible for a replacement ballot come August 12. The voter list is static while the membership portal is dynamic, so I'm dealing with the accounting separately. With the caveat that my ability to accommodate requests to verify receipt will be inversely proportional to the number of requests I receive, members may feel free to ask. Without committing future leadership to a course of action, your suggestion is among several ideals that are worthwhile. 73 de Brennan N4QX Message: 7 Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2020 09:58:18 -0500 From: Zach Metzinger <zmetzing(a)pobox.com> To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Because I am being asked Message-ID: <901f8e60-b912-a524-f8fa-717e73014f89(a)pobox.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed On 07/21/20 0943, Brennan Price via AMSAT-BB wrote: > Out of necessity to determine a fixed voter list and in accordance with previous announcements, the voter list was invariantly determined on the basis of memberships in good standing on July 1. Membership in good standing on that date is the criterion I will use in determining whether to issue replacement or original ballots. Hello Brennan- Is there a mechanism whereby a voter could check that their ballot was received by AMSAT? This would not include the choices on the ballot, just that it was received. I imagine this could be part of the launch.amsat.org interface, but I don't really know. If not for this year, could this be implemented for the next voting season? Thanks, --- Zach N0ZGO

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Re: [amsat-bb] Elections HEO QO-100' Linear NB + Digital WB
by Daniel Schultz 21 Jul '20

21 Jul '20

Yes, we once had a deal with Intelsat until it fell through. More recently we had a deal with the US Air Force and one of its contractors, until that also fell through. The reason we don't have a western hemisphere transponder in GEO is not because the "old guard" wants to shoot it down, but because these types of deals are very difficult to pull off in a market driven economy such as the US satellite industry. QO-100 was hosted on a satellite built for a royal government which is not responsible to stockholders, a government in which an amateur radio operator held a high position of influence. A US based company would have to answer to Wall Street analysts to explain why they are giving away money that could have been paid out in stock dividends. Changing the BOD membership will not alter any of these facts. It is not because we haven't asked the powers that be, and not because we are reluctant to "jump ahead of the project and grab what is needed". Space is Hard, and all the wishful thinking in the world is not going to change that. 73, Dan Schultz N8FGV > I am intrigued about QO-100 and have monitored it here in Florida by > remote WEB SDR access. I have not been active in the years since AO-40 > failed and have been eager to see some HEO operations like I enjoyed > from AO-10 and AO-13. Listening to QO-100 has rekindled that interest. > > Last month on AMSAT-BB I posed the question about getting a GEO ride > share with a commercial satellite, something that was considered 12 > years ago with Intelsat. Having a QO-100 type transponder here CONUS > would grow the hobby and get folks like me active again (and > contributing sums as I did for AO-40). However, the "old guard" shot > my idea down for the usual reasons. (See my threads last month). > > Having a QO-100 type transponder with a hybrid of narrow band linear > side and wide band digital side would open up a lot of opportunities > for operations, public service and experimentation.?? I hope the new > "slate" of BOD will consider this type of project as a priority. > > Personally, I think GOLF has not achieved results fast enough to > getting us a larger footprint. I am not advocating scrapping of that > effort, but sometimes you have to jump ahead of the project and grab > what is needed. > > 73 Joe

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Elections HEO QO-100' Linear NB + Digital WB
by Joe Leikhim 21 Jul '20

21 Jul '20

*No argument that launches to HEO cost money. Every launch costs money. Has anyone tabulated launch costs for the last 10=15 years? Projecting forward 10 years 10 satellite launches into LEO at $100K each is a million dollars. This of course is made up, but has anyone looked at the options of how to fund an HEO launch? If not why not? I get a sense that AO-40 sort of put a damper on things, where instead we should have dusted off and launched AO-41.* *"Howie DeFelice* howied231 at hotmail.com <mailto:amsat-bb%40amsat.org?Subject=Re%3A%20%5Bamsat-bb%5D%20Elections%20HEO%20QO-100%27%20Linear%20NB%20%2B%20Digital%20WB&In-Reply-To=%3CMN2PR14MB3517642671013610148975FAE7780%40MN2PR14MB3517.namprd14.prod.outlook.com%3E> /Tue Jul 21 10:56:22 UTC 2020/ If Bill was still around I would ask him, I do miss him. There may be some details in the corporate records but as an alternate board member I don't have access to those archives. Perhaps some of the current board can provide the details. My memory of what I heard was that Intelsat treated the request as a commercial RFQ and we got the commercial price that was many times the cost to orbit AO-40. Any new HEO satellite is going to require huge amounts of money no matter what. The ability to raise funds will be the MOST IMPORTANT part of getting a HEO satellite launched. Anybody who says different does not know what they are talking about. Howie AB2S" -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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Re: [amsat-bb] SSB Electronics
by Gary Smith 21 Jul '20

21 Jul '20

Tom, The gentleman who is/was running the US side of things has pretty much left the business due to health issues for the foreseeable future. When I contacted him a couple of months ago he said to contact SSB Electronics in Germany directly. I dont think they offer any of the FUNcube dongles etc that SSB USA did. But they are very much still in business. Cheers. Gary AA9JS

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Nominations, for the record
by Brennan Price 21 Jul '20

21 Jul '20

With respect to Paul's comment regarding one of Howie DeFelice's presumed nominators: "Unfortunately some have proposed canceling the GOLF program, includingone Director who nominated you." Beyond the extent necessary to support my determinations about any candidate's eligibility to be nominated or serve, I have not disclosed who nominated whom. it was not necessary to make such a disclosure in Howie's case. Howie (and any candidate) may disclose who nominated him if he wishes, and nominators may disclose their nominations if they wish as well. I will not micromanage that process, but I do want to stress that eligibility of the candidates has been determined with finality. 73,Brennan Price, N4QXSecretary, Radio Amateur

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SSB Electronics
by Tom Lubbers K8TL 21 Jul '20

21 Jul '20

Has SSB electronics went belly up? All of my recent attempts end up at dead ends. A few weeks ago I saw some inquiries about the FUN CUBE dongle. I have 2 of them sitting here gathering dust!! Stay safe and healthy. Tom K8TL

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Because I am being asked
by Brennan Price 21 Jul '20

21 Jul '20

Out of necessity to determine a fixed voter list and in accordance with previous announcements, the voter list was invariantly determined on the basis of memberships in good standing on July 1. Membership in good standing on that date is the criterion I will use in determining whether to issue replacement or original ballots. 73, Brennan Price, N4QX Secretary, Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation

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FW: Expo Contact Form Message
by tjschuessler＠verizon.net 21 Jul '20

21 Jul '20

Hey guys, so there is this "Virtual Ham Radio Expo" on August 8th and 9th with a lot of exhibitors and a lot of virtual presenters. I noted that there was no "Getting Started" type of satellite presentation. I threw something out to the BB a week ago and aside from a response from Michelle, nothing else. We are so caught up in our controversies, that we seem to be forgetting that there are a whole lot of people who just want to learn about this fascinating aspect of our hobby. If we don't watch it, WE WILL DRIVE THEM AWAY FROM THE ORGANIZATION! Read Eric's email below. I am not the guy to produce a compelling "Getting Started" video, but I would like to work with someone who thinks they have one, and I would partner with them for the Q and A sessions. The deadline here is Saturday of this week. Lets make this happen! From: Eric 4Z1UG <eric(a)qsotoday.com> Sent: Monday, July 20, 2020 11:40 PM To: tjschuessler(a)verizon.net Subject: Re: Expo Contact Form Message Dear Thomas, You are right, there is no AMSAT representation in this Expo this time around. AMSAT does not have a booth, and none of the potential speakers replied to my invitations. If you have an excellent 20 to 30 minute video about AMSAT that you can send to me before Saturday, I will include it into a speaker Slot and give you a Q&A spot just after its first showing. Otherwise, we will do this again in March 2021 and hopefully someone from AMSAT will contact me. 73, Eric, 4Z1UG Eric Guth Tel: +1-213-577-0091 http://www.qsotoday.com http://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com On Tue, Jul 21, 2020 at 5:36 AM <mailto:[email protected]> wrote: I am an AMSAT member and part of the Ambassadors program who take AMSAT presentations to hamests and clubs. I noted that there are NO presentations relating to Amateur Radio in Space except the one on QO-100. Unfortunately, that is a satellite opportunity not available to western hemisphere stations. I sent an email out to the AMSAT mail reflextor and got no direct response from anyone else interested in presenting for your event. Is it too late to get presentation slots? I would like to do an Intro to satellites presentation. Please let me know if someone else has approached yo about this. If so, that is fine, but I see nothign in your topics list and so would be willing to put myself forward to do it. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thomas Schuessler N5HYP 2144031464

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Elections HEO QO-100' Linear NB + Digital WB
by Joe Leikhim 21 Jul '20

21 Jul '20

K4SAT here. I am intrigued about QO-100 and have monitored it here in Florida by remote WEB SDR access. I have not been active in the years since AO-40 failed and have been eager to see some HEO operations like I enjoyed from AO-10 and AO-13. Listening to QO-100 has rekindled that interest. Last month on AMSAT-BB I posed the question about getting a GEO ride share with a commercial satellite, something that was considered 12 years ago with Intelsat. Having a QO-100 type transponder here CONUS would grow the hobby and get folks like me active again (and contributing sums as I did for AO-40). However, the "old guard" shot my idea down for the usual reasons. (See my threads last month). Having a QO-100 type transponder with a hybrid of narrow band linear side and wide band digital side would open up a lot of opportunities for operations, public service and experimentation. I hope the new "slate" of BOD will consider this type of project as a priority. Personally, I think GOLF has not achieved results fast enough to getting us a larger footprint. I am not advocating scrapping of that effort, but sometimes you have to jump ahead of the project and grab what is needed. 73 Joe

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Slack vs. eMail -- The medium is the message
by Robert MacHale 21 Jul '20

21 Jul '20

Can I suggest moving AMSAT member communications from eMail to Slack? When I taught at UC Riverside last year - we used Slack to communicate with students. The tech companies I have worked with in Southern California have used Slack for many years. Recently, I noticed the Parrot Disco (RC Glider) club uses Slack to communicate with volunteers and members: https://github.com/uavpal/disco4g The benefit to Slack is having channels for each topic. In this case, discussion about Board Membership can be in it's own channel. People who are not interested are not required to read. Each technology can have it's own channel. Each project can have it's own channel. And, members can find each other easily. This current eMail subscription for all things creates a pain point - encouraging everyone to read everything. I highly recommend the Board of Directors evaluate Slack as a replacement for eMail; the corporate cost per user in low compared to value: excellent ROI. Remember, eMail subscriptions became popular in the 1980s. This protocol is entirely outdated and outmoded for conversations today. Keep in mind, the Medium is the message - another reminder AmSat has become outdated and outmoded and not keeping up with the times. Slack has been a positive and transforming tool employed on many projects I have worked with recently. Sincerely, Robert MacHale. KE6BLR Ham Radio License. http://www.aprsat.com/predict . http://www.spaceCommunicator.club . Supporting Boy Scout Merit Badges in Radio, Robotics, and Space Exploration

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Re: [amsat-bb] Slack vs. eMail -- The medium is the message
by Zach Metzinger 20 Jul '20

20 Jul '20

Hello all, The email list has worked well for me, and can be read by a neutral email app on my phone (K9Droid is what I use). If we moved to Slack, I'd probably not participate. I find the stream-of-consciousness level of communication distracting enough using Microsoft Teams at work. My hobby interests rarely require instantaneous responses to someone else's thoughts. I would caution against groups.io on political neutrality grounds. If you look at the page https://groups.io/static/pricing and search for "Indivisible", it is clear that those who run groups.io have a political axe to grind. This is the reason that I dropped off of another email list (NTMS) when they moved to groups.io from Yahoo Groups. Anyway, I prefer a simple email of plain text to something with flashy colors and obnoxious fonts. If something needs to be said graphically, include a URL to one of the many free hosting sites with the desired content. My $0.02, --- Zach N0ZGO

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APRS lu1kcq-11 PicoBallon 3rd day over Brazil
by Amsat Argentina 20 Jul '20

20 Jul '20

Tracking: APRS lu1kcq-11 PicoBallon 3rd day over Brazil http://lu7aa.org.ar/vor.asp?callsign=LU1KCQ-11&AutoRef=true Launch: http://amsat.org.ar/lu1kcq.mp4 Live Chat on: http://amsat.org.ar/chat Should change to 145.825 when over sea 73, LU7AA, AMSAT Argentina | | | | Chat | | |

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NOVA rotor iface
by GEO Badger 20 Jul '20

20 Jul '20

I'm trying to use NOVA and I don't see where I set the serial comms in the rotor setup. --- Ciao baby, catch you on the flip side 73 de W3AB/GEO http://www.w3ab.org You can say "over", you can say "out", you just can't say "over and out".

