- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

70cm loop on satellites
by John Geiger 21 Jan '20

21 Jan '20

My dualband yagi is having a little trouble with full duplex, and I am wondering if anyone has used a M squared or other 70cm loop for the uplink antenna on the SSB satellites? Does it work well at getting a good signal into the satellites? 73 John W5TD

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WD9EWK @ DM23/DM24 tomorrow morning (21 January 2020)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 20 Jan '20

20 Jan '20

Hi! I will be operating from the DM23/DM24 grid boundary in western Arizona tomorrow (Tuesday, 21 January) morning. Depending on traffic, I hope to be out there around 1530-1600 UTC. I will be running APRS as WD9EWK-9, and my location should be visible on web sites like: http://aprs.fi/WD9EWK-9 I plan on working FM and SSB satellites, and maybe a FalconSat-3 pass as well. Updates on my operating tomorrow will be posted to my @WD9EWK Twitter account. If you do not use Twitter, you can see these updates in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK Logs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World when I return home. QSL cards are also available on request. No need to first mail me a QSL card or SASE - just e-mail me the QSO details. If you're in the log, I will send a card. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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AMSAT News Service ANS-019 Weekly Bulletin, January 19, 2020
by Frank Karnauskas 18 Jan '20

18 Jan '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-019 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: * GOLF-TEE Reaches Major Milestones * ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 * Satellite Status and Tracking API's Added to AMSAT Website * Qarman Beacon Telemetry Information Released * China Telecoms Regulator Proposing to Delete Some Current Amateur Allocations * Memorial Service for Brian Kantor, WB6CYT * Upcoming Satellite Operations * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts from All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-019.01 ANS-019 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 019.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. January 19, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-019.01 GOLF-TEE Reaches Major Milestone A group of GOLF-TEE (Greater Orbit Larger Footprint - Technology Evaluation Environment) satellite prototype boards transmitted telemetry for the first time on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. The boards are laid out on a bench as a "flat-sat" with interconnecting wires, bench power supplies, and a dummy load on the transmitter. The interconnected boards include: - An early RT-IHU (Radiation Tolerant Internal Housekeeping Unit (i.e. computer) prototype, - A CIU (Control Interface Unit) prototype, and - A set of spare boards from HuskySat-1 that act as prototypes for the LIHU (Legacy IHU) and legacy VHF/UHF RF components. Now that the development team has reached this point, it has RF to use as a basis for developing a GOLF-TEE decoder for FoxTelem, the ground telemetry receiver software. Thousands of hours of work by many AMSAT volunteers have gone into the hardware and software that got GOLF-TEE this far, with much work yet to be done before flight units are ready. GOLF-TEE is designed as a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) testbed for technologies necessary for a successful CubeSat mission to a wide variety of orbits, including MEO(Medium Earth Orbit) and HEO (High Earth Orbit). To help support the GOLF program, please consider volunteering or donating today. https://www.amsat.org/volunteer-for-amsat/ https://www.amsat.org/donations/amsat-golf-program-donations/ [ANS thanks Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, AMSAT Flight Software, and the entire GOLF team for the above information] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window which will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 2021 and June 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 2021. and June 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31. 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on two different date and times. The first is at January 23 at 2100 ET and the second is at January 27 at 1800 ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2020.eventbrite.com The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. For More Information For 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 . [ANS thanks ARISS 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Status and Tracking API's Added to AMSAT Website Thanks to an initiative by Heimir, W1ANT, AMSAT added Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to the AMSAT web site to make it easy for developers to write apps for mobile devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). For example, the satellite status page www.amsat.org/status does not work well on small screens. By accessing the status data directly developers can easily present the data in a way appropriate for their screens. These APIs also make it easy for IoT homebrewers to do things like build next pass reminder gizmos so they can beep out notices in CW. The developers have set a goal of February 15, 2020 to finalize the APIs, and consider them operational on March 1, 2020. Developers are encouraged to send suggestions or questions to www.amsat.org/webmaster-contact/ For details of API use visit www.amsat.org/status/api/ and www.amsat.org/track/api/ [ANS thanks Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Qarman Beacon Telemetry Information Released QARMAN, a nano-satellite designed and built at VKI, was launched to the International Space Station on December 5, 2019. Deployed is expected to take place in the week of February 12, 2020. QARMAN (Qubesat for Aerothermodynamic Research and Measurements on AblatioN) is the world's first CubeSat designed to survive atmospheric re-entry. Work on it started in 2013 at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI). The aim of the QARMAN mission is to demonstrate the usability of a CubeSat platform as an atmospheric entry vehicle. Spacecraft descending towards a planet with an atmosphere experience very harsh environment including extreme temperatures (several thousand degrees). Information about Qarman's 437.350 MHz 9600 bps GMSK AX.25 beacon has now been released by the team. Download the Qarman Beacon Definition QARMAN_BCNdef_v1.1 at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/qarman_bcndef_v1.1.pdf Download the Beacon Decoder spreadsheet QARMAN_BCNdecoder at https://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/qarman_bcndecoder.xlsx Reports can be sent to operations(a)qarman.eu [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The digital download version of the 2019 edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ China Telecoms Regulator Proposing to Delete Some Current Amateur Allocations China's telecommunications regulator has proposed amending the Measures for the Administration of Amateur Radio Stations, and some amateur bands are in danger of being eliminated. Lide Zhang, BI8CKU, told ARRL that the proposal would prohibit amateur operation on the 2200-meter band as well as on 146 - 148 MHz, 1260 - 1300 MHz, 3400 - 3500 MHz, 5650 - 5725 MHz, and all bands above 10 GHz. Radio communications engineer and Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, told ARRL that government efforts to eliminate some amateur bands are nothing new, but proposals that have been aired for a while now are on the regulatory agency's schedule. Kung said he does not anticipate that all of the bands proposed will be taken away, but he conceded that the climate will "undoubtedly" become increasingly more dangerous for China's amateur radio community. "The attempt to crowd out the amateur radio bands has a long history throughout the world," he said, "but it may never have become so urgent for the amateur