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-07-20 17:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 20 Jul '20

20 Jul '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-07-20 17:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: GAGARIN FROM SPACE Performing an amateur radio session with the 9th International Aerospace School. Ufa, U.N. Sultanova Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, direct via RZ9WWB (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Ivan Vagner Contact was successful: Fri 2020-07-17 19:08 UTC (***) American School of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Multi-point telebridge via ON4ISS (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Thu 2020-07-30 16:41:42 UTC 78 deg (***) ######################################################################################################################################## 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 2020-07-20 17:00 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 2020-07-20 16:30 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 ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Proposal Window of February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 has now closed. 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. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. 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 134 (***) 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 1392. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1325. (***) 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 SpaceX-Demo2 now on orbit Bob Behnken KE5GGX Doug Hurley **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-07-20 16:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 20 Jul '20

20 Jul '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-07-20 16:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: GAGARIN FROM SPACE Performing an amateur radio session with the 9th International Aerospace School. Ufa, U.N. Sultanova Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, direct via RZ9WWB (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Ivan Vagner Contact was successful: Fri 2020-07-17 19:08 UTC (***) ######################################################################################################################################## 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 2020-07-20 16:30 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. 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 2020-07-20 16:30 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 ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Proposal Window of February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 has now closed. 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. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. 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 134 (***) 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 1392. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1325. (***) 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 SpaceX-Demo2 now on orbit Bob Behnken KE5GGX Doug Hurley **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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OSCAR Satellite QSO Party 1 Aug – 22 Sept
by M5AKA 20 Jul '20

20 Jul '20

The objective of the AMSAT-UK OSCAR Satellite QSO Party is to encourage all radio amateurs around the world to get on the air and make contacts via satellites during northern hemisphere summer https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/20/oscar-satellite-qso-party/ DIY Weather Satellite Ground Station Sasha M6IOR and Sophie M6NYX have made available a Guide for the reception of NOAA satellite images using software defined radio on Windows or MacOS https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/07/diy-weather-satellite-ground-station/ ESA promote amateur radio in ISS SSTV video https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/08/esa-promote-amateur-radio-iss-sstv/ Trevor M5AKA---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ----

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Re: [amsat-bb] Elections HEO QO-100' Linear NB + Digital WB
by tokens＠myranch.com 20 Jul '20

20 Jul '20

Joe, I agree with you 100%. Over the years I have heard all sorts of reasons why we can’t do this or that. Although we sure can argue! Specifically I have seen posts on why QO-100 isn’t a good idea. The meantime the guys in the eastern hemisphere are having a great time with their satellite while we argue about what is going on the next Cubesat. I haven’t been active on satellites for a number of years and won’t go into why. But you can be sure if we had something like QO-100 out there I would be active particularly on DATV. Al W8KHP

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Recommendation for project website
by Leffke, Zachary 20 Jul '20

20 Jul '20

Hi All, I was wondering if folks had any recommendations for website services for hosting simple project pages. I do a lot of little side projects and occasionally folks ask for more details. I tend to keep things scattered across multiple media (lots on github), and collecting up everything in a 'useful' way isn't very efficient. I've considered making better use of github markdown, but I'm not sure thats the best way to go for all projects, particularly if I want to post a lot of images. Some examples of the types of 'project' sites that I like and am looking to start include the following: https://www.w6pql.com/ http://www.w1ghz.org/ https://destevez.net/ Wordpress seems like it might be a good way to go. For the moment I'm just looking for something simple where I can 'publish' projects a bit better than just posting code or KiCAD designs on github. Eventually I might branch out to this new fangled social media stuff...but for the moment I just want to get the projects written up and posted. Any and all recommendations would be welcome. I'm not opposed to pay sites (mainly to remove annoying ads from the page) as long as the interface is relatively simple and I like the look and feel of things. Thanks in advance, -Zach, KJ4QLP -- Research Associate Aerospace & Ocean Systems Lab Ted & Karyn Hume Center for National Security & Technology Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University Work Phone: 540-231-4174 Cell Phone: 540-808-6305

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Re: [amsat-bb] ERC-m g5500 pcsat32
by Pete (vk2pet) 20 Jul '20

20 Jul '20

Hi everyone, Does anyone have the setup details for PCSAT32, integrating with USB ERC-M with G 5500 rotator? I'm after a step by step setup instructions for it please. Running an IC9100 via usb. 73 Pete vk2pet

3 4

AT Golden Packet 2020 success - Maine to Ga at 9600
by Robert Bruninga 19 Jul '20

19 Jul '20

Amsat Rovers might find this interesting: On Sat 18 July in brutally hot weather the 15 mountains were manned from Maine to Ga and APRS packets and messages were exchanged end-to end. Typical Snafu's, I had to turn back 30 mins into my 2 hr trip to go home and get the radio! and another station had to turn back 45 mins in his 5 hour trip to get his coax! The 4000' hike up Mt Katahdyin in Maine was again done by Tim starting at 5 AM and getting back by sunset. Here is report from MDMTN-7 about half way along the mountains: "At 1100 I started receiving packets from the south, including ROAN-3, COMERS-4, AOMTN-5 and HWKSBL-6. As soon as Bob was set up on GDHILL-8 around 1220 (an hour 20m late!) I started receiving from the north, and in about 15 minutes I saw KATHDN-15 flying by." In our 11th year, we now do 9600 and it works fine. And are beginning to invite other mountains within 100 miles of the chain to join us (after the initial end-to-end success). (after 4 hours we usually quit due to exhaustion and heat, success or not!) The one lesson relearned over and over is that you cannot operate mountain top without some kind of helical or cavity filter. You wont hear anything but QRM. I used the dual band DCI filter so that both the voice channel and data channel were fine on a D710 and dual band omni. The main page will be slowly updated! (none yet, we are all recovering)... http://aprs.org/at-golden-packet.html Bob, WB4APR

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Election Thoughts
by Robert MacHale 19 Jul '20

19 Jul '20

Board Members should exhibit extreme ownership. Asserting Gender Discrimination or filing Demand Letters is a form of blame and deflection. Perhaps the new members were underprepared. Board Members should spend and hour per month communicating; or more. I hope the feet draggers are replaced. Declining Board Meetings betrays the trust of the group - a dereliction of duty. I still believe the legal expenditures were wise and necessary; the gender discrimination complaint and demand letter were neither. I support newer - more energetic - more innovative board members. Robert MacHale. KE6BLR Ham Radio License. http://www.aprsat.com/predict . http://www.spaceCommunicator.club . Supporting Boy Scout Merit Badges in Radio, Robotics, and Space Exploration Silly Joke: What did the little mountain say to the bigger mountain? Hi Cliff! He who dares not offend cannot be honest. -- Thomas Paine

1 0

AMSAT: RFI from LED bulbs?
by Robert Bruninga 19 Jul '20

19 Jul '20

I am hearing reports of RFI from these LED bulbs. Not just HF, but also VHF. If you can make any quantitative assessments of such RFI, please let me know. And the amazing thing is that at VHF you will never notice it because RFI is noise power and it is noise power that keeps a squelch CLOSED. Manuallly open the squelch and sometimes RFI will show full scale on the S meter yet not open the squelch. And on my radios, when the squelch is closed, the S meter is inactive and shows 0. Bob Bruninga, WB4APR

3 3

Amsat - SOTA
by Oscar Acton 19 Jul '20

19 Jul '20

Hello, I am new to satellite operations. I tried to access Lilacsat2 from a SOTA summit today and failed. I did manage to call into AO-92 yesterday and I was heard by four stations (but I couldn't receive the downlink). I was using a 2m dipole to transmit (I am fairly confident I was getting into the satellite today) and a 2 element 70cm yagi. Now, I think two things went wrong. Firstly, I had no way of directing the antenna accurately (I had to guess on the angle and azimuth), and secondly, the antenna isn't very powerful, is small and isn't tuned brilliantly (it's a 70cm yagi but I get SWR of 2.2 on 70cm). Firstly, I'm wondering how precise you need to be in directing the beam? Can I just hold it in the vague direction that the satellite is approaching from, or do I need to work out the headings? Secondly, I am wondering if my equipment is likely to cut it. As I said, yesterday I was told that my signal was getting in - quiet but fully readable using my Diamond x30. I don't want to transmit if I can't receive in case I talk over someone or cause some interference. I won't be able to buy an arrow or a powerful beam antenna for around a year, but I am really desperate to work the satellites. Wondering if there are any ways that I can use my current equipment in order to work it (whether that be from my Home QTH or from a SOTA summit). I have: Yaesu FT-2980 (2m only, limited to 10 watts) Anytone 868 (8 watts max) Baofeng GT-3TP (8 watts max) 2 ele 70cm yagi 2m dipole diamond x50 collinear at the Home QTH Hoping for some advice.. I would love to hear stories of you working satellites during a Summits On The Air activation, and I would be interested to hear of your station setup (and whether you have had success with a minimal setup like mine). Best Regards, Oscar M7OJA (IO94HT)

3 2

AMSAT board election controversy
by Clint Bradford 19 Jul '20

19 Jul '20

Thank you, Bob, for your honest statement. Clint Bradford K6LCS

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AMSAT board election controversy
by Robert McGwier 19 Jul '20

19 Jul '20

My statement on the board election: https://n4hy.blogspot.com/2020/07/amsat-bod-election-controversy.html -- Bob McGwier Founder, Federated Wireless, Inc Founder and Technical Advisor, HawkEye 360, Inc Adjunct Professor Virginia Tech Former Chief Scientist: The Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology Senior Member IEEE, Facebook: N4HYBob, ARS: N4HY

2 1

What?
by Clint Bradford 19 Jul '20

19 Jul '20

MICHAEL>m.. ome people who do volunteer or charity work for an organization or make contributions do so anonymously and without much fanfare … What? People are griping about AMSAT Board devisions made secretly … How many ways do toy want it? Someone running for a board decision whose resume includes NO volunteer with for AMSAT? Go ahead. Promote mediocrity from someone who wrote - "I make no bones that I feel that the majority of the [AMSAT-NA] BOD are doing a true disservice to AMSAT. That's why we have elections ... I was elated with the outcome of the last election. It went just as planned :) I was happy to draw votes away from other incumbents during the last election.” “Blind Faith” was an English music supergroup featuring Clapton, Winwood, Ginger Baker and Greecg. To you, “Blind Faith” is the support of someone who has performed NO service to AMSAT-NA. Clint Bradford K6LCS

1 0

Amsat - SOTA
by Michael Tondee 19 Jul '20

19 Jul '20

Might I suggest you look up the WA5VJB "Cheap Yagi" antennas. An Arrow or an Elk is certainly a nice solution but there are other ways. I built my base station antennas based on these designs and many have built handheld antennas like them as well. 73, Michael, W4HIJ Message: 7 Date: Sun, 19 Jul 2020 00:37:57 +0100 From: Oscar Acton<murtonminer(a)gmail.com> To:[email protected] Subject: [amsat-bb] Amsat - SOTA Message-ID: <CABY8qs+p_2UMi-jbRcX9N+kOr6j=9nPZr3SqrgsKDpVXHhX2hg(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Hello, I am new to satellite operations. I tried to access Lilacsat2 from a SOTA summit today and failed. I did manage to call into AO-92 yesterday and I was heard by four stations (but I couldn't receive the downlink). I was using a 2m dipole to transmit (I am fairly confident I was getting into the satellite today) and a 2 element 70cm yagi. Now, I think two things went wrong. Firstly, I had no way of directing the antenna accurately (I had to guess on the angle and azimuth), and secondly, the antenna isn't very powerful, is small and isn't tuned brilliantly (it's a 70cm yagi but I get SWR of 2.2 on 70cm). Firstly, I'm wondering how precise you need to be in directing the beam? Can I just hold it in the vague direction that the satellite is approaching from, or do I need to work out the headings? Secondly, I am wondering if my equipment is likely to cut it. As I said, yesterday I was told that my signal was getting in - quiet but fully readable using my Diamond x30. I don't want to transmit if I can't receive in case I talk over someone or cause some interference. I won't be able to buy an arrow or a powerful beam antenna for around a year, but I am really desperate to work the satellites. Wondering if there are any ways that I can use my current equipment in order to work it (whether that be from my Home QTH or from a SOTA summit). I have: Yaesu FT-2980 (2m only, limited to 10 watts) Anytone 868 (8 watts max) Baofeng GT-3TP (8 watts max) 2 ele 70cm yagi 2m dipole diamond x50 collinear at the Home QTH Hoping for some advice.. I would love to hear stories of you working satellites during a Summits On The Air activation, and I would be interested to hear of your station setup (and whether you have had success with a minimal setup like mine). Best Regards, Oscar M7OJA (IO94HT)

1 0

Amsat - SOTA
by Stephen DeVience 19 Jul '20

19 Jul '20

Hi Oscar, Lilacsat-2 has not been on the last few days, so it's not a problem on your end. Its schedule is irregular, and it's usually on for 3-4 days then off for a few. If you don't want to buy an Arrow, there are a number of designs online for crossed or dual band yagis you can make yourself. They won't be as convenient for SOTA, but work great at home. I've had success using PVC and copper tubing and I've also seen nice ones made with light wood and stiff wire. -Stephen, N8URE

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ANS-201 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletin
by Frank Karnauskas 19 Jul '20