radio community as it is today. We all understand that radio spectrum resources have become a bottleneck for further development." He said today's radio communication industry "is working hard to share spectrum resources." Kung characterized spectrum as "the soil on which amateur radio depends." [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- Memorial Service for Brian Kantor, WB6CYT Phil Karn, KA9Q shares the following announcement: "As you know, Brian Kantor, WB6CYT passed away suddenly on November 21, 2019. We will hold a memorial service for Brian on Saturday, Feb 1 2020 at 1:30 PM in La Jolla, CA (part of San Diego). Please see this link for details: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-019-Kantor-Memorial "Please bring any photos, mementos and (above all) stories and anecdotes about Brian to share. Brian wasn't exactly a highly formal person who stood on ceremony, so we'll keep this informal. If you have a story to tell, it's up to you whether you stand up and relate it to the whole group or just a few others at a time. There will be plenty of time for both. "Everyone who knew Brian is welcome. His friendships spanned at least three distinct social circles, and I know he'd be very happy to see everyone meet and enjoy everyone else's company. Even if he'd be a little embarrassed that we were doing it in his honor. "Free snacks and refreshments will be provided, so please RSVP through the evite link so we can tell the hotel how much to make available. If you have special dietary needs, please say so; the hotel has a menu we can choose from. "Please forward this email to anyone you think might be interested. Hope to see you on the 1st." [ANS thanks Phil Karn, KA9Q 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 New Orleans, LA (EL49, EL58, EM59, EM40, EM50, EM60) January 14 - February 1, 2020 Adam, KC3OBS, will be roving EM40, EM50, EL49, EL59, January 14 - Feb 1. In between, Adam will be EL58, January 18 or 19 depending on weather, and in EM60 January 29. Adam will announce passes and updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparky_husky Labrador (GO11 +) January 19-27, 2019 Chris VE3FU, Dave VE9CB, and Frank VO1HP will be active as VO2AC in the 2020 CQ160 CW contest, January 24-26, from Point Armour Lighthouse, in Labrador. If time permits before the contest, they may be active on FM satellites from GO11 as VO2AC or VO2AAA. Depending on weather and timing of passes, you might catch them on FM satellites as they make their way from FO93 to GO-11, passing through FO92, GO02, GO13, GO12, and GO22 along the way, but no promises. They will also make the reverse trek on January 27. Montserrat (FK86) January 26 - February 2, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Montserrat 26 January until 2 February, operating under the call sign VP2MCV on FM Sats. QSL via LOTW. Antigua (FK97) February 2 - 9, 2020 Mel, W8MV, will be in Antigua 2-9 February. Mel is waiting for his operating license. Will update as soon as it arrives. FM only. QSL via LOTW Isla Perez, Mexico (EL52, EL50, EL51) February 11 - 17, 2020 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez, Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Rey/XE1SRD and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL for the above information.] -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News (Editor's Note: See school contact opportunity story above.) + Upcoming Contacts Morita Junior High School, Fukui, Japan, direct via 8J9MO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 08:00:46 UTC 27 deg Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 17:21:36 UTC 32 deg [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Shorts from All Over + ARISS-US Educators Review Processes for US Proposal Window A team of educators who are members of the ARISS-US Education Committee is finalizing the last few processes related to the late 2019 ARISS-US Proposal Window. The team had ranked the education proposals and then sent a list to the ARISS-US leaders of the top schools and education groups recommended for hosting an ARISS contact. A news release is in draft stage. The organizations selected will be in the queue for scheduled ARISS contacts during the second half of 2020. A new ARISS-US Proposal Window will open soon and details on this will be forthcoming. [ANS thanks ARISS for the above information.] + WIA 2020 Annual Conference Presentations The Wireless Institute of Australia Annual Conference will be held in Hobart, Tasmania May 8-10 2020 and registrations are open. On the Saturday afternoon a wide range of presentations are organized to showcase the conference theme which is the "Antarctic Gateway". Following lunch there will be two presentation streams which can be categorized as the "Antarctic" stream and the "Radio" stream. Complete information can be viewed at: https://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2020/20200111-3/index.php [ANS thanks the Wireless Institute of Australia for the above information.] + AMSAT Argentina Celebrates LO-19 30th Anniversary On Feb-22-1990 LUSAT/LO-19 was launched along with AO-16, DO-17, WO-18, UO-14 & UO-15. It was the first Argentina Satellite, and one of first to use PACSAT protocol. LUSAT is still calling home with its carrier at +/-437.125. Members of AMSAT Argentina (LU7AA) celebrate the 30th anniversary of the LUSAT (LO-19) satellite between Jan. 18 and 26 on HF on SSB, FT8, CW. An award is available as well. QSL via LU7AA (d), eQSL. Find complete information at: http://lu4aao.org/lu7aa/cert_30_aniv_lusat_2020.htm and http://amsat.org.ar/certlusat30.htm [ANS thanks the DARC DX Newsletter and AMSAT-LU for the above information.] + AMSAT-SA Announces A New Date Fre Their Space Symposium The annual AMSAT SA Space symposium date has changed to Saturday, 11 July 2020. While the call for papers is ongoing till the end of February, AMSAT SA is pleased to announce that Burns Fisher, WB1FJ, of AMSAT NA will delivery two papers at the symposium: Fox-in-a-box: Fox telemetry reception using an inexpensive Raspberry Pi and a J-pole antenna including a discussion on the optimal positioning for a J-pole antenna for satellite reception and an overview of what is in orbit currently and expected in the near future and their features. Prospective authors are invited to propose other papers by submitting a brief synopsis to admin(a)amsatsa.org.za before 28 February 2020. + Cardiff Microwave Roundtable Saturday, March 7, 2020 The Cardiff University ARS will host a meeting of the UK Microwave Group on Saturday March 7, 2020 at our campus in Cardiff. This one day event is a mix of talks, measurements, and socializing about activities in the GHz frequencies. GNU Radio Workshop On the following day, Sunday March 8, there will be a hands on Introduction to GNU Radio and Software Defined Radio. More info coming soon, please send an email to officers(a)cardiffars.org.uk if you are interested. [ANS thanks the UK Microwave Group for the above information.] + Lockheed Martin Launches First Smart Satellite Enabling Space Mesh Networking Recently, Lockheed Martin launched the Pony Express 1 mission as a hosted payload on Tyvak-0129, a next-generation Tyvak 6U spacecraft. Pony Express 1, an example of rapid prototyping, was developed, built and integrated in nine months. Some of the key technologies being flight-tested include: - Software validates advanced adaptive mesh communications between satellites, shared processing capabilities, and can take advantage, of sensors aboard other smart satellites, - A software-defined radio that allows for high-bandwidth hosting of multiple RF applications, store-and-forward RF collection, data compression, digital signal processing and waveform transmission, - 3D-printed wideband antenna housing. Read the full story at http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=55121 [ANS thanks 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] Google Summer of Code - Hamsats at schools and universities (followup)
by Robert Bruninga 17 Jan '20

17 Jan '20

Followup: Below, I am only talking about entry level high schools and first time cubesats to keep it simple. I am 100% behind AMSAT's lead in SDR and digital comms. And ALL the leading edge techniques amsat is pursuing in the digital age. Can't wait to retire and actually play modern tinker radio again. Bob -----Original Message----- From: Robert Bruninga <bruninga(a)usna.edu> Sent: Friday, January 17, 2020 6:08 PM Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] Google Summer of Code - Hamsats at schools and universities (comment0 Building Amateur satellites at the Naval Academy using simple AX.25 TNC's as command/control/telemetry using almost off the shelf APRS devices costing maybe $300, it is frustrating to me to see *dozens* of other high schools and universities all wanting to build a cubesat but with most of them having great ideas but little in the way of actual talent to make a radio work. They all want to put Raspberry pies or much much bigger processors on board and want the power of their smart phones on board, but fail to be able to actually build anything that works. So they just buy $5000 xcvrs, $3000 batteries (instead of super reliable and safe NiCd's for $50. And the failure rate of these that actually make it to orbit is quite high! Not counting all the hardware that gets burned up by students having little clue what they are doing during testing and integration. It’s a crying shame to see all this effort thrown away. What? Maybe 1% of these projects have a HAM mentor to encourage a Ham experiment on board. And most such mentors are powerless to lead the students toward something simpler that works as opposed to the stuffing of the most complex CPUs all into the tiny cubesat and wondering why it "doesn’t work" reliably once they unplug it from all their USB cables.... So I endorese any effort to push our expertise out to wherever we can find satellite interest in schools and try to help them to success. But then, I am a modern fossil. Still clinging to robust NiCd's, 1200, and 9600 baud TNC's, SSTV and plain old ham comms. And yes, with 8 successful ham transponders over 18 years, I DID fail on the ax25 of PSAT2 with a stupid mistake, though the SSTV and PSK31 UHF side still works perfectly with plenty of power. Anyway, standby for PSAT3 (a dupe of PSAT2 but without 5 volts on the 4vmax Xcvr!) and then this fossil is out of here by June. Bob, WB4APR -----Original Message----- Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Google Summer of Code - mentorship application from Open Research Institute Welcome! Great questions. Participation in academia has a long history in amateur radio. From significant atmospheric research accomplished with amateur collaboration in the 1920s to enormous contributions from amateurs in software defined radio, today. There are a large number of university teams doing spacecraft. More interaction at earlier stages with the teams wanting to authentically include amateur radio will improve those payloads. That directly benefits the amateur service. There’s a large number of academic payloads with very poorly thought out ground systems. Lots of opportunities there! Directly benefits all of us if using a payload is not unnecessarily challenging, frustrating, or ineffective. Advanced digital microwave work is a gold mine of projects and possibilities. FPGA design, power amplifiers, feed design, user interface, accessibility design, cognitive radio, machine learning, genetic algorithms to speed decoding... and lots more. Why should proprietary interests have all the fruits of academic labor, and have all the fun? Amateur radio has a unique position in the regulatory landscape and is an excellent partner for academia. I believe we should take full advantage of it whenever we can. GSoC is a good match. It helps us by (potentially) producing modern work for amateur satellites. I say potentially because some students will fail. That is the nature of any creative endeavor. We can all learn from failures too. I argue that there is only upside for us in participation. Thank you, Michelle W5NYV https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Re: [amsat-bb] Google Summer of Code - Hamsats at schools and universities (comment0
by Robert Bruninga 17 Jan '20