19 Jul '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-201 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and information 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://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 dot org. In this edition: * AMSAT Board of Directors Election Packages Mailed July 14 * HO-107 is Back! * First Call for Papers - Virtual 2020 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium * New D-STAR Reflector for AMSAT Use * SpaceX to Launch AMSAT-EA EASAT-2 and Hades Satellites * DARC Finds Unauthorized Transmissions in 144 MHz Satellite Band * 1240-1300 MHz Discussed at CEPT SE-40 Meeting * IARU Coordinates Two New Satellites * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-201.01 ANS-201 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 201.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. July 19, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-202.01 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Packages Mailed July 14 Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary reports that the ballots, candidate statements, and return envelopes for the 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election were prepared by Paladin Commercial Printing of Newington, Connecticut. Paladin mailed the packages from Hartford, Connecticut, on Tuesday, July 14, to members of record on July 1. Non-US addresses were sent first class (the only option for overseas). US addresses were sent pre-sorted standard, which is routine for mail that requires a two-way response time measured in weeks, as this does. Allowing for postal delivery standards and guard time, the Secretary will not consider a ballot as lost in post any earlier than August 12 (four weeks after the mailing). This timing permits a replacement ballot to be mailed first class in both directions, even internationally, with time to spare under prevailing postal delivery standards. Paladin has shipped materials for 100 blank election packages to Price. Price will use these materials to assemble and mail replacement or substitute packages as necessary. These requests and packages will be tracked and accounted against the voter list and returned ballots to guard against duplicates, and will be identifiable against the package mailed by Paladin for further verification and accounting by the tellers. Members desiring a replacement ballot package should contact Price no earlier than August 12. The package is clearly labeled as election-related and contains: 1) An instruction and ballot sheet, with the ballot perforated, 2) A sheet of candidate statements, and 3) A No 9 return envelope, which bears the address to which ballots should be returned and the member's name and address for verification against the voter list and any replacement ballot requests. Secrecy at the time of counting will be maintained by separating the ballot from the envelope without inspection, placing the ballot in a receptacle, and scrutinizing the ballots after all have been separated from the envelopes. Ballots should be returned in the return envelopes provided to arrive at the designated Post Office Box in Vienna, Virginia, by 5 p.m. Thursday, September 15, 2020. Separation of the ballots from the envelopes and counting will occur as soon thereafter as practicable, and no later than September 30. Brennan can be reached at brennanprice(a)verizon.net for a query about membership status at any time or a replacement ballot after August 12. [ANS thanks Brennan Price, N4QX, AMSAT Secretary for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the AMSAT office is closed until further notice. For details, please visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-office-closed-until-further-notice/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ HO-107 is Back! On the evening of July 17, 2020, Vlad Chorney, EU1SAT, tweeted "Husky-1 ACTIVE!" with a screenshot from FoxTelem showing that he had received telemetry from HO-107 (HuskySat-1) which had been silent for nearly two months. About an hour after EU1SAT's tweet, the satellite passed over the eastern United States and AMSAT command stations KO4MA and N8MH copied telemetry. On subsequent passes, the satellite was successfully commanded. Please continue to copy telemetry in FoxTelem. If you have removed HO-107 from your tracked satellites during its period of inactivity, please add it back. The transponder remains disabled while AMSAT Operations evaluates the telemetry from the satellite. [ANS thanks AMSAT Operations for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- First Call for Papers - Virtual 2020 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium This is the first call for papers for the Virtual 2020 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium to be held on October 17, 2020. Proposals for papers and symposium presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. Further details regarding the virtual event will be announced shortly. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with the final copy to be submitted by October 5, 2020 for inclusion in the Symposium Proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz at n8fgv(at)amsat.org [ANS thanks Dan Schultz, N8FGV, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT's GOLF Program is about getting back to higher orbits, and it all begins with GOLF-TEE - a technology demonstrator for deployable solar panels, propulsion, and attitude control. Come along for the ride. The journey will be worth it! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-GOLF +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ New D-STAR Reflector for AMSAT Use It has been nearly two years since Walter Holmes, K5WH and friends created the AMSAT DMR Talkgroup 98006 and has been working with great success. About one year ago they created a YSF US AMSAT Reflector 11689 to pull in others using Yaesu System Fusion digital radios. As these were working so well, they decided to bridge the two systems together so it would longer matter which of these digital technologies users had. Users could cross communicate between all users of both systems. After success with the DMR talkgroup and the YSF reflector for more than a year, there was plenty of interest in adding D-STAR capability to the same system. Walter is happy to announce the creation of a new D-STAR reflector for that purpose. It supports four different reflector names such as XLXSAT, XRFSAT, DCSSAT, and REFSAT that are all linked together so that all of these work the same. As most people that are familiar with D-STAR reflectors know, they usually have numbers for the reflectors, but it seemed more appropriate to switch from the number system to the Alpha name like SAT to make it easier to find in the list. For those using hotspots, they will need to refresh or update their Pistar or BlueDV host files to see these entries before they will see this one in the pull-down list. Walter adds, "We recommend that users use module C for the AMSAT conversations but several other modules are available if we find a need to stretch out a bit. But, the C module is the one also linked to a few other repeaters. "The D-STAR SAT reflector is not currently bridged into the system as are the DMR and YSF reflectors, but we hope to have that linked in very soon after a little more testing. "If you have D-STAR capability, we invite you to give it a try and see how it works for you." [ANS thanks Walter Holmes, K5WH for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- SpaceX to Launch AMSAT-EA EASAT-2 and Hades Satellites Spain's national amateur radio society URE says SpaceX expect to launch the EASAT-2 and Hades satellites in December 2020. AMSAT-EA, the URE satellite group, is building the satellites together with the European University of Madrid. The launch has been managed through the space broker Alba Orbital based in Glasgow. EASAT-2 and Hades will be launched into a sun-synchronous orbit between 500 km and 600 km and their main function is to act as analog and digital repeaters for radio amateurs. There is also a camera for SSTV transmissions provided by the Czech Republic that has already flown on the United States Marine Academy PSAT-2 satellite, and has now been adapted to fit into the PocketQube satellites. Both satellites are based on the PocketQube 1.5P (7.5 x 5 x 5 cm) architecture and represent an evolution of the previous GENESIS platform, whose GENESIS-L and GENESIS-N satellites are expected to fly before the end of the year with Firefly, in a joint collaboration with Fossa Systems and LibreSpace, which also launch their own satellites, all of them within the Picobus dispenser, developed by the latter. IARU has coordinated these frequencies: - Hades - uplink 145.925 MHz, downlink 436.888 MHz - EASAT-2 - uplink 145.875 MHz, downlink 436.666 MHz [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ DARC Finds Unauthorized Transmissions in 144 MHz Satellite Band The DARC reports unauthorized transmissions are taking place in the 144 MHz satellite segment of the 2M amateur radio primary allocation. A translation of the DARC post reads: "In the 144.010 MHz to 144.020 MHz range, illegally operated transmitters are increasingly being operated as "water vitalizers" or "water energizers". The manufacturer specifies 144.015 MHz as the transmission frequency in its product description. "The DARC EMC department asks for further information with location information about conspicuous signals in this frequency range, in preparation for collective complaints. "The devices apparently generate fields with considerable field strength and a long range. The signals appear increasingly in the morning or in the evening. The illegal transmitters are typically in operation for 5 to 60 minutes (integer multiples of 5 minutes). The signal is generally very stable in frequency, but occasionally shows short-term fluctuations of up to a few 100 Hz. Otherwise the carrier is not further modulated. The frequency range 144.000 MHz to 146.000 MHz is assigned to the Amateur Radio service in Germany as the primary exclusive user." A video of the interference caused by these devices and a map showing some of the cases so far detected in Germany can be seen at https://www.darc.de/der-club/referate/emv/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1240-1300 MHz Discussed at CEPT SE-40 Meeting The 69th meeting of CEPT ECC Working Group SE-40, held June 23-25, discussed the Amateur Radio 1240-1300 MHz band, the meeting documents are now available. Several contributions were received for the ECC Report dealing with the coexistence between the radionavigation-satellite service and the amateur service in the frequency band 1240 - 1300 MHz. The contributions were incorporated in the draft ECC Report. The CPG arrangements for the preparation of WRC-23 for AI 9.1 topic b) was noted. The Russian Federation noted: - 1240-1260 MHz is by the GLONASS system - 1260-1300 MHz are used by EU's Galileo, Beijing's Beidou, Japan's QZSS and is planned to be used by Korea's KPS. Among the documents available in Input, Info and Minutes are: - SE40(20)052 Amateur Repeaters - IARU-R1 - SE40(20)051 Section 2 update WI_39 - IARU-R1 - SE40(20)050 Annex Draft report RNSS Amateur - Russian Federation - SE40(20)049 Suggestions for RNSS and Amateur Service Compatibility, Russian Federation - Info 1 Amateur repeaters 23 cm - IARU-R1 - Info 3 Letter to SE40 chairman on updated of ITU-R M.1092 - European Commission - Minutes - SE40(20)56A3 (1) Draft Report Amateur vs RNSS Download the meeting documents from https://tinyurl.com/ANS-201-CEPT. [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- IARU Coordinates Two New Satellites - HIAPO HIAPO is a 1U CubeSat mission that is a unique platform being used to provide engaging meaningful hands-on STEM curriculum for Hawaii students K-12. Part of this curriculum involves obtaining data about solar flares solar particle events and the disturbances of the Earth's magnetic field. The students can also collect data on solar events with relation to the propagation of radio waves reflected or refracted back towards the Earth from the ionosphere. During the lifespan of this mission that data will be available for amateur operators to download directly from the satellite. The Hawaii Science & Technology Museum was awarded a no-cost flight of the launch and a limited resources will not allow the development of an Amateur Radio digipeater. However if the launch date slips they plan to work with resources at AMSAT to develop a digipeater. Proposing a UHF downlink using 9k6 FSK with AX25. Planning a Firefly launch from Vandenberg in July 2020 into a 300 km orbit with 137 degree inclination together with Serenity and Spinnaker 3. A downlink on 437.225 MHz has been coordinated. - VZLUSAT-2 VZLUSAT-2 is 3U CubeSat project of the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen and Czech Aerospace Research Centre. Students from four Czech technical universities are involved along with members of an Amateur Radio community from The Czech Republic. The primary payload is the experimental Earth observation camera with an expected resolution around 30 to 50 m GSD. Secondary payloads of the mission are Radiation Orbital Monitor, Gama Ray Burst detector, X-ray detector and other sensors. This mission is fully open to Radio Amateurs who were also involved in the development of the satellite. The space segment uses two Amateur bands for communication: An S-band for payload data downlink (DVBS2 ETSI EN 302 307 standard, 2 MBd, QPSK), and UHF downlink beacon (GMSK 1200 Bd), telecommand uplink ( GMSK, 1200 Bd - 9600 Bd) and telemetry downlink (GMSK 4800, 9600 Bd). All the information is in an open format and everything needed for decoding is or will be published at: https://www.pilsencube.zcu.cz/vzlusat2/transmission.pdf. Planning a launch from Cape Canaveral in the time window from December 2020 to March 2021 into SSO 500-600 km. A downlink on 437.325 MHz has been coordinated. [ANS thanks the IARU for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT, along with our ARISS partners, is developing an amateur radio package, including two-way communication capability, to be carried on-board Gateway in lunar orbit. Support AMSAT's projects today at https://www.amsat.org/donate/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations Quick Hits: - Need Hawaii? On AO-7 Most days. NH7WN for a schedule. - EN85, 86 and maybe 75 and 76, July 11-25. @AA8CH for a schedule. - FN44/54, 7/22 - 7/31, KQ2RP: Just like last time, FM only. - FN11+21 then 12+22 grid lines, 7/25, @NS3L Steve is heading out to these lines. Schedule to come. - EN20/30 Line, July 28-31, @KX9X Sean is moving quickly towards his VUCC/R award by heading out again for two more grids. Watch his Twitter for details. - DM97/98 & EM08/09: Super Rover @AD0DX is heading out for the Kansas QSO party and N0E. More to come. Major Roves: - @WY7AA is heading out again! Mon 7/20 DN67/68. All SSB and FM passes from about 1600-0400. Tue 7/21 DN57/58. All SSB and FM passes from about 1600-0400. Wed 7/22 Travel day no sats. Thu 7/23 DN55/56. All SSB and FM passes from about 1600-0400. Fri 7/24 DN65/66. All SSB and FM passes from about 1600-0400. Watch his QRZ page for details and updates. [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events No events posted. -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News No pending school operations. [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Shorts from All Over - Sean Kutzko, KX9X To Present "Working Satellites" at DXE Virtual Hamfest and DX Academy July 25, 2020 Join Sean on Saturday, July 25, 2020 at 10:15 EDT for his thirty- minute presentation on Amateur Radio satellites. Sean's presentation is part of the DX Engineering Virtual Hamfest and DX Academy. The event is free and open to all. Register at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-201-Sean - Behind Scenes SpaceX Crew Dragon Mission You Haven't Seen NASA has just released a new video. It starts with "You saw history made with the first crewed launch and docking of the SpaceX Crew Dragon, but you didn't see the flurry of activity on board the International Space Station...until now. "Join Expedition 63 Commander Chris Cassidy and his crew mates as they prepare their cameras to document the DM-2 launch, and look over their shoulders to witness the new American spacecraft dock to the station and deliver their new crew mates." Watch the twelve minute video at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-201-Dragon. [ANS thanks http://spaceref.com for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the student rate for a maximum of six post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Frank Karnauskas, N1UW n1uw at amsat dot 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. Not an AMSAT member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT 2020 BoD Ballot Arrived : ??
by Brennan Price 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

I do want to address both Greg's observation and Bruce's, in turn. 1) An interior envelope is admittedly commonly used in mail-in balloting. It also incrementally increases the cost and complexity of the mailing, and has been abandoned by other organizations in lieu of other measures to maintain secrecy as a result (I actually modeled this process and ballot design--including return envelopes with preprinted addressed for verification and no interior envelope--from a recently concluded and similarly robustly conducted election for the board of the United States Chess Federation, of which I am a member). I will cite this relevant text from my earlier advisory to this reflector: The package is clearly labeled as election-related and contains . . . [a] No 9 return envelope, which bears the address to which ballots should be returned and the member's name and address for verification against the voter list and any replacement ballot requests. Secrecy at the time of counting will be maintained by separating the ballot from the envelope without inspection, placing the ballot in a receptacle, and scrutinizing the ballots after all have been separated from the envelopes. I appreciate the membership's anticipated confidence in my commitment and ability to maintain the bylaws' requirement of a secret ballot through this method. 2) It is not correct that I have been pressured in my conduct of the election. I have made decisions on a number of issues that warranted discussion both before and after the fact, and I believe I've made at least one call with which every candidate would have rather me made another by now. These discussions, even when ending in disagreement, have universally been conducted with professionalism and in the absence of the vigor that one may detect here. 73,Brennan Price, N4QXSecretary, Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org> On Behalf Of Bruce Perens via AMSAT-BB Sent: Saturday, July 18, 2020 4:38 PM To: Gregory Beat <w9gb(a)icloud.com> Cc: AMSAT BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AMSAT 2020 BoD Ballot Arrived : ?? Hi Gregory, I believe that Brennan was doing his best to run a fair election, and this is an unintentional mistake. Brennan was under pressure to make things less fair, and did not. On Sat, Jul 18, 2020, 1:11 PM Gregory Beat via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > I received the 2020 AMSAT BoD ballot via US Postal Service today. > > I noticed that the envelope for this ballot is addressed to the AMSAT > Secretary, Brennan Price, at a post office box in Vienna, VA. > The envelope has my return address pre-printed in the upper left corner. > > The standard mail-in ballot practice, is to NOT use an identifiable > return address. > A separate ballot envelope (sometimes a different, specific color) is > provided for the member’s ballot. This assures that the member’s > ballot remains Secret and the envelope only Opened during the physical > counting process. This minimizes or eliminates Ballot Tampering. > == > The 2020 mail-in ballot process is different than the 2019 election, > when AMSAT used a third-party to assure a secret ballot for BoD election process. > I previously worked for Ernst&Young, which handles sensitive and > visible balloting for many high-profile organizations (expect the > Oscars, that is PwC). > > I raise my hand in objection, that this 2020 mail-in balloting method > does not assure the line of secrecy from member to the vote counting > (tabulation) process. > > Greg Beat, w9gb > AMSAT-NA life member > == > ANS-188 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins > DATE: 2019 July 7 > To All RADIO AMATEURS > 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Update > > The 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors election will be conducted > differently than in past elections. In previous years, the balloting > process was handled by multiple vendors. This year, AMSAT has > contracted with a single, independent party, ElectionBuddy, to conduct > and fully manage the election process. > Sincerely, > Clayton L. Coleman, W5PFG > AMSAT Secretary > > > Sent from iPad Air > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. > Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect > the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: AMSAT-BB Info Page | | | | AMSAT-BB Info Page | | |