17 Jan '20

Building Amateur satellites at the Naval Academy using simple AX.25 TNC's as command/control/telemetry using almost off the shelf APRS devices costing maybe $300, it is frustrating to me to see *dozens* of other high schools and universities all wanting to build a cubesat but with most of them having great ideas but little in the way of actual talent to make a radio work. They all want to put Raspberry pies or much much bigger processors on board and want the power of their smart phones on board, but fail to be able to actually build anything that works. So they just buy $5000 xcvrs, $3000 batteries (instead of super reliable and safe NiCd's for $50. And the failure rate of these that actually make it to orbit is quite high! Not counting all the hardware that gets burned up by students having little clue what they are doing during testing and integration. It’s a crying shame to see all this effort thrown away. What? Maybe 1% of these projects have a HAM mentor to encourage a Ham experiment on board. And most such mentors are powerless to lead the students toward something simpler that works as opposed to the stuffing of the most complex CPUs all into the tiny cubesat and wondering why it "doesn’t work" reliably once they unplug it from all their USB cables.... So I endorese any effort to push our expertise out to wherever we can find satellite interest in schools and try to help them to success. But then, I am a modern fossil. Still clinging to robust NiCd's, 1200, and 9600 baud TNC's, SSTV and plain old ham comms. And yes, with 8 successful ham transponders over 18 years, I DID fail on the ax25 of PSAT2 with a stupid mistake, though the SSTV and PSK31 UHF side still works perfectly with plenty of power. Anyway, standby for PSAT3 (a dupe of PSAT2 but without 5 volts on the 4vmax Xcvr!) and then this fossil is out of here by June. Bob, WB4APR -----Original Message----- Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] Google Summer of Code - mentorship application from Open Research Institute Welcome! Great questions. Participation in academia has a long history in amateur radio. From significant atmospheric research accomplished with amateur collaboration in the 1920s to enormous contributions from amateurs in software defined radio, today. There are a large number of university teams doing spacecraft. More interaction at earlier stages with the teams wanting to authentically include amateur radio will improve those payloads. That directly benefits the amateur service. There’s a large number of academic payloads with very poorly thought out ground systems. Lots of opportunities there! Directly benefits all of us if using a payload is not unnecessarily challenging, frustrating, or ineffective. Advanced digital microwave work is a gold mine of projects and possibilities. FPGA design, power amplifiers, feed design, user interface, accessibility design, cognitive radio, machine learning, genetic algorithms to speed decoding... and lots more. Why should proprietary interests have all the fruits of academic labor, and have all the fun? Amateur radio has a unique position in the regulatory landscape and is an excellent partner for academia. I believe we should take full advantage of it whenever we can. GSoC is a good match. It helps us by (potentially) producing modern work for amateur satellites. I say potentially because some students will fail. That is the nature of any creative endeavor. We can all learn from failures too. I argue that there is only upside for us in participation. Thank you, Michelle W5NYV https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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Office Closed
by Martha 17 Jan '20

17 Jan '20

The AMSAT Office will be closed on Monday, January 20th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day -- 73- Martha

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CN78 Rove Sat Feb 15, 2020
by Ron Bondy 17 Jan '20

17 Jan '20

I'll be roving to CN78 on Sat Feb 15th, 2020. Will be on FM and linear and post passes closer to the date. Will do my best to be on an AO-7 pass for east coast folks. I'll be an hour west of Port Angeles WA. Cheers, Ron, ad0dx

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Re: [amsat-bb] Google Summer of Code - mentorship application from Open Research Institute
by Joshua Ward 17 Jan '20

17 Jan '20

I’m new to the board but I follow along. I guess I can make the ‘long time listener, first time caller joke’. I know that you follow me on twitter and you know that I’m active in the community, I’m not sure that I recognize any other other posters in this thread and I’m not sure some/most of you have ever uploaded to LOTW. So, greetings I guess. One of my passions is flying high-altitude balloons and the whole reason I got my tech license was to legally carry APRS for tracking. From there I blundered into amsats and was hooked almost instantly. My first launch was Kickstarter funded and I kind of made a promise to my backers that I’d talk to schools and involve myself in promoting STEM though my HAB passion. I genuinely feel I’ve lived up to my end but I still sponsor the occasional senior design project here at the university school of engineering. This usually comes in the form of an ME or EE design and I’ve never dabbled in sponsoring a CS project although I’ve got ideas. Frankly, I’m not sure I have the kind of time it takes to mentor a student right now but can you elaborate when you say: "I believe participation can greatly benefit the amateur satellite service.” And “we have plenty of really interesting and meaningful options for students to work on." -J W3ARD

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AMSAT-BB Acceptable Use
by Robert Bankston 17 Jan '20

17 Jan '20

Last night, the AMSAT-BB was placed on Emergency Moderation, meaning all posts had to be reviewed before released for public distribution. This was a precautionary measure taken to allow a "cooling off" period. I remind all AMSAT-BB subscribers that while strong disagreements on issues are inevitable, the AMSAT-BB list is not the place for exchanges which become spiteful, unproductive exchanges. If you must have a heated exchange, it should be conducted privately and not in public on a mailing list. Posts must contain appropriate content and are respectful of the members and readers of the AMSAT-BB. All posts should include the author's first name and call sign, or full name if not currently licensed. In general, posts should be related to amateur radio satellites. Examples of on-topic posts include: (1) Announcements of general interest, including, but not limited to, AMSAT news, meetings, satellite availability, and DXpeditions. AMSAT Mailing List AUP; (2) Technical discussions, including the physics of space flight, modulation techniques, satellite design, RF path loss calculations, noise figure, etc.; (3) Inquiries and suggestions about choosing equipment, learning operating techniques, and troubleshooting problems; (4) Discussion of AMSAT plans and policies in ways that foster better understanding of the opportunities, trade-offs, and limitations that AMSAT faces, and constructive suggestions for improvement; and (5) Posting of amateur radio satellite-related equipment and software available for sale. What occurred last night was to the contrary and will not be tolerated. Further violations will result from removal from further use of AMSAT-BB. Please take a moment to review AMSAT's Acceptable Use Policy for the AMSAT Public Mailing Lists (https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/AMSAT_AUP_061819…). 73, Robert Bankston, KE4AL Vice-President, User Services Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)

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Cowtown Hamfest
by tjschuessler＠verizon.net 17 Jan '20

17 Jan '20

All, Look for me, N5HYP, on air from the Cowtown Hamfest in Fort Worth, Texas, this weekend. I will be trying all available FM passes on Saturday 1/18 between 7A and 3P central time and hope to have some bystanders along with me. Please give a good showing to allow for a healthy promotion of this exciting part of the hobby.. Tom Schuessler, N5HYP EM12ms

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-01-17 16:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 17 Jan '20