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AMSAT 2020 BoD Ballot Arrived : ??
by Gregory Beat 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

I received the 2020 AMSAT BoD ballot via US Postal Service today. I noticed that the envelope for this ballot is addressed to the AMSAT Secretary, Brennan Price, at a post office box in Vienna, VA. The envelope has my return address pre-printed in the upper left corner. The standard mail-in ballot practice, is to NOT use an identifiable return address. A separate ballot envelope (sometimes a different, specific color) is provided for the member’s ballot. This assures that the member’s ballot remains Secret and the envelope only Opened during the physical counting process. This minimizes or eliminates Ballot Tampering. == The 2020 mail-in ballot process is different than the 2019 election, when AMSAT used a third-party to assure a secret ballot for BoD election process. I previously worked for Ernst&Young, which handles sensitive and visible balloting for many high-profile organizations (expect the Oscars, that is PwC). I raise my hand in objection, that this 2020 mail-in balloting method does not assure the line of secrecy from member to the vote counting (tabulation) process. Greg Beat, w9gb AMSAT-NA life member == ANS-188 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins DATE: 2019 July 7 To All RADIO AMATEURS 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Update The 2019 AMSAT Board of Directors election will be conducted differently than in past elections. In previous years, the balloting process was handled by multiple vendors. This year, AMSAT has contracted with a single, independent party, ElectionBuddy, to conduct and fully manage the election process. Sincerely, Clayton L. Coleman, W5PFG AMSAT Secretary Sent from iPad Air

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RFI/EMI-quiet LED 48 inch T8 tube lights (to replace fluorescents)
by David J. Schmocker 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

Everyone: Some of us have fluorescent tube-lights in our homes or garages and desire to replace them with energy-efficient LED bulbs. However as weak-signal enthusiasts, many LED bulbs are electrically noisy. So I set out to identify and test LED bulbs that are both energy efficient and EMI/RFI quiet (starting at 50.2 MHz because I do moon-bounce work there). This need for electrical quiet applies also to 2m and 70cm and other satellite bands too. 50.2 MHz test findings: Test site (KJ9I QTH): N5654 County Road F Sullivan, WI 53178 Test location: basement of residence (location of these lights) Test date: May 2020 Test result: no change in WSJT v10 Rx level with all basement lights on or off (0dB relative signal level both before and after lights illuminated). Fluorescent light replacement (formerly electronic ballasts) converted to direct-wire, single-end fed LED bulbs. *Hyperikon SKU: 841000631* (XYL requirement was soft-white, so 3000 degrees K was selected). 18w bulbs. In May 2020, I installed 14 bulbs (seven dual light fixtures) removing the old ballasts and fluorescent tube lights. I trimmed all unused wires to minimum physical length and removed excess wire from fixtures that had been attached to electronic ballasts. The fixtures in which these were installed are typical tin metal legacy fluorescent fixtures. Note: Hyperikon Non-Shunted Tombstones (end mounts) were replaced on only the energized end of each installed LED bulb. The opposite (non-energized) end retained the original tombstone with wires trimmed off as short as possible. There is no change in my WSJT v10 (nor WSJT-X) signal level with lights all on or off. When Rx level is set to 0dB, it holds at this level. Test Antenna is 1 x LFA-HZE-10 (2-inch homebrew round boom design) up 88 feet Above Ground Level with HA8ET 50MHz LNA fed into SSB Electronic LT6S transverter (1dB NF) then to JRC JST-245DX 28Mhz transceiver. Today I received good news that another ham (Frank W3LPL) also installed Hyperikon LED bulbs at his QTH and he also reported 6m RFI-quiet. I hope this data is useful. 73, Dave KJ9I The disclaimer: I have no financial nor any other connection with Hyperikon beyond being a satisfied customer of the above bulbs.

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Wise Legal Expenses
by Robert MacHale 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

To all who claim the legal expenses were a waste of money, consider this: >>>In January 2020, a demand letter arrived at AMSAT from an attorney representing Directors Thompson and Stoddard. Submitting a demand letter from an attorney is a really big deal. That legal line was first crossed by the new board members. Apparently, Joe Spier resigned at this point in order to avoid unfair legal entanglements - and, as far as I can tell from the few interactions I have had with Joe - he is a kind person. Plenty of evidence, plenty of facts - obviously point to AmSat not keeping up with the times. But that does not justify legal betrayal of existing board members by new members in an effort to usurp full control of the board. A more perfect response would have been to do nothing until the election cycle and hope to replace the board members who may have been dragging their feet. My point is this - nobody should be making the argument the legal expenses were not required. Hearing this from the members who delivered the demand letter feels insulting on many levels and should stop. Own it - the members who brought the demand, and their Backer(s), are ultimately responsible for the costs incurred. Actions have consequences - and side-effects. Ends do not justify means. There is a right way and a wrong way to move forward. Trust is more valuable than performance. The legal expenditures were both Wise and Required. The demand letter sent by the new board members was neither. Shifting blame and not owning the side-effects of our actions is less than optimal. This observation is not a vote in favor or against any member or candidate. For reference: https://www.amsat.org/pipermail/amsat-bb/2020-July/078239.html Robert MacHale . KE6BLR Ham Radio License . http://www.aprsat.com/predict . http://www.spaceCommunicator.club . Supporting Boy Scout Merit Badges in Radio, Robotics, and Space Exploration Silly Joke: What did the little mountain say to the bigger mountain? Hi Cliff!

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Special Callsign 4A15DXXE
by Russ Kinner 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

Some of you may have heard a unique callsign on the FM birds 4A15DXXE. It is Grupo DXXE 15th Anniversary Special Event Station which will be operating all year. They QSL via LotW only. More info: http://www.dxxe.org/4a15dxxe I worked them last night on AO-92. Rusty WA8ZID

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AMSAT Election
by Bruce 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

Thank you to all the members that nominated me for the AMSAT Board of Directors which was way more than the minimum 5 required. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Bruce Paige, KK5DO. An AMSAT Life Member, I have been on the board multiple times since I became a life member in 1993. I have also been the AMSAT Director of Contests and Awards since 2001. Please take the time to make an informed decision in this year's election. My bio and passion for ham radio can be found at the links below. I encourage you to read my candidate statement at https://www.upwardtoheo.com/biographies/bruce-paige-kk5do I've also written some more information about why I'm running for the Board at https://www.upwardtoheo.com/updates/kk5dos-passion-for-ham-radio Former AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, explains why Mark, N8MH, Paul, N8MH, and I are the best choices in this election at https://www.upwardtoheo.com/updates/former-amsat-president-barry-baines-wd4… 73, Bruce, KK5DO

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New approach, in my blog
by Robert McGwier 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

I am going to be writing about my AMSAT board candidacy in my blog. Any corrections, please send them. If you are an AMSAT member, I would appreciate your vote. https://n4hy.blogspot.com/2020/07/amsat-bod-elections-2020.html -- Bob McGwier Founder, Federated Wireless, Inc Founder and Technical Advisor, HawkEye 360, Inc Adjunct Professor Virginia Tech Former Chief Scientist: The Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology Senior Member IEEE, Facebook: N4HYBob, ARS: N4HY

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Re: [amsat-bb] Candidate W4EB Inquiry
by Michael Tondee 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

Some people who do volunteer or charity work for an organization or make contributions do so anonymously and without much fanfare. Recognition is not why they do it. They are content to work behind the scenes quietly and don't feel the need to shout from the rooftops LOOK AT ME! Still others, may not do anything besides pay dues for years and then feel some sort of personal call to action and start to speak out where they see change needed and then maybe they even run for office in said organization. I can't speak for W4EB and what his motivations are. Personally though, I've been quiet about the stagnation of this organization for years and voted with my wallet by not supporting it. That's changed and now I feel the need to speak out. I will say that all the candidates running are braver than I am because I would not care to subject myself to the type of veiled attacks you're making. The fact someone chooses not to play silly games of one upmanship with you speaks volumes alright. It shows of what good character they are and I hope the voters in the coming election realize that. It's too late for me to join and vote now but now I'm wishing I had. 73, Michael, W4HIJ Message: 7 Date: Sat, 18 Jul 2020 00:14:24 -0700 From: Clint Bradford<clintbradford(a)mac.com> To: AMSAT BB<amsat-bb(a)AMSAT.Org> Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Candidate WE4B Inquiry Message-ID:<CC800069-0D58-4C33-8609-2E5CE3CC236F(a)mac.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Thanks - your non-response speaks volumes. Clint Bradford K6LCS > On Jul 17, 2020, at 4:16 AM, Clint Bradford<clintbradford(a)mac.com> wrote: > > Candidate WE4B - please list for us the projects you have volunteered for > for AMSAT-NA. Specifically for AMSAT-NA - and not just general satellite > contacts. Say, for the past 10 years. > > Many thanks. > > Clint Bradford K6LCS

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Candidte WE4B Inquiry
by Clint Bradford 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

Candidate WE4B - please list for us the projects you have volunteered for for AMSAT-NA. Specifically for AMSAT-NA - and not just general satellite contacts. Say, for the past 10 years. Many thanks. Clint Bradford K6LCS

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GOLF Equipment
by Clint Bradford 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

What is anticipated as a “starter” station to wotk the first GOLF satellite to be deployed? Clint Bradford K6LCS

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Re: [amsat-bb] Members Please Read
by Clint Bradford 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

Why are you comparing the legal expenditures with membership fees? Di you discover that membership fees were used in any manner for those expenses? If not, then why don’t we compare that amount with, say, Apples or Watermelons? > On Jul 17, 2020, at 12:46 PM, amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org wrote: > >> Now we learn that the expenditure is over 16k. That is 363 memberships, if this retired engineer's math is correct.

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Websites Down ? amsat.org and parens.com
by Robert MacHale 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

Am I the only one having trouble accessing these websites? If this is an attack against either group - I strongly disapprove of this type of hacking. Bruce - is everything okay? Robert MacHale. KE6BLR Ham Radio License. http://www.aprsat.com/predict . http://www.spaceCommunicator.club . Supporting Boy Scout Merit Badges in Radio, Robotics, and Space Exploration

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request detailed system diagram for remoting a satellite station
by David J. Schmocker 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

Hello, Does anyone have a detailed system diagram (or interconnect drawing) showing how they have remoted a satellite station please? Specifically which parts of the system require IP-addressable power on/off, etc. I am in the process of constructing a new satellite station for U/V linear use at Milwaukee Area Technical College (where I teach). Our Data Communication and Networking class introduces satellite technology which I plan to demonstrate live. Because the hours of access to the building are limited, and because we teach Data Communication and Networking from two campuses (but have Satellite station at only one), remoting this station would be desirable. I have an APC IP-addressable power strip (117vac) and some power relays if we need 220vac switched, an IC-9700, two high-power switchable LNAs (2m and 70cm), antennas (20 element RHCP for 2m and 16 Turn G3RUH Helix for 70cm), and a Yaesu 5500 rotor with Green Heron Az/El controller (I'll bring Heliax from home to get to the rooftop). Hopefully our city campus location is not overly noisy. I plan to construct the HEO-ready station as soon as I can be back on campus to do this. One specific area of concern: how to pass audio over internet. I've heard Skype and some other vehicles have problematic latency but I have yet to remote any station to use 'near real-time audio' for CW or SSB QSOs so I lack experience with this. The satellite computer (controlling antennas and managing Doppler) is a Mac mini running MacLoggerDX and MacDoppler software. If helpful, I have two surplus new Raspberry Pi 3s (new and unused) that could be repurposed for part of this if helpful. You'll be happy to know I've been reading the mail and I know to first listen and test so we Tx with minimum power. But as a satellite newby, I'm sure I'll need abundant guidance when we get QRV. Any detailed system diagrams (could be off-list directly to me) showing how you built and configured such a remote station satellite system would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very 73, Dave KJ9I KD9BOG (at work)

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Re: [amsat-bb] Members Please Read
by Robert Bankston 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

In response to the OP <Why are you comparing the legal expenditures with membership fees?> The simple answer is THEY are trying to evoke anger in the electorate, so THEY can take control of AMSAT. Go back and read the intitial allegations in Michelle's and Patrick's "election edition" director reports. See how their lines of attack change each time the true facts are revealed. Their storyline has transformed from illegal expenditures to unwise expenditures. Now go back and read AMSAT's explanation of legal expenses. You will see that there were legitimate legal questions before the Board - question that were not sought by the AMSAT, but, either a necessary part of their mission or forced upon them by their accusers. Having to expend scarce recources on legal counsel is unfortunate, but a necessary part of entering into contractual obligations and providing a safe workplace for your volunteers. Robert, KE4AL

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HO-107 is back!
by Alan 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

HO-107 is back sending telemetry. The transponder is off, but if you have been copying telemetry and removed it from your schedule, it would be helpful if you put it back. 73, Alan WA4SCA

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GeoSat OSCAR-2024 Positive comments, no, whining....(Was need HEO..please..)
by Joe Leikhim 18 Jul '20