17 Jan '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-01-17 16:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Morita Junior High School, Fukui, Japan, direct via 8J9MO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 08:00:46 UTC 27 deg Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 17:21:36 UTC 32 deg Watch for a live stream starting about 15 minutes before AOS at: www.ariotti.com (***) 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) 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 2020-01-17 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 2020-01-14 03:00 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 137 Sergey RV3DR with 131 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 1375. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1308. 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. 59 on orbit Christina Koch Exp. 60 on orbit Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Alexander Skvortsov Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Re: [amsat-bb] Google Summer of Code - mentorship application from
by Joshua Ward 17 Jan '20

17 Jan '20

Guess I'll follow up to your question Joseph: <quote> "Was AMSAT and ORI partnered at all on this work? I'm a bit out of the loop, so my apologies in advance if this is a silly question. W3AB, furthering tech is cool... But as an AMSAT member, if it was promoted and fell through at AMSAT for some reason, then I'm OK with it. But, as a member, i'd still wonder why and would be worried." <end quote> Why is an AMSAT director is holding your own forums and booth at Hamcation? Has there been any disclosure anything about the projects you are apparently working on to the AMSAT board or officers? You understand the concern we might have not knowing which of two masters you are serving? Furthering your own interests at the expense of ours? Or side-stepping the organization you're on the board at expense to further a passion project of your own. Seems kind of antithetical. I'm just trying to understand the map and your path and it's not clear. At all.

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Google Summer of Code - mentorship application from Open Research Institute
by Michelle Thompson 17 Jan '20

17 Jan '20

Open Research Institute is looking to apply as a mentor in the Google Summer of Code program. I believe participation can greatly benefit the amateur satellite service. Special thanks to Wally Ritchie for suggesting this path, and to Bruce Perens and Ben Hilburn for their support and approval. Details about the program can be found here: https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/ If approved, it would mean we would mentor student(s), at least once a week, coordinating efforts to produce engineering in support of achieving technical goals. This is a significant time commitment, but we have plenty of really interesting and meaningful options for students to work on. In order to apply, we need volunteers that can commit to working with students. As of today, we have four enthusiastic volunteers that cover a wide variety of technical fields. We are looking for more. AMSAT-BB is full of truly wonderful and qualified people. The deadline is 5 February 2020. If you can help with this, let us know! -Michelle W5NYV

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JY1-Sat shows incorrect callsign on ranking
by Loren M. Lang 17 Jan '20

17 Jan '20

Hello, A while back, I requested a callsign change for the FUNcube data warehouse. It was decided to leave my Site Id as my old callsign, AG7NC, and just change the callsign presented on the warehouse rankings to show as K7IW. However, it still seems that there are some places my Site Id is leaking through. My uploads for JY1-Sat report using my old callsign/site id. If I do a search on the rankings for K7IW, it only shows my contributions for FUNcube-1 and Nayif-1. If I do a search for AG7NC, it returns back two rows, the same K7IW contributions and also a row for AG7NC showing only my JY1-Sat contributions. Can those be moved to show under K7IW with the others? - Loren K7IW

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LUSAT 30 YEARS
by Amsat Argentina 16 Jan '20

16 Jan '20

On Feb-22-1990 LUSAT/LO-19 was launched along with AO-16, DO-17, WO-18, UO-14 & UO-15. It's our first Argentina Satellite, and one of firsts to use PACSAT protocol. LUSAT is still calling home with her carrier at +/-437.125 saying hey! I am here, http://amsat.org.ar/pass?satx=lusat AMSAT-LU invites to share & celebrate this 30th anniversary, due Jan-22 2020. >From Jan 18 thru 26 several Club Stations and amateurs will be active by radio. Granting thru one contact on any band or mode or Sat a QSL and/or a Certificate. Details: http://amsat.org.ar/?f=30e 73, LU7AA, AMSAT Argentina

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ARISS News Release (ANR) No. 20-01
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 16 Jan '20

16 Jan '20

ARISS News Release No. 20-01 Dave Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR January 16, 2020 Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window which will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 2021 and June 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 2021. and June 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31. 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on two different date and times. The first is at January 23 at 2100 ET and the second is at Jan 27 at 1800 ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-proposal-webinar-spring-2020.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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. Media Contact: Dave Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 16 Jan '20

16 Jan '20

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada on 22 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 17:21 UTC. It is recommended that you start listening approximately 10 minutes before this time. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be a telebridge between OR4ISS and IK1SLD. The contact should be audible over Italy and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Story: Jean Moffet has volunteered at the Ontario Science Centre's amateur radio station VE3OSC for more than 30 years, sharing her knowledge of and passion for ham radio with countless visitors. Having recently celebrated her 96th birthday, Jean indicated one of her bucket list items is to speak to an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS). To honour her invaluable contribution, the Science Centre is working with the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Canada to help Jean check this item off her list. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. Did you have an opinion about extra-terrestrial life before being on the ISS; has being on the ISS changed your views? 2. Being a mature woman, I have done a lot of cleaning. Has seeing Earth from near-space given you any thoughts on modifying existing technology, say attachments to airplanes, to help with excess greenhouse gas clean-up? 3. Have you seen space junk? How bad is the problem? 4. Did you always want to be an astronaut? What did your parents think? 5. What personal item did you bring with you and why? 6. What do you miss most about your usual life? 7. What is the most stressful situation in space you have experienced and how did it turn out? 8. What life lesson have you brought back that you can share with us from your most stressful situation in space? 9. How do you relieve boredom on ISS? Do you play with fidget toys, Silly Putty, games, music? 10. Does food taste different on the space station? How do you deal with food cravings? 11. What effects of microgravity have been the hardest to adjust to? 12. What are your thoughts on the portrayal of space in movies? 13. What does space look like from the International Space Station? 14. What is your favourite view of Earth from the space station? 15. What are your three favourite things about being on the space station? 16. Do you miss being able to go out for a walk whenever you want? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): TBD About ARISS Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the 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 (STEM) 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. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Morita Junior High School, Fukui, Japan
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 16 Jan '20

16 Jan '20

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Morita Junior High School, Fukui, Japan on 22 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 08:00 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and 8J9MO. The contact should be audible over Japan and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. Fukui Prefecture is a Japanese administrative division and local government that faces the Sea of Japan and Wakasa Bay. The prefectural capital and the largest city is Fukui City. Morita Junior High school was established in 1947 at Fukui city. Our students are learning many knowledge of science and engineering through various experiments. The number of students is 332. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What happens when you heat water in space? 2. What does the Earth look like from space? 3. When you are in space, how much does your body weight change? 4. What is your favorite space food? 5. What is the most fun thing to do in space? 6. What do you do, when you have a toothache a disease on the ISS? 7. How far does your saliva go when you sneeze in the ISS? 8. Have you ever had a serious disease in space? 9. What is the first thing you want to do when you come back to earth? 10. When you were in junior high school, what did you want to be in the future? 11. How big does the Earth look the ISS? 12. What is the biggest inconvenience on the ISS? 13. What experiment do you do in space? 14. What makes you the most excited in space? 15. How do you talk during outboard activities? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): 1. Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 17:21 UTC 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 (STEM) 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. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN

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A couple of tracking API's under test now on www.amsat.org
by Joseph B. Fitzgerald 16 Jan '20

16 Jan '20

I was at the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus with my kid today for transfer student orientation. I played hooky from the family and friends tour when I discovered that we did not get to visit anything interesting like the steam plant, They were supposed to feed us, but I was busy cutting code. Somebody owes me lunch at the next Symposium. Use www.amsat.org/track/api/v1/passes.php?objects<http://www.amsat.org/track/api/v1/passes.php?objects> to get a list of object name/object number pairs. Select a name from the list returned from above and use a Maidenhead grid square to specify the location. This will give you summary info on the next 10 passes for that location. www.amsat.org/track/api/v1/passes.php?location=II42&object=ISS<http://www.amsat.org/track/api/v1/passes.php?location=fn42&object=ISS> de KM1P Joe

2 3

LU-PicoBalloon
by Amsat Argentina 16 Jan '20

16 Jan '20

AMSAT-LU LU1ESY Picoballoon launched 01/09 from Argentina flying now over Australia. Tracking: http://lu7aa.org/wspr.asp 73, LU7AA, AMSAT Argentina

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EM81/82 rove today (01/16)
by Ruth Willet 16 Jan '20

16 Jan '20

Good morning! I will be roving today, January 16th. My goal is to make the EM81/EM82 grid line for the following passes: 16:49z SO50 17:11z AO-92 17:23 CAS-4B 17:55z AO-91. However, if I'm unable to get to the gridline itself in time, I will plan on operating two passes in EM82 & two in EM81. All logs will be uploaded to LOTW. 73, Ruth KM4LAO Sent from my iPhone

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-01-16 02:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 15 Jan '20

15 Jan '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-01-16 02:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Morita Junior High School, Fukui, Japan, direct via 8J9MO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 08:00:46 UTC 27 deg Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 17:21:36 UTC 32 deg 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) 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 2020-01-16 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 2020-01-14 03:00 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 137 Sergey RV3DR with 131 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 1375. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1308. 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. 59 on orbit Christina Koch Exp. 60 on orbit Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Alexander Skvortsov Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Open Research Institute technical workshop - invitation
by Michelle Thompson 15 Jan '20

15 Jan '20

Reminder - please RSVP to our workshop 3pm-7pm 9 February 2020 in Orlando. This is immediately following HamCation. Tickets (free) available! Location is Start Studio on Garland Ave. Detailed directions upon RSVP. Contact me directly to reserve or if you have any questions. https://openresearch.institute/2020/01/07/invitation-digital-multiplexing-t… We're going to do a deep dive at a really nice venue into the Digital Multiplexing Transponder project during the first segment, take a break, then talk about finance and other issues in the second part. ORI will have a booth and will give three open source amateur satellite presentations during HamCation. Looking forward to seeing you there! -Michelle W5NYV

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AO-92 mode L/v
by Andrew Glasbrenner 15 Jan '20

15 Jan '20

AO-92 was switched to Mode L/v at 0253 UTC and will automatically revert to Mode U/v after 24 hours. Uplink is 1267.359 MHz, downlink is 145.880 MHz. Enjoy. 73, Drew KO4MA

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-01-15 03:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 15 Jan '20

15 Jan '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-01-15 03:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Morita Junior High School, Fukui, Japan, direct via 8J9MO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP (***) Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 08:00:46 UTC 27 deg (***) Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada, telebridge via IK1SLD (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP (***) Contact is go for: Wed 2020-01-22 17:21:36 UTC 32 deg (***) 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) 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 2020-01-15 03:00 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 2020-01-14 03:00 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 137 Sergey RV3DR with 131 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 1375. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1308. 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. 59 on orbit Christina Koch Exp. 60 on orbit Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Alexander Skvortsov Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-01-14 03:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 14 Jan '20

14 Jan '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-01-14 03:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Sayama Mizutomi Community Center, Sayama, Japan, direct via 8J1SS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact was successful: Mon 2020-01-13 11:58:07 UTC 84 deg (***) 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) 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 2020-01-14 03:00 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 2020-01-14 03:00 UTC. (***) https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 137 (***) Sergey RV3DR with 131 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 1375. (***) Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1308. (***) 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. 59 on orbit Christina Koch Exp. 60 on orbit Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Alexander Skvortsov Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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FOR SALE -- Fiberglass crossboom
by Paul Stoetzer 13 Jan '20