18 Jul '20

Blast from past 12 years ago....the entire thread of course is nearly a rehash of today's. So just the POSITIVE Bits. What happened? [eagle] Re: what is going on?, some technical content at last. *Bill Tynan* btynan at beecreek.net <mailto:eagle%40amsat.org?Subject=%5Beagle%5D%20Re%3A%20what%20is%20going%20on%3F%2C%20some%20technical%20content%20at%20last.&In-Reply-To=> /Fri Jul 11 07:52:51 PDT 2008/ "Drew, Bob and All: I have been thinking along the same lines for some time, but being no more than a "Senior Advisor" (geezer) I have not chosen to voice my views widely. Most hams want linear transponder, high altitude satellites. Very few are yet into digital anything. Yes, AMSAT should be in the forefront of technology, but to do so, it must be here. To be here, it must have the support (money) of the ham community. We can still make a very good case for emergency commutations with a spacecraft which is in there 24/7 (Rideshare) even if it is only an analog transponder. With moderate bandwidth, that analog transponder can be used for at least low rate digital communication by ground stations. So, still pictures and medical data can be exchanged through it. So, let's get to it. That means fundraising. I have seen very little effort in that direction. Have fat cats been solicited? What about the guy (can't remember his name) who spent $20,000,000 to visit the ISS for a week. It would seem that he is a prime candidate. Has he been contacted? Has FEMA been solicited re the potential Rideshare offers? It's up to the AMSAT leadership to make such solicitations. We raised $2,000,000 here in North America for P3D. We should be able to do it again, despite the AO-40 disaster. These are my thoughts. 73, Bill Tynan, W3XO, LM-10 AMSAT President 1991 - 1998" https://www.amsat.org/pipermail/eagle/2008/001235.html -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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FW: Oscar Sub Band Freq Infio
by KA9QJG 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Not Sure this Went out 73 Don KA9QJG From: KA9QJG [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Friday, July 17, 2020 4:30 PM To: 'AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org' Subject: Oscar Sub Band Freq Infio Hello from Don KA9QJG Ham for over 40 yrs. Hope Everyone is staying Safe and Healthy.. I hope its ok to change the ongoing thread.. I have heard some New Hams using the Oscar sub bands for FM Simplex. Below Is the ARRL Band Chart Now Reads New 144.30-144.50 New OSCAR subband 145.80-146.00 OSCAR subband They are using Freq 144.315 FM Simplex. One was telling a story over 25 yrs ago they were using this Freq and a complaint was made to the FCC He got a Letter from the FCC . And He called respond the complaint and told the FCC that this was the Old Oscar Sub band that had not been used since the sixties Sats were Not up and working anymore. And the FCC Said do not worry about the complaint. So after listening to all this on 144.315 over a long time I thought the best place to get a real answer would be here. Thanks everyone Please Stay Safe and Healthy 73 At 73 Be careful Old Age is catching LOL Don KA9QJG 2 Meters (144-148 MHz) 144.00-144.05 EME (CW) 144.05-144.10 General CW and weak signals 144.10-144.20 EME and weak-signal SSB 144.200 National calling frequency 144.200-144.275 General SSB operation 144.275-144.300 Propagation beacons 144.30-144.50 New OSCAR subband 144.50-144.60 Linear translator inputs 144.60-144.90 FM repeater inputs 144.90-145.10 Weak signal and FM simplex (145.01,03,05,07,09 are widely used for packet) 145.10-145.20 Linear translator outputs 145.20-145.50 FM repeater outputs 145.50-145.80 Miscellaneous and experimental modes 145.80-146.00 OSCAR subband 146.01-146.37 Repeater inputs 146.40-146.58 Simplex 146.52 National Simplex Calling Frequency 146.61-146.97 Repeater outputs 147.00-147.39 Repeater outputs 147.42-147.57 Simplex 147.60-147.99 Repeater inputs Notes: The frequency 146.40 MHz is used in some areas as a repeater input. This band plan has been proposed by the ARRL VHF-UHF Advisory Committee.

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Re: [amsat-bb] Members Please Read
by Bruce Perens 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

On Fri, Jul 17, 2020 at 4:13 PM Fernando Ramirez via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > So, there's a separate funding source for legal services? I'd be astonished. No, this came out of one bank account where your membership dues and donations went, along with any other money the organization happened to make.

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Moderation and personal attacks
by Michael Tondee 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

I have been informed I'm on moderated status for a "personal attack" so it will be interesting to see if this gets through. I feel I just spoke the known truth but the moderator disagrees so I will play by his rules. At any rate, this bb has been full of "personal attacks" lately both outright and veiled and unfortunately I see it continues with sniping and snide remarks. It's already established that I'm not currently a member of AMSAT and have my reasons why, but I would like to be a member again if I see positive change. You can freely disregard my opinion if you like but I implore all of you to cast your votes wisely and not be influenced by the decidedly personal vendettas of a few here. AMSAT is stagnant and needs fresh direction. Many are like me "on the outside looking in" and very interested to see where you choose to take the future of this organization. Thanks for your time. 73, Michael, W4HIJ

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NASA and Open Source
by Bruce Perens 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

I am reading a NASA Grant application today, and noticed this text: Program elements will give preference to proposals that include a plan for committing software as Open Source Software (OSS), beginning at the inception of the proposed work. This plan will include the identification of software components developed as part of the proposed work, and designate a permissive, widely accepted OSS license and a public repository hosting service for these components.

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Sat radios and G-5500
by Francis Geraci 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Anybody interested in: IC-211 IC-451 IC-821 G-5500 Find me on QRZ Email Francis - W1FXX -, Marathon,Fl.

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New satellite operator - M7OJA
by Roy Dean 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

> > I would like to try to maximise the time I have to use the satellite. My > handheld radio (Anytone 868) doesn't have an auto doppler shift, so I am > wondering how to calculate the doppler frequencies? For example, on this > link https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/how-to-work-fm-satellites/, all of the > frequencies are listed to be programmed into a handheld (accounting for > doppler shift). I would like a similar list of frequencies for the Fox-1D > (or know how to calculate them). Many Thanks, Oscar M7OJA (IO94HT) Hi Oscar (very appropriate name for this list!), If you have a computer or smart phone accessible during the pass, I suggest opening up the following webpage: http://www.amsat.org.ar/pass.htm Set your grid square at the bottom and hit "Resolve and Set New". Double check that the little house on the map is on your location. If that is correct, simply click on the satellite in the list and the upper right will change to a display that shows the elevation, azimuth, and current uplink/downlink at your location. Then it's simply up to you to change your uplink and downlink VFO to the closest match of the displayed correct doppler frequency. --Roy K3RLD

2 1

Oscar Sub Band Freq Infio
by KA9QJG 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Hello from Don KA9QJG Ham for over 40 yrs. Hope Everyone is staying Safe and Healthy.. I hope its ok to change the ongoing thread.. I have heard some New Hams using the Oscar sub bands for FM Simplex. Below Is the ARRL Band Chart Now Reads New 144.30-144.50 New OSCAR subband 145.80-146.00 OSCAR subband They are using Freq 144.315 FM Simplex. One was telling a story over 25 yrs ago they were using this Freq and a complaint was made to the FCC He got a Letter from the FCC . And He called respond the complaint and told the FCC that this was the Old Oscar Sub band that had not been used since the sixties Sats were Not up and working anymore. And the FCC Said do not worry about the complaint. So after listening to all this on 144.315 over a long time I thought the best place to get a real answer would be here. Thanks everyone Please Stay Safe and Healthy 73 At 73 Be careful Old Age is catching LOL Don KA9QJG 2 Meters (144-148 MHz) 144.00-144.05 EME (CW) 144.05-144.10 General CW and weak signals 144.10-144.20 EME and weak-signal SSB 144.200 National calling frequency 144.200-144.275 General SSB operation 144.275-144.300 Propagation beacons 144.30-144.50 New OSCAR subband 144.50-144.60 Linear translator inputs 144.60-144.90 FM repeater inputs 144.90-145.10 Weak signal and FM simplex (145.01,03,05,07,09 are widely used for packet) 145.10-145.20 Linear translator outputs 145.20-145.50 FM repeater outputs 145.50-145.80 Miscellaneous and experimental modes 145.80-146.00 OSCAR subband 146.01-146.37 Repeater inputs 146.40-146.58 Simplex 146.52 National Simplex Calling Frequency 146.61-146.97 Repeater outputs 147.00-147.39 Repeater outputs 147.42-147.57 Simplex 147.60-147.99 Repeater inputs Notes: The frequency 146.40 MHz is used in some areas as a repeater input. This band plan has been proposed by the ARRL VHF-UHF Advisory Committee.

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Re: [amsat-bb] Testing
by Bruce Perens 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Bob McGwier's credentials exceed anyone on the board except for Tom Clark, who is stepping down and has endorsed Bob to replace him. Howie is pretty highly achieved in the satellite world, and I am intrigued by Jeff's background in Kaizen. This stuff has taken over companies to an astonishing degree, and gives them a way to rationally manage processes that we did not understand how to manage before. These folks are not *just *new blood. Thanks Bruce >

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Re: [amsat-bb] Moderation and personal attacks
by Fernando Ramirez 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Well, then you shouldn't have a problem with publishing that evidence. KF7R On Fri, Jul 17, 2020, 11:06 AM Clint Bradford <clintbradford(a)me.com> wrote: > I have three independent sources - including GoDaddy - for that truth. > > Notice how WE4B hasn’t make a peep about it? And Patrick stating > he wasn’t involved in CREATING it - but he sure contributed to it. > > With a third party. > > DO you, too, have some sort of “personal vendetta” against me? Any > questions or concerns? I am available by phone, email, Skype, Zoom … > > Clint Bradford K6LCS > 951-533-4984

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Mount Carmel HS ARC marine buoy deployed and transmitting
by Phil Karn 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Over the past year, Randy, KQ6RS and I have mentored the MCHSARC in designing and constructing a simple marine buoy that was deployed from the R/V Sally Ride this morning about 700 km off the coast of southern California. It is up and transmitting WSPR on 20m using the callsign KQ6RS, and is being received all over the US and into Canada and Brazil. The electronics is the 20m WSPR version of the WB8ELK "pico tracker" that has been flown quite a few times (including by us) on long duration balloons. We removed the solar panels and substituted 21 ordinary alkaline D-cells wired to supply 4.5V. We estimate battery lifetime will be 6 months. The basic design was inspired by Bob, WB4APR, at the US Naval Academy. Physically, the buoy is just a 5' section of 4" PVC pipe, ballasted at one end to float vertically in the water. The top is closed by a sewer pressure test plug I found at Home Depot; it has a bolt in the center that acts as a convenient feed-through and mounting point for the antenna, a stainless steel CB whip with a matching network designed, tested and carefully tuned by Randy. We use the sea as a counterpoise, but to avoid direct metal/seawater contact we lined the inside of the pipe with copper tape to form a capacitive connection. We probably spent too much time on this; Randy even modeled the electrical fields in the seawater with a professional RF analysis package. In our first flotation tests in Randy's swimming pool we found that the ballasted pipe, by itself, was remarkably stable in pitch, roll, sway and surge but oscillated a lot in heave (up and down). To damp this Randy added cross arms at the water line to add drag in the vertical direction. (It wasn't our intent to mimic a religious icon but that's where the physics went.) Tuning the antenna required sea water, so Randy did it from a dock on Mission Bay here in San Diego. We tried to make this thing as rugged as we could. (My favorite saying to the students was that the sea *always* wins in the end, but we can delay that long enough to be useful.) Everything inside is held in place with epoxy or polyurethane foam. Randy reinforced the sewer plug with a PVC end cap with a hole cut in the center. Although the antenna is stainless steel, Randy covered it with a type of heatshrink with a waterproofing compound inside. Activation was by removing an external magnet placed over a parallel pair of normally closed magnetic reed switches. (Using two instead of one was my idea.) We even argued how to guard against the crew forgetting to remove the magnet before deployment. Randy found some adhesive that would dissolve and let the magnet fall away; I suggested a big REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT tag and a float that would pull it away if it was tossed into the water. That left the problem of deployment. We couldn't just drop it close to the coast because it would quickly wash back up on the beach. We needed a boat ride. We were originally going on a NOAA vessel in April, but that trip was cancelled due to the pandemic. Randy secured a trip on the R/V Sally Ride, a research ship operated by Scripps Institute of Oceanography and home ported here in San Diego. This map shows the "lawn mowing" pattern they follow to measure and sample sea water off southern California. We were deployed early this morning at the most southwestern point shown here: https://calcofi.org/cruises/2020-cruises/calcofi-2007sr.html First report was at 12:52:30 UTC this morning from 29 51.25N, 123 37.50W. That's grid square CL89eu, which I figure is pretty rare for grid hunters. The current carried us east into CL89fu at 20:32:30. This is a little surprising since we thought the currents in that area are to the southwest. But that's why you do science! You can track us on aprs.fi here: https://aprs.fi/#!call=a%2FKQ6RS-1&others=1&timerange=604800&tail=3600 We also show up on wsprnet.org http://wsprnet.org/drupal/wsprnet/map Because of the funky way Bill encodes position in WSPR (which was never designed for this), you'll see some weird-looking callsigns (like 0W7NFU) in addition to KQ6RS. This was our first buoy, just to get our feet wet (ha ha). Now to think about what we want to put in our *second* buoy. Two-way links, satellite tracking, sensors, the works. But remember the "second system" effect... 73, Phil

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RS-44 Transponder Turned off 09:35z
by Peter Goodhall (2M0SQL) 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Hi All, I've just been using RS-44 was fine as it passed over North America, Canada, however, once it went over Russia at around 09:35z the RS-44 transponder turned off. I hope it will be back! Peter, 2M0SQL

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WE4B - A Question
by Clint Bradford 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Since the original question has been hijacked and might be un-seen by its intended recipient, I again ask: Candidate WE4B - please list for us the projects you have volunteered for for AMSAT-NA. Specifically for AMSAT-NA - and not just general satellite contacts. Say, for the past 10 years. Many thanks. Clint Bradford K6LCS Please respect the original title of the thread. Got a problem with me? Please initiate a new thread, send me email, or call me at 909-999-SATS. Please act decently. Clint Bradford K6LCS

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Re: [amsat-bb] Candidte WE4B Inquiry
by Clint Bradford 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

> On Jul 17, 2020, at 6:15 AM, Rick Wyrwas <rwyrwas48(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > No I know you do things for AMSAT but my question to you Sir is it just to benefit you financially > 73 Rick WA9JBQ Fifty dollars. And a few coffee mugs. One Fisher Space pen, engraved. Two books donated to a local library, in which I inscribed the bookplate. I gave away a Kenwood TH-D72a, software, Arrow Antenna, and RT Systems’ software to one club. The $50 was totally unexpected and NOT solicited. While packing up my car after a presentation, the club prez handed my wife that check for $50. I was flabbergasted. Never asked for What is your problem? Whomever you re getting your information from is, well to put it mildly - a misrepresenter of the truth. Clint Bradford K6LCS

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Candidate Statement - Paul Stoetzer, N8HM
by Paul Stoetzer 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Thank you to all the members that nominated me for the AMSAT Board of Directors. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Paul Stoetzer, N8HM. An AMSAT Life Member, I served as AMSAT’s Secretary from 2015-2017 and as Executive Vice President since 2017. There have been suggestions made that AMSAT is "stagnant," "in hibernation," or "sitting on our thumbs." Nothing could be further from the truth. By any objective measurement, the past five years have been incredibly successful for AMSAT. Membership and satellite activity has grown. We have launched four satellites and placed a transponder on a fifth. One satellite (RadFxSat-2 / Fox-1E) is completed and awaiting launch no earlier than the third quarter of this year, and we have launch opportunities for the first two satellites of our GOLF series. Additionally, we completed the Multi-Voltage Power Supply for ARISS, have engaged in more partnerships to fly our linear transponder module, and begun work on the Amateur Radio EXploration (AREx) program to place an amateur communications system on the Lunar Gateway. The work done by our engineering team leads us well-poised for the future. I believe that within the next few years, we will be in a position to place a CubeSat in HEO and provide the worldwide amateur community with a resource they have not enjoyed since AO-40. This will not be an easy task. It is critical that the engineering team continues their work on the GOLF project perfecting the systems that will enable us to operate a CubeSat in a HEO environment. The first GOLF satellite, GOLF-TEE, will serve as a testbed for these technologies in LEO. Data gained from that mission will further inform our engineering team's efforts. While our engineering team continues their hard work building the satellites, the rest of the leadership team must work equally as hard fundraising for a HEO launch opportunity. It will not be an easy task, but I know we can do it. Please vote for me, Mark, N8MH, and Bruce, KK5DO. Together we will return amateur radio to HEO. I encourage you to read my candidate statement at https://www.upwardtoheo.com/biographies/paul-stoetzer-n8hm I've also written some more information about why I'm running for the Board at https://www.upwardtoheo.com/updates/why-im-running-n8hm Former AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, explains why Mark, N8MH, Bruce, KK5DO, and I are the best choices in this election at https://www.upwardtoheo.com/updates/former-amsat-president-barry-baines-wd4… 73, Paul, N8HM

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What?
by Clint Bradford 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

What? I have NEVER charged to put on a presentation. Well. I take that back: I ask for an endless cup of coffee sometimes. Whomever told you that is clueless - watch out for any “facts” you receive from them in the future. Clint Bradford K6LCS PS When I performed at Pacifico’s two years in a row (so many in attendance they asked me to perform TWICE the second year, THEY offered a hotel room and has money. >> Clint. I understand that you charge for your presentations thus I would venture to say you financially benefit for your “association “ with AMSAT. Is that correct 73 Sent from my iPhone

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Field Day submissions due today
by Bruce 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Time is drawing near. If you have not submitted your field day report, you still have the rest of today to get them in. They are due to me at kk5do at arrl.net or kk5do at amsat.org by Friday, July 17, 2020 at 11:59 PM Central Time. Even if you only made one contact, you can still submit. 73...bruce -- Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards AMSAT Board Member 2016-2020 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

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SpaceX to launch Spanish ham radio satellites
by M5AKA 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Unauthorized transmissions in 144 MHz satellite allocation https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/17/unauthorized-transmissions-in-144-mhz-satel… SpaceX to launch AMSAT-EA EASAT-2 and Hades satellites https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/16/spacex-to-launch-amsat-ea-easat-2-and-hades… 1240-1300 MHz discussed at CEPT SE 40 meeting https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/14/1240-1300-mhz-discussed-at-cept-se-40-meeti… LunART- Lunar Amateur Radio Transponder https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/10/lunart-lunar-amateur-radio-transponder/ Nature carries an article about the spacecraft Longjiang-2 / Lunar-OSCAR 94 (LO-94), built by students at the Harbin Institute of Technology, that carried the first Amateur Radio communication system to operate in lunar orbit https://amsat-uk.org/2020/07/09/lo94-amateur-radio-in-lunar-orbit/ Trevor M5AKA---- AMSAT-UK http://amsat-uk.org/ Twitter https://twitter.com/AmsatUK Facebook https://facebook.com/AmsatUK YouTube https://youtube.com/AmsatUK ----

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New satellite operator - M7OJA
by Oscar Acton 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Hello, My callsign is M7OJA. I was tracking the Fox-1D satellite and I called out into a handheld radio with 8 watts into a collinear omnidirectional antenna on my roof when the satellite passed. I heard a station come back very clearly with "Juliet Alpha again". Unfortunately, the satellite had passed by then, but I am impressed that I managed to get in with my minimal station setup. I would like to try to maximise the time I have to use the satellite. My handheld radio (Anytone 868) doesn't have an auto doppler shift, so I am wondering how to calculate the doppler frequencies? For example, on this link https://amsat-uk.org/beginners/how-to-work-fm-satellites/, all of the frequencies are listed to be programmed into a handheld (accounting for doppler shift). I would like a similar list of frequencies for the Fox-1D (or know how to calculate them). Many Thanks, Oscar M7OJA (IO94HT)

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My qualifications to a member of AMSAT board of directors
by Robert McGwier 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

I have been a director before. Many might remember I wrote Quiktrak. There are a few other things I have done. Please take the time to read this. I believe you will find I am a qualified candidate for the board and I hope you support me. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ySCgJn_gLRPHkqUjoHTKWgKzPNVOKBSI/view?usp=… -- Bob McGwier Founder, Federated Wireless, Inc Founder and Technical Advisor, HawkEye 360, Inc Adjunct Professor Virginia Tech Former Chief Scientist: The Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology Senior Member IEEE, Facebook: N4HYBob, ARS: N4HY

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Re: [amsat-bb] Candidte WE4B Inquiry
by Clint Bradford 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Geeze, dude - no reason to get all snarky … YOU asked the question. You just didn’t like the answer … Clint Bradford K6LCS > On Jul 17, 2020, at 5:40 AM, R W <rwyrwas48(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Yeah that’s great Clint, you would get my vote, yeah right > > Rick > WA9JBQ

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AMSAT Board of Directors Candidate Statement
by Jeff Johns 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Hello. My name is Jeff Johns WE4B and, as you probably know by now, I am a candidate for a BoD position with AMSAT. I am not going to try to blind you with promises of HEO satellites in an attempt to gain your vote. We all want HEO but we need to get our house in order so that we can begin to reach higher in the sky. Until AMSAT can have regular, functional Board meetings we will never be able to have HEO spacecraft in orbit. Professionally, I have been successful in operations management and most specifically, operations management with a concentration in Continuous Improvement. I am a Six Sigma Black Belt and am highly skilled in running Kaizen events. The last Black Belt project I completed will save a Fortune 500 company approximately $1.7mm annually through an improved inbound logistics program. This project involved a cross functional team consisting of everyone from warehouse associates to C-level executives. To be successful in continuous improvement, one must be able to work with and influence all types of people. For me, that means that sometimes I am wearing steel toed boots and on the floor of an operation while later in the day wearing a coat and tie and sitting in a board room. I know that the skills of someone involved in operations management and continuous improvement would be a great benefit for AMSAT. I am well educated having most recently attended Louisiana State University’s MBA program. I am currently rearing two daughters. One is 8 years-old and one is 13 years-old. One is licensed and active in amateur radio and satellites and the other is active operating under my call with me as a control operator. She is only eight but will soon be taking her Technician exam. Amateur radio and satellites have meant a lot to me and my family. There is rarely a day, weather permitting, that either myself, my daughter or both of us are not active on amateur satellites. Odds are, if you are active on FM, SSB or digital satellites that you have had a QSO with one or all of us. Board of Director members oversee Directors and volunteers and set the direction for the organization. Board of Director members need to have a good understanding of how business and business relationships work. We need business minded people, such as myself, on the Board of Directors to help provide crucial guidance for the organization. The incumbents and the Director, that lost his Board seat last year, are appealing to members through a campaign of launching an HEO satellite. That’s a wonderful thought. Let’s be honest. Why did it take an election cycle for them to do so? What have they done before this election cycle? If they couldn’t make it occur while they were in office, what makes someone think they can do it now? Please don’t vote for someone thinking they will provide you an HEO satellite. I will not promise you that but will promise you that I will assist in making it possible if the opportunity presents itself. Until then, AMSAT needs to be honest with members about opportunities and failures. There must be transparency within the organization. If nothing else, this campaign cycle has proven that there is a severe lack of transparency. I would appreciate your vote for a position on the AMSAT Board of Directors and look forward to serving you, the members, in that position. You can view my campaign website at the following URL: http://www.WE4Bravo.com Thank you for your consideration and please also cast a vote for Bob McGwier N4HY and for Howard DeFelice AB2S. Jeff Johns WE4B

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Re: [amsat-bb] Mount Carmel HS ARC marine buoy deployed and transmitting
by Doug Faunt N6TQS +1-510-717-1197 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Cool. If you want to get an even more remote deployment, get in touch with the Sea Education Association, based in Woods Hole, but the SSV Robert C. Seamans is in San Diego, last I heard, after a transit from NZ. The boat travels through almost deserted parts of the Pacific, doing various science projects with college students on board, as well as professional crew. I sailed as mate on her a couple of years ago, NZ to Tahiti. pbrandon(a)sea.edu is president- tell her I suggested this. 73, doug

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-07-17 02:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-07-17 02:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: GAGARIN FROM SPACE Performing an amateur radio session with the 9th International Aerospace School. Ufa, U.N. Sultanova Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, direct via RZ9WWB (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be RSØISS The scheduled astronaut is Ivan Vagner Contact is go for Fri 2020-07-17 19:08 UTC (***) ######################################################################################################################################## 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 2020-07-17 02:00 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 2020-07-10 16:30 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 ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Proposal Window of February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 has now closed. 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. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. 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 133 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 1391. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1324. 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 SpaceX-Demo2 now on orbit Bob Behnken KE5GGX Doug Hurley **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Call-to-action about the election
by Bruce Perens 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

I have published this call-to-action about the election. So far Michelle and I are signatories, please tell me if you would like to add your name. http://perens.com/static/AMSAT/Election2020.html Thanks Bruce -- Bruce Perens - CEO at stealth startup. I'll tell you what it is eventually :-)

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Working together
by Burns Fisher 17 Jul '20

17 Jul '20

Hi, I am Burns Fisher, WB1FJ. I'm a retired software engineer who is currently writing software as a volunteer for AMSAT. In my career, I have written software that is not open source, as well as that which is--I don't have an ax to grind in that fight. I am not going to endorse or recommend against any candidates in this mail, but I do want to bring to light a few items that I don't believe have been discussed and to make a suggestion. One thing that I have not heard in the discussion is that "not fully open-source" is different from "proprietary". I am NOT and never have been an AMSAT director nor a policy decision maker in any form, but in my 10 years writing software for AMSAT satellites, I have had to deal with ITAR. I have been told to talk about things with non-US persons only after they are published, for example. However, I have NEVER seen or been told that it was the intent of anyone in AMSAT to keep any information private forever. We are encouraged to publish work that we are doing in the AMSAT Journal and to talk and write about it for the Symposium (and I have done so). In addition, if you look in the back of your AMSAT Symposium Proceedings for the past 8 or more years, you will find what we called "The ITAR Dump". That is publishing specs and most everything that we could about the satellites we were working on to be openly available in order to take it out from under ITAR. Another point worth making, and that I have personally seen, is that sometimes secrets are necessary. For example: We might be asked by a university partner not to talk about some part of the experiment they want to fly with us, so we do not talk; otherwise we could not fly the experiment (and lose the launch opportunity this experiment afforded us). We are told by our launch provider not to talk about dates and other things regarding the launch, so we don't (or we don't get the launch--or perhaps we find it harder to get the next one). Some contacts that we make may be willing to do really good things for AMSAT, but not if we talk about it before they are ready for us to do so. No one I know (and people I know include all the directors, the officers, and all but one of the candidates) would be unhappy to reduce secretiveness and especially to avoid ITAR, but nearly every choice we make is a tradeoff that requires discussion. Perhaps AMSAT is working under internal procedures relating to ITAR that are outdated, especially given the law change and the many resulting rule changes in the past 5 years. If there is a path to fewer onerous restrictions, that would be great. Working together might lead us to that path. What we CAN NOT do is to ignore our previously-undertaken obligations. NDAs are still in force. Some previous work may still fall under ITAR/EAR. ITAR penalties are sufficiently draconian that we must step carefully. Slow and careful is frustrating. However, no matter who gets elected, infighing only slows things down. I beg the newer directors to back off a bit. I beg the longer term directors to look for a way to work with the newer ones. And above all, I beg ALL of you to calm down, look within yourselves for mistakes you have made in dealing with each other (surely no one is perfect), take ownership for your mistakes, apologize for what you need to and vow TO YOURSELF AND EACH OTHER that you will do better. That is a difficult ask, I understand. Trust has been badly battered. Perhaps you need a professional mediator (and, while no expert myself, I know who to ask for recommendations if you need them). What I *know* is that fighting will not help. Working together does not mean agreeing on everything. It only means finding SOME things you agree on (satellites in HEO?) and agreeing to listen to each other. Maybe calling each other by your first names is a start? I look forward to more light and less heat. Thanks for reading... 73, Burns WB1FJ

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ISS and AMSAT?
by Bob Hammond 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

Recently, there was mention of AMSAT no longer being welcome in the ISS program. Is that true? Or do I need more coffee this morning? Bob W7OTJ

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Lost IP
by Jerry Buxton 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