13 Jan '20

>From Glenn, K3SWZ (please do not reply, email Glenn directly) Heavy Fiberglass Cross Boom for OSCAR antenna array or small EME array This started life as an 8 ft. piece, but was cut into two 4 ft. pieces. They can be joined at the Elevation Rotor with a metal splice. Two pieces 4 ft. long 2.0 in. OD 0.25 in. wall thickness Very little outside use, indicated by the still very “green” color of the fiberglass $50 for both pieces, plus shipping from PA U.S. only Money Order only, no PayPal 73 Glenn, K3SWZ (AMSAT LM-326) K3swz(a)arrl.net

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Need for 2M antenna preamp with Icom 9700?, Receive tip for what it's worth
by Wes Baden 13 Jan '20

13 Jan '20

(1) Preamp question: AMSAT newbie here, just having made my first contacts with an Icom 9700 and small yagis on tripods on my deck, fixed in place due to Maine weather. Come Spring, I plan to install the M2 LEO Package on an existing tower, with a rotor. I'm interested primarily in Mode B, and so here is my question. Do I really need a mast-mounted preamp with this set up? I'll be using a 100 foot run of LMR 400, by the way. Right now, with a 2M 4 element yagi and a 30 foot run of LMR 400, I have no trouble copying a lot of signals on receive when satellites are in the one yagi's beamwidth, given the 9700's extraordinary sensitivity and built in preamp. Would a 2M mast mounted preamp be overkill and an unneeded expense? (2) Receive tip: For what it's worth (and probably old news to most SAT ops, so I apologize in advance)…. When using CW on the 70 cm uplink, I've kept the 9700 on USB while listening on 2M. The SSB filter is almost 2 KHz wider than the CW filter. This has enabled me to listen to Doppler shifted CW signals with little or no RX tuning, hear any adjacent QRM and avoid it, and just have one button to hit when I switch from CW to SSB, transmitting on 70 cm. Thanks in advance for feedback about the need for a 2M mast mounted preamp. Wes NA1ME, FN54

2 1

Re: [amsat-bb] API for satellite status now being tested.
by Joseph B. Fitzgerald 13 Jan '20

13 Jan '20

Mike Diehl wrote: >I’ve been playing with this today on a ESP8266 module and it works great so far. Glad to hear it. The server logs show several folks exercising it over the weekend. >I do have one wishlist item though. Something like name=ALL would be nice so that we > wouldn’t have to hammer the AMSAT server with> many requests just to get all the data >for all available satellites. That is a good idea Mike. I don't see why that can't be added. de KM1P Joe

2 1

IC-9700 ?
by James Brown 12 Jan '20

12 Jan '20

I now have sat32/scope working nicely. last week before I added the cat v cable and upgraded to the scope version, I had set up wstj to the ic 9700. I had not actually used it or decoded any signals. It occurred to me that WSJT is controlled only thru usb. I dont see any option to run cat to the wsjt and get audio to it just like sat32 scope? I hope some one has accomplished this. I am hoping to try at least to hear /decode something from Reno on WSJT, but I expect it will be a tall order. Thanks Jim KI6WJ

3 2

LNA or reduce noise first?
by Chris Prosser 11 Jan '20

11 Jan '20

Hi Folks, I would love your opinion on my next steps. I've been slowly putting together a station. I finally got it operational and I'm having a really hard time hearing anything other than morse code off satellites (mainly the XW birds). I can pick up some voices from the linear transponder, but it's too buried in noise for me to make out. Key Facts: * For an antenna I'm using a yagi I built from "Cheap Antennas for the AMSAT LEO's Kent Britain -- WA5VJB" * fixed elevation of 15% on a rotator. * 50 feet of LMR-400 (in 30/10/10 segments) running from my shack on the first floor up to the 3rd floor balcony where the antenna is. * UHF Connectors * SDRPlay RSPdx for receive. * no common mode chokes on either end of the transmission line * Live in north seattle, so bunch of noise already * ton of computer equipment in my shack with more switching power supplies than I can count. * LED lights, though I think I already sleuthed out the really bad ones. So...what are people's thoughts? Would an LNA help drown out the noise in my house and compensate for cable loss? Or should I start by doing the lengthy process of finding and ameliorating as many noise sources as I can first? Thanks, Chris -- Chris Prosser chris(a)nart.org

2 1

JSON API for Satellite Prediction?
by Bob 11 Jan '20

11 Jan '20

I think Heimir's (W1ANT) work on the JSON Satellite Status API is fantastic! Nothing like rewarding hard work with another request... How about a JSON Next Orbit API? Query would include the satellite name and a grid location. Response would be the time of the next pass information (AOS/Time/Az, Max El/Time/Az, LOS/Time/Az). That would make a small IoT gizmo pretty darned simple to implement and remind us when satellites will be overhead 73, Bob, WB4SON

3 2

ANS-012 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins for January 12
by JoAnne K9JKM 11 Jan '20