While the rash of accusations, misinformation, and spin that is the hallmark of AMSAT election time the past two years carries on at a dizzying pace, I feel the need to speak up as (to borrow on a famous quote) "the reports of my complete stupidity are an exaggeration". A background as quoted from historical emails regarding one false claim follows. Names of non-AMSAT Engineering volunteers have been removed and volunteer names are used only when needed for context. 1/26/2016 > Not sure if I closed the loop at the end of last week or not. After > talking with AHA (nice intro from [REDACTED]), and talking with > Notorious [REDACTED], and the space team, everyone is excited about > DVB-S2X for both Phase 4 and Ascent (and HEO). > > AHA is going to come back with some sort of offer/deal/marketing magic > in a couple-three weeks. This would be for the payloads. Ground team > designs an open source receiver from the standard up. > > I think if we want to go for it, we should buy an implementation of > DVB-S2X for ascent, use format 0 for the very low SNR stuff, and start > designing! 7/29/2016 > Attached is an archive with documents for the AHA DVB-S2X IP cores. > Note that there is a folder titled “Confidential – Protected under > NDA”. These documents should not be posted on a public forum (anyone > can get to the github site right?) and should be distributed on an “as > needed” basis to those that understand / have been briefed on the > conditions of the NDA. 8/12/2016 > M , > > Please review the AHA NDA, sign the affirmation, and return it to me. > > If there are others we need to include you may pass these along to them > with the same instructions. Please be sure that we have an affirmation > signed by the others who will be attending the meeting at AHA, before > they have access to the materials. > > I will talk to the Texas contingent after we determine whether we can > have a webinar or not, they can't travel to the meetings in person due > to the length of time involved. > > I will keep the documents secured on an AMSAT server and we can pull > them out to distribute as we determine who needs to see them and have > their affirmation. > > Thanks! > > -- > Jerry Buxton, NØJY > Vice President - Engineering > Here you go! :+) > [in response, with completed NDA attached] ------------------- As stated, the documents are secured on an AMSAT server. There are only two NDA affirmations on file with the documents, on the server. > \P4B\AHA NDA\Affirmations > Buxton NDA Affirmation-signed.pdf > T NDA Affirmation Signed MDT.pdf It should be noted that the same property mentioned in the 7/29/2016 was sent to Virginia Tech partners in the same email as to AMSAT. I do not have any insight to their NDA (if any) with the owner of the IP. With no other NDA affirmations on file to date much less those as requested for the meeting or use of the property, it would appear that neither the team that went to the meeting nor any other person in AMSAT Engineering needed access to the IP? Absent any acquisition of the files from the server by someone who had signed the NDA affirmation for distribution without my knowledge (affirmation is required in order for me to provide them with the passwords for the archives) it would appear that the need for the IP was not realized. This may have been due to the termination of the Heimdallr "CQC" project, or the departure of many CQC ASCENT Engineers to ORI, or both. And there may certainly have been other reasons that our engineers chose not to pursue use of DVB-S2X for a period of time. The IP and NDA still exists and to the best of my understanding of it, the agreement for use and non-disclosure is still effective. There will no doubt be opportunities for use in HEO as was first mentioned in the negotiation and enthusiasm for use of the IP with P4B, CQC, and future HEO, despite the termination of CQC and the hold (at least at this time) on any VT need of help for P4B. When AMSAT Engineers are working an idea as ASCENT or P4B, a design idea as was GOLF, or a project as is GOLF now, if there is technology that is shown to be useful with a proper need to justify the cost of the technology and resulting implementation of new satellites, I have historically supported the Engineering Team by doing what bosses do by providing them with the tools they need to do great work. The AHA is such an example and shows the trust I have had with all of the engineers under my supervision including those who I may not have or do not now, necessarily agree with or see eye to eye. To me it makes no sense to derail AMSAT progress over personal feelings. That's just the me that was elected VPE. Ask any engineer, and we may have disagreed or argued over things along the way but we continue to work together and things turn out happy for everyone. It is unfortunate but part of life that some just cannot put aside differences to reach that common goal. In the recent situation I believe it has something to do with the fact that I am not considered of the caliber of the upper class who knows all things about space and technology and it is probably easily shown that I am in many regards, in their point of view, stupid. I can take that, but as I said these reports of my COMPLETE stupidity are an exaggeration. I could research and respond to other statements that exaggerate my best asset as well, honestly the time spent is better spent doing what we do to keep satellites going up. This email did not happen in two minutes, it was in excess of two hours. I think that is part of the election time disruption plan, distracting everyone and causing extra work and FUD, but despite the high noise floor your dedicated Engineering Team volunteers haven't looked up from their work. And I do not intend to take any more of my AMSAT time to address any other concocted statements, I say that with the hope and belief that you can all realize that these statements only come from one source and no one, ever, has asked the other party (i.e. me in this case) for their statement on the subject before the stuff gets flung to the masses as truth. Even a rocket scientist would realize that you can't accomplish anything of value working with only one half, one "all knowing" engineer's view, of the needed information. And that right there is all that need be said regarding the source of the stuff flying my way. As I said I hope that this gives you some thought to the truth of this instance but I must raise one more important consideration before I close; All or many of your fellow hams in AMSAT Engineering are implicated by this and other not-true, broad claims - I will not tolerate that and I think it is fair to ask that you do not engage in or tolerate that either. Thank you. -- Jerry Buxton, NØJY

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Reading is fundamental
by Peter 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

So, I have spent nearly four hours READING all that is publicly available including the blogs and myriad emails available here or referenced with linksfrom here. I'll go to the end of the story then back up. After reading all that is cited above, its clear to me that the two new board members have exaggerated greatly the degree of wrong doingon the part of the board. It also seems clear that the board agreed to spend 10k to defend themselves against potential legal action from these two board members who then turn around and claim thesemonies were spent irresponsibly (see the initial email regarding Leadership). These funds were spent, in the main, to seek advice on how to proceed, and to create new, formerly nonexistent AMSAT polices to guidefuture administrative conduct. This latter goal was apparently long over due and proprietous. However, its also clear the legal fees exceeded the initially authorized amount of 10k This overage is understandable, dealing with issues like this you tendto get tunnel vision trying to sort this all out and within a few days you run over the limit. I'm not even sure this overage is in any way improper Had it been 50k well, yes, but 4 or 5k is really not a major issue.Additionally, it seems, again from all the emails that no formal vote was held to authorize these additional monies. We're leftto conclude that casual conversations were had that authorized these funds. No one has said this that I could find, perhaps some clarity on that point would help? When the treasurer says no dues were used, I think that is misleading, the point of concern wasn't what pot the monies came from but instead thattheir were resources used that could have been used productively elsewhere had their been tighter supervision of the legal activity. Again, its easyto run over with lawyers and not realize it, this overage doesn't rise to the level or even close to it, of criminal behavior. Describing this overage inthose terms is disgraceful and reckless So, the board was initially off put by the blogs I read. That is not an unreasonable response. Could/should more dialogue have been engaged in? Why yes it should have. This absence of reported deep dive dialogue is troubling, but may or may not havelead to a different outcome. Regardless, more dialogue should have happened, the board's credibility would have been enhanced by trying to sort out what the new directors wanted. I fault the board for not doing this, or if they did, I didn't see it in these writings. I am left with the impression that the two board members are folks who thrive on confrontation while spinning, in these emailsup here, that they are really interested in "transparency" I am convinced this is not the case. I draw all my conclusions on the postings here and thelinks to other cites contained within, and the blogs found by the same means. I feel that Stoddard and Thomspson should resign immediately, for in reading all this, I feel they have exaggerated the degree of misconduct and caused considerableharm to the reputation of AMSAT in the process, as is evident from the emails and posting on this BBS. To the credit of Stoddard and Thompson, it appears that AMSAT has not been run, from an administrative side of things, in a professional manner. Missing HR policiesand no evidence I can find of consultation with business leaders on how to operate a complex organization, is deeply bothersome. Further, an outside review is totally appropriate here. Consider, that had their been policies in place before all of this happened, lawyers would not have been needed.What OTHER policies are missing? What procedures are in place to audit the organization? Are the books reviewed by an outside CPA for instance?The credibility of AMSAT needs to be bolstered and having an expert consultant come in and review all of these potential areas is apparently way over due. That AMSAT lacks proper HR policies after this many years in business is deeply troubling and suggests a more professional operating standard is desperately needed here. Before you pontificate or provide character references for the current board you have an obligation to READ all this stuff, its wearisome, tedious and takes a long time.I read it, YOU should read it BEFORE you go off and make draconian statements. . PeterW2PPLife Member

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August 1 Moratorium on BOD Election Messaging?
by Wes Baden 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

I've now received my 2020 Election Ballot for electing three individuals to the AMSAT BOD. This prompts me to ask--or at least to propose--that a moratorium be placed on this BB for any and all messaging concerning the election, effective August 1. This would include messages from the candidates themselves or anyone submitting posts for or against them. In my opinion at least, there's been a sufficient airing of views as it is and two more weeks provide enough time for any member who's received a ballot but (mercifully) has not seen all the messaging that's appeared in the last month or so. The candidates' written statements, along with election posts here for two more weeks, are enough. Indeed, enough is enough. I long for a return to posts relating to matters such as antennas, software installation, new satellites in orbit, upcoming rovers, helpful advice for newbies, and geeky, technical information for old hands, just to name a few subjects. Is there a site administrator who can implement this? 73 de Wes NA1ME FN54 (always happy to sked if you need this Maine grid).

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Re: [amsat-bb] AmSat Ombudsman
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

Robert, The first part of your e-mail appears to refer to an allegation Clint Bradford K6LCS recently posted on this mailing list, and on other mailing lists and forums. As I said on the QRZ satellite forum yesterday, Clint's allegations about me and that web site are false. In the few times I have publicly criticized Clint in recent years, I did so with my name attached to what I posted, as I did on the eHam satellite forum in 2016: https://www.eham.net/community/smf/index.php?topic=108627.15 This exchange led to a letter sent by Clint to AMSAT and me, which threatened AMSAT with legal action. I am not aware of AMSAT taking actions in response to his letter, and - based on AMSAT's 2016 IRS tax return - AMSAT did not spend any monies on legal expenses that year. As for the other part of your e-mail, the "some reason" packets from your APRS Internet gateway stations no longer appear on the ariss.net web site, you and I had a conversation about that. One of your APRS gateways was rewriting packets received from the ISS packet digipeater, adding a tagline promoting the web site for your Space Communicator Club. The packets containing that tagline were injected into the APRS Internet System (APRS-IS), violating policies of that system. Those packets also cluttered the listing of packets recently heard from the ISS on the ariss.net web site. You told me at that time you were testing a function on one of your gateways to put that tagline onto packets, something that had been happening over the period of a few days. This included the 20-minute period you mentioned, when one of your gateways continued to send packets to the APRS-IS system after the ISS had moved away from North America. As you stated, I contacted Steve Dimse K4HG. Steve owns the ariss.net and findu.com web sites, useful for displaying information on APRS packets. I asked Steve about the packets from your gateway that were showing up on his ariss.net web site. Steve reminded me of the APRS-IS policies regarding packets being submitted to that system. Other than appending the call sign of the gateway that received the packet to the packet path, no other modifications are supposed to be made to packets sent to the APRS-IS system. I mentioned that to you in a separate e-mail, even citing the policies as published on the aprs-is.net web site. I am aware that you and Steve also had an e-mail discussion about this around the same time. After those e-mail exchanges, I heard from you that packets from your gateways would not appear on the ariss.net site. This appears to be an issue between you and Steve, as Steve maintains the ariss.net web site. I have no control over that, and - as far as I know - neither does AMSAT. Have you reached out to Steve recently? 73. Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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Candidate Statement for the board elections for AMSAT by me
by Robert McGwier 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

Here is my candidate statement for the board elections. My qualifications statement follows further editing. It is complex and detailed so I am taking my time with it. I hope you will support me for the board. I intend to devote my time and attention during my newly begun retirement helping AMSAT specifically and amateur radio in general. FYI, I am now on the grants committee of ARDC and I hope to help all of amateur radio while ARDC administers and grants these dollars to make amateur radio and telecommunications engineering and science better. The following is controversial, but it is clear. I do not like what I am seeing or hearing in and around AMSAT. I will work hard for the members to try and get "stuff" done. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DWwg7Y8lZ578MHn4Z31zE3Sem_38mvrk/view?usp=… -- Bob McGwier Founder, Federated Wireless, Inc Founder and Technical Advisor, HawkEye 360, Inc Adjunct Professor Virginia Tech Former Chief Scientist: The Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology Senior Member IEEE, Facebook: N4HYBob, ARS: N4HY

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best android sat program?
by Ted Krempa 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

.just inherited wife's old android tablet..(Asus ZenPad) What is the recommended sat tracking program for an android tablet? 73, Ted K7TRK

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AB2S - more candidate info
by Howie DeFelice 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

Some people have written and asked for more background information about me. Thanks for asking. I added a resume page on www.ab2s.freeservers.com<http://www.ab2s.freeservers.com> if anyone else is interested. 73, Howie AB2S

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Candidacy statement - Mark Hammond N8MH
by Mark L. Hammond 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

Hello AMSAT members (and fellow satellite enthusiasts), I am honored to have been nominated again and subsequently declare my candidacy for the AMSAT Board of Directors. To succeed and keep the organization moving forward, AMSAT needs a combination of people with technical and non-profit managerial experiences. I encourage you to read a biography about me here: https://www.upwardtoheo.com/biographies/dr-mark-hammond-n8mh and some additional personal information here: https://www.upwardtoheo.com/updates/so-who-is-mark-n8mh Hopefully, you will find I bring a blend of enthusiasm for satellite operations, good technical abilities as a satellite hobbyist and command station, as well as demonstrated effectiveness as a non-profit, higher education administrator that justifies your vote. Also please support my colleagues Paul N8HM and Bruce KK5DO, who share the same vision for keeping amateur radio in space as we move upward to HEO! You can read about them here: https://www.upwardtoheo.com/ 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] AMSAT Director and Command Station

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AMSAT Open Source Policy
by Joe Leikhim 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

/Joseph; you wax on about intellectual property and symbiotic relationships etc, and then ask / //"How does AMSAT benefit b//y pursuing an open source policy?" May I ask, how in the past 10 years has AMSAT benefited by running the proprietary system they are running now? You would think the AMSAT bank accounts would be overflowing and invitations for HEO launches would be so many we would be turning them down? Please answer this before belittling the proposition. / On Wed, Jul 15, 2020 at 7:21 AM Joseph Armbruster <josepharmbruster at gmail.com <https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb>> wrote: />>//>>/You did not really answer the first question: "How does AMSAT benefit />>/by pursuing an open source policy?" /> -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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AMSAT Open Source Policy
by Stephen DeVience 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

Bruce, thank you for this explanation of the ITAR issues. It looks like AMSAT is at a fork in the road here regarding how to deal with it. I see the positives of having an open-source policy as 1) AMSAT will be able to work with international partners, which would probably not be allowed under a proprietary ITAR policy. 2) It may help keep old satellites running in the future. AO-27 required an extensive software fix to be brought online. I'm not sure if this was open source or not, but having the software and hardware information public would definitely give more people a chance to develop solutions. 3) It's in the spirit of amateur radio and helps avoid debates regarding proprietary hardware and software, like the never-ending arguments over PACTOR. I can see negatives as well 1) Manufacturers of space-rated hardware may want certain aspects kept private, and it might not be possible to easily find or make an open-source replacement. How extensive is the ITAR carve-out? If you use just one proprietary component, does that take you out of the carve-out? 2) It may force AMSAT to abandon long-standing relationships (whatever's in those NDAs), which could greatly affect ongoing projects. I'd like to hear a response from those wanting to keep a proprietary policy. What about it outweighs an open policy? Would an open policy work, but maybe further down the road? If AMSAT won't call BOD meetings to have civilized discussions, maybe we can do it over the BB :) -Stephen, N8URE

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Re: [amsat-bb] best android sat program?
by David Bartholomew 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

I use two: AmsatDroid Free ISS Detector Pro The AmsatDroidFree is free, but the satellites are listed in order by age and it's a little cumbersome to find the one you want. You can look at only one sat at a time and the prediction only goes out 24 hours ahead. But, it's free. ISS Detector Pro. The base version only tracks the ISS, so you need to pay a little bit for the add-ons, which include all the ham sats. You can customize a list of your favorite sats and see which ones are coming, in date/time order. Very nice app. Dave AD7DB

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QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo
by tjschuessler＠verizon.net 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

I am sure you have seen information about this on ARRL or other Amateur Radio news outlets. Is anybody from the AMSAT Ambassadors or volunteers planning on trying to sign up for a speakers slot for this? Lots of other ham activities are represented. It would be a shame if we were not there promoting Amateur Radio in Space. I will if no one else will, but I think we have a bunch of good presenters in our ranks and we should be represented. Hopefully it is not too late to get a slot. Tom Schuessler, N5HYP EM12ms

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Re: [amsat-bb] Who I’m NOT Voting For (Short)
by Bruce Perens 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/AMSAT_AUP_061819…

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Re: [amsat-bb] Who I’m NOT Voting For (Short)
by Fernando Ramirez 16 Jul '20

16 Jul '20

Are you paying attention to the whole thread? Or maybe my English (my second language) is that bad. KF7R On Wed, Jul 15, 2020, 5:55 PM Clint Bradford <clintbradford(a)me.com> wrote: > I have never written nor spoken to anyone about this Web site. You > cannot cite anything from me - andI just don’t know who “Mike” is. > > Clint Bradford K6LCS > > > > > >> Perhaps Clint or Mike (since he made the same allegation in the past > against Patrick) can provide irrefutable proof that both were behind that > page. > > 73 > KF7R >

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Wayback Machine
by Michael Tondee 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

Subject: Re: AMSAT-BB Digest, Vol 15, Issue 257 Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2020 13:07:42 -0400 From: Michael Tondee <mat_62(a)charter.net> To: amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org > Wow, thanks for the link! Looks like a hilarious sendup of a known > huckster that has been using AMSAT for his own self promotion for > years! Bravo to Patrick and Jeff, well done, they have him pegged > perfectly. 73, Michael W4HIJ > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 4 > Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2020 11:17:03 -0400 > From: Mike Diehl <diehl.mike.a(a)gmail.com> > To: Clint Bradford <clintbradford(a)mac.com> > Cc: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org > Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Who I?m NOT Voting For (Short) > Message-ID: <16976F65-3803-4B8C-9A6E-5FF6EC1DBE92(a)gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > Clint, > > No need to send screenshots, everyone can just use the Wayback Machine > here http://web.archive.org/web/20181227011914/http://work-sats.com/ > > 73, > Mike Diehl > W8LID/VE6LID > >> On Jul 15, 2020, at 10:10, Clint Bradford via AMSAT-BB >> <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: >> >> ?Patrick and Jeff created a Web site In 2018 using my Web site?s name >> - but added the plural of my work-sat.com - they used ?Sats.? >> >> The site was solely created to demean myself and Gordon West. The >> posts were obscene, vile, insulting, and vicious in their attacks. >> Most of their posts are too objectionable to post on a public forum >> like this: posts like two rats fornicating and writing that my >> satellite inquiry phone number of 800-999-SATS could also use the >> alpha characters, 800-999-RATS. >> >> If anyone is interested in reading screenshots of their work, I will >> privately email them to you. >> >> Stoddard and Johns will not be receiving my vote. >> >> Clint Bradford K6LCS >> 909-999-SATS >> >> PS They let the GoDaddy domain name expire after a year. I registered >> it immediately - and it is now redirected to my site. >> _______________________________________________ >> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available >> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. >> Opinions expressed >> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views >> of AMSAT-NA. >> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite >> program! >> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > >

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Re: [amsat-bb] Who I’m NOT Voting For (Short)
by Bruce Perens 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

You're going to bring the moderator down on the list again.

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Who I’m NOT Voting For (Short)
by Clint Bradford 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

Patrick and Jeff created a Web site In 2018 using my Web site’s name - but added the plural of my work-sat.com - they used “Sats.” The site was solely created to demean myself and Gordon West. The posts were obscene, vile, insulting, and vicious in their attacks. Most of their posts are too objectionable to post on a public forum like this: posts like two rats fornicating and writing that my satellite inquiry phone number of 800-999-SATS could also use the alpha characters, 800-999-RATS. If anyone is interested in reading screenshots of their work, I will privately email them to you. Stoddard and Johns will not be receiving my vote. Clint Bradford K6LCS 909-999-SATS PS They let the GoDaddy domain name expire after a year. I registered it immediately - and it is now redirected to my site.

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Re: [amsat-bb] Who I'm voting for (long)
by Bruce Perens 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

I see a lot of "old space" vs. "new space" in what you wrote, Steve. To start with: Some, if not all of the NDAs state that the content of the NDA and its existence will not be disclosed by AMSAT. The big difference here is confidentiality vs. transparency. New space is represented by organizations that are extremely transparent. LibreSpace <https://libre.space/> is a good example: everything they do is 100% Open Source, and they built the satellites that AMSAT-EA is launching, and a huge worldwide ground station network. Those Genesis N and L satellites <http://perens.com/static/AppliedIon/AMSAT-EA-Newsletter_11-2019.pdf> have electric thrusters by Applied Ion Systems <https://appliedionsystems.com/>, A USA-based researcher, also 100% Open Source. ORI is similar: USA based, 100% open. About those thrusters. Those AMSAT-EA satellites are going to Then, there is AMSAT. You imply (if not confirm) that AMSAT has agreements so secret that they can't tell the membership that they exist. Why are all of the other guys open? Because 100% openness is the only strategy that protects you from ITAR/EAR and its equivalents in other nations. It is proprietary research that is protected by ITAR, not the stuff you publish. Ask commercial companies like 3D Robotics <https://www.3dr.com/>, who have the US Government as *their major customer,* and participate in Dronecode <https://www.dronecode.org/> because 100% public disclosure is the only good way to get around ITAR. There used to be a justification for AMSAT's secrecy, in that we thought that nobody would launch our satellites if we didn't act like old space. But those other organizations are getting more satellites launched than AMSAT has been. They are also building more, and designing more. It illustrates the problem that you were made afraid, by AMSAT's ITAR preoccupation, to publicly distribute the plans for *a plastic model of the appearance of a cubesat.* There just can't be anything that isn't public knowledge about that. If we all continue to vote for more of the same old stuff, I am convinced that AMSAT will continue its slide toward bankruptcy and irrelevance, and will have a smaller and smaller working group, and eventually there won't be an AMSAT and the open guys will take over anyway. It would be much better for AMSAT to join the present. I will be voting for Bob and Howie, because they are unquestionable space professionals with a long history of innovation, and after Tom steps down we won't have anyone else who is close to Bob and Howie's level. And Jeff, because while he's more of a regular ham than a rocket scientist, he is open to the future where others are not. Thanks Bruce

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Candidate for BOD
by Howie DeFelice 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

My name is Howie DeFelice, callsign AB2S and I am currently a second alternate director in AMSAT. I am running to seek a term as a full member of the Board of Directors. I ran for the office of director last year because I felt AMSAT needed some new blood with some new ideas. As an alternate director I got to observe from the sidelines, at least as much as I could since regular board meetings were suspended for the first time in the organization's history. I’m afraid my worst fears were true and the leadership of AMSAT really is a “good ole boys club”. When new people became part of the organization last year it went into hibernation mode. This effectively froze any possible new ideas that were different from the legacy members’ long held beliefs. The only way forward for the organization is to change the composition of the board of directors. I would like to outline some of the small things that can be done that could have a positive impact on the organization. More information is available on my web site www.ab2s.freeservers.com<http://www.ab2s.freeservers.com> .

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Re: [amsat-bb] Publications and mailing lists
by Brennan Price 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

Bruce, There is no bylaw guidance on point here, so much of this falls to the interaction between and practices of the candidates of the day and the Secretary of the day. In this particular case, I finished verification of nominations on June 20 and asked for candidate statements by June 29. All candidates substantially complied with the timing I requested. >From that point, there are two relevant events that occur on different schedules: access to corporation mailing lists for the candidates, and the layout of the candidate statements to accompany the ballot packages. The corporation mailing list was offered to the candidates on July 3 (with individual candidates accepting either immediately or soon after), after checking to ensure that the voter list provided to Paladin met Paladin's requirements and matched the list offered to the candidates. The candidate statements required typesetting (by me--Paladin simply printed the finished product), which was concluded July 5. Typeset statements were sent to the candidates for proofing, and released for printing by me on July 6. Whether mailings a candidate may choose to undertake or commission arrive at a member's address before the ballot arrives depends on whatever actions (with the safeguards discussed below) the candidates have taken since July 3. I am not privy to any candidate's plans in this regard and don't wish to be. On the other hand, it is not possible for the candidate statements to arrive later than the ballot, as they were sent in the same package on July 14. 73 de Brennan N4QX On Monday, July 13, 2020, 11:23:15 PM EDT, Bruce Perens <bruce(a)perens.com> wrote: Brennan, Thank you very much for this discussion, and please bear with me for one more question. How much time are the candidates given to prepare, print, and have mailed their campaign documents between the time that AMSAT informs them that it ratifies their candidacy, and the time that the ballots are mailed? It seems very likely that some members will have voted before they could possibly receive the mailed campaign information. Thanks Bruce On Mon, Jul 13, 2020, 7:44 PM Brennan Price via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > I generally don't intend to engage in the ongoing discussion s beyond an announcement on process once the ballots are mailed (which they will be, tomorrow or Wednesday, on or before the date specified in the bylaws), but I do want to address what the Bylaws say about the organization's publications and mailing lists, as I think (perhaps naïvely) that would be helpful. > Article III Section 3 provides, in relevant part: > <<Duly nominated and eligible candidates shall be afforded equal opportunity to circulate statements of their qualifications and positions to the Members through the corporation’s publications and shall have use of the corporation’s mailing lists for election-related purposes at no cost to the corporation.>> > The production and publication schedule of the AMSAT Journal does not render it a suitable vehicle for candidate statements given the bylaws-mandated nomination and election timing. The absence of campaign statements from the Journal is entirely consistent with the Bylaws: no opportunity for any candidate is inherently equal opportunity for all candidates. > Traditionally, the organization has used the ballot mailing itself the relevant publication, and this is the approach that will be taken this year. The "equal opportunity" requirement and paper format (not to mention common practice across multiple organization's) necessitates a target word count, balanced to the extent possible against letting candidates have their say. All candidates met or came close to meeting the target I suggested (350 words), with the most long-winded exceeding by 14 words according to the Word 2016 word counter. Upon review, I offered the remaining candidates the chance to expand up to 364 words. None of them took the offer. All six statements will accompany the ballot, and none of them required editorial work beyond the correction of a repeated word and an excess space. I thank the candidates for making that part of the job easy. > I have construed the mailing list as the postal mailing list, which has been offered to each candidate (and thus far, five of the six have accepted the list). Data protection regulations require the corporation to take reasonable efforts to safeguard personally identifiable information, and candidates accepting the list have agreed to support those efforts by limiting use of the list for the "election-related purposes" specified in the bylaws. Two results follow: > 1) There are no election-related purposes once the election ends. Accordingly, candidates have agreed to discard the list after the election. > 2) It is common to engage agents for mailing and postage purposes. I will not hyper-officiate any candidate's choice to do so, but candidates have agreed that any agent will have access to the list only for the time necessary to execute the mailing and will be required by the candidate to discard it afterwards. > This is a reasonable effort to safeguard in light of the bylaws requirement for candidate access to mailing lists, which establishes an expectation (however infrequently it came to fruition in past) that members may receive election-related postal mail. > I think that's enough for now. > 73,Brennan Price, N4QXSecretary, AMSAT > > > > Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android > > _______________________________________________ > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb > >

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Election Packages mailed July 14
by Brennan Price 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

The ballots, candidate statements, and return envelopes for the 2020 AMSAT Board of Directors Election were prepared by Paladin Commercial Printing of Newington, Connecticut. Paladin mailed the packages from Hartford, Connecticut, on Tuesday, July 14, to members of record on July 1. Non-US addresses were sent first class (the only option for overseas). US addresses were sent presorted standard, which is routine for mail that requires a two-way response time measured in weeks, as this does. Allowing for postal delivery standards and guard time, the Secretary will not consider a ballot as lost in post any earlier than August 12 (four weeks after the mailing). This timing permits a replacement ballot to be mailed first class in both directions, even internationally, with time to spare under prevailing postal delivery standards. Paladin has shipped materials for 100 blank election packages to me. I will use these materials to assemble and mail replacement or substitute packages as necessary. These requests and packages will be tracked and accounted against the voter list and returned ballots to guard against duplicates, and will be identifiable against the package mailed by Paladin for further verification and accounting by the tellers. Members desiring a replacement ballot package should contact me no earlier than August 12. The package is clearly labeled as election-related and contains: 1) An instruction and ballot sheet, with the ballot perforated, 2) A sheet of candidate statements, and 3) A No 9 return envelope, which bears the address to which ballots should be returned and the member's name and address for verification against the voter list and any replacement ballot requests. Secrecy at the time of counting will be maintained by separating the ballot from the envelope without inspection, placing the ballot in a receptacle, and scrutinizing the ballots after all have been separated from the envelopes. Ballots should be returned in the return envelopes provided to arrive at the designated Post Office Box in Vienna, Virginia, by 5 p.m. Thursday, September 15, 2020. Separation of the ballots from the envelopes and counting will occur as soon thereafter as practicable, and no later than September 30. 73, Brennan Price, N4QX Secretary Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation

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Re: [amsat-bb] Who I'm voting for (long)
by Steve Kristoff 15 Jul '20

15 Jul '20

As Stephen has painted them in a negative light, I hope we can hear from Patrick and Michelle concerning their perceptions of the events described by Stephen. Steve AI9IN ----- Original Message ----- From: Stephen E. Belter via AMSAT-BB (amsat-bb(a)amsat.org) Date: 07/14/20 16:30 To: AMSAT-BB (amsat-bb(a)amsat.org) Subject: [amsat-bb] Who I'm voting for (long)

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