11 Jan '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-012 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * Virgin Orbit Plans Flight Test of LauncherOne Rocket in February * AMSAT Awards Update * AMSAT at Cowtown Hamfest - Ft. Worth - January 17-18 * JARL Announces FO-29 Activation Schedule * CAMSAT Says CAS-6 Activation for Amateur Use has been Delayed * Telemetry Dashboard Available for SMOG-P and ATL PocketQubes * MIT Radio Society W1MX January Lecture Series on “Everything Radio” * AMSAT-DL Announces a New QO-100 DownConverter V3d * AMSAT South Africa Space Symposium 2020 First Call for Papers * Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-012.01 ANS-012 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 012.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE January 12, 2020 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-012.01 +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ If you missed the live HamTalkLive podcast featuring Paul Stoetzer, N8HM, AMSAT Executive VP on January 9 you can listen on demand any- time at hamtalklive.com; or a podcast version on nearly all podcast sites a few minutes after the live show is over including Apple Pod- casts, Stitcher, Google Play, SoundCloud, and iHeart Podcasts; and it's also available on YouTube. A replay is also broadcast on WTWW 5085 AM on Saturday nights at approximately 6:30 pm Eastern. Look for Episode 195 - AMSAT 50th Anniversary Recap 09 Jan +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Virgin Orbit Plans Flight Test of LauncherOne Rocket in February Virgin Orbit, AMSAT's launch for RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E, has announced they expect to have their first test launch of LauncherOne, their airborne-launched rocket, sometime in the second half of February. The LauncherOne rocket is carried on the VO 747 Cosmic Girl aircraft. If this first test flight is successful RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E is planned for launch on the second flight of LauncherOne during 1Q 2020 on the ELaNa XX mission. RadFxSat-2/Fox-1E ----------------- Uplink: 145.860 MHz - 145.890 MHz LSB/CW Downlink: 435.790 MHz - 435.760 MHz USB/CW (inverting) Telemetry: 435.750 MHz 1K2 bps BPSK Investigate the excitement at: https://virginorbit.com/ - and - https://twitter.com/Virgin_Orbit/status/1214605925228482560 [ANS thanks Virgin Orbit for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Awards Update Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, reported, "Now that 2019 is behind us, I thought I would catch up with the awards issued the last half of the year." AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award for making their first satellite QSO + Daniel Rahn, K8EC + Bernd Peters, KB7AK + Shane Hale, KE5HSS + Benny Chandra, YD0SPU + Martin Lipert, OK1UM + Helene Charbonneau, VE2AQM + Spiro Andy Loizos, VE2LZS + Stelios Alex Loizos, VA2LZS + Souly Loizos, VE2FFS + Adam Warrix, KD9NRT + Steffen Gross, DM3CW ---------- AMSAT Communications Achievement Award + Jonathan Zylstra, KL2DN #620 + Robert Bankston, KE4AL #621 + Sloan Davis, KN4GQB #622 + Walter Mercado Vazquez, KP4T #623 ---------- AMSAT Sexagesimal Satellite Communications Achievement Award + Robert Bankston, KE4AL #184 ---------- AMSAT Century Club Award + Robert Bankston, KE4AL #54 ---------- AMSAT South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award + Jonathan Zylstra, KL2DN #US222 + Robert Bankston, KE4AL #US223 + Sloan Davis, KN4GQB #US224 ---------- AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award (1,000-4,000) + Ron Parsons, W5RKN upgrade to 4000 ---------- AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award 5,000 + Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA #35 + Ron Parsons, W5RKN #36 ---------- AMSAT Rover Award + #043 N7EGY + #044 CU2ZG + #045 K9EI + #046 KR5Z + #047 N4DCW + #048 KC9VGG + #049 W3ZM/9 (OP KC9VGG) + #050 W5PFG ---------- The next batch of AMSAT 50th Anniversary Satellite Friends of 50 awards are hot off the presses. Congratulations to: + BH4IWK + F4HVO + K0CFI + KC9VGG + VE2FFS + WP4T Visit https://www.amsat.org/amsat-50th-anniversary-awards-program/ To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org and click on Services then Awards. [ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT at Cowtown Hamfest - Ft. Worth - January 17-18 AMSAT will be represented at the 2020 Cowtown Hamfest in Fort Worth, TX on January 17 and 18 with a table, demos and presentations. If you live in the North Texas area, this is a great event, well attended and lots of vendors. Please put it on your calendar. Info posted at http://www.cowtownhamfest.com/ AMSAT Ambassador Tom Schuessler, N5HYP, says he has openings to staff the table, do the demos and assist with the presentations. The Cowtown amateur Radio Club was a home for our dearly beloved and SK, Keith Pugh, W5IU. The organizers offered AMSAT a no charge table space in the market area so a big thank you to them is in order. Tom hopes you can plan to be a part of this fine event. If you can assist in any way for AMSAT, please drop Tom an email at: N5HYP(a)arrl.net Keep an eye on https://www.amsat.org/other-events/ for updates on coming AMSAT events. [ANS thanks AMSAT Ambassador Tom Schuessler, N5HYP, 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ JARL Announces FO-29 Activation Schedule Due to battery problems FO-29 has been largely inactive - usually activated over Japan while in range of the command station. Akira Kaneko, JA1OGZ, FO-29 Command Station has posted an activation schedule for additional access: FO-29 Transponder Active (UTC) ------------------------------ 1/12 05:05- 17:00 1/13 04:10- 05:55 1/18 04:50- 06:35 1/19 03:55- 05:40 1/26 04:30- 06:15 2/1 06:00- 2/2 06:50- 2/8 04:50-15:00 2/9 03:55-15:50 2/11 03:50-05:35 2/23 03:20-05:05 2/24 04:10-5:55-14:20 3/1 04:00-05:40-15:55 3/2 04:45-14:55 FO-29 ----- Uplink: 145.900 - 146.000 MHz LSB/CW Downlink: 435.900 - 435.800 MHz USB/CW (inverting) Beacon: 435.795 MHz [ANS thanks Akira Kaneko, JA1OGZ, FO-29 Command Station for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- CAMSAT Says CAS-6 Activation for Amateur Use has been Delayed 01/07/2020 - via ARRL Chinese Amateur Satellite Group (CAMSAT) CEO Alan Kung, BA1DU, tells ARRL that some problems with the precise attitude determination of the newly launched CAS-6 amateur radio satellite have delayed deploy- ment of the antennas. The satellite was to have been put into service within 3 days. “If the V/UHF antennas are deployed now, additional torque may affect determination of the satellite attitude,” Kung said. “Engineers need to modify and upload the software, which will take some time.” He said that taking into consideration the upcoming long Chinese New Year holiday, the test work is planned to be completed sometime in late February or early March. At that time, VHF/UHF antennas will be deployed, and the amateur radio payload will be available for use. Kung points out that the satellite’s CW beacon has been turned on, although the antenna has not yet been deployed. “If you have a ‘big ear,’ you may be able to receive weak signal leaked from an undeploy- ed antenna on 145.910 MHz,” he said. “A polyimide cover on the anten- na chassis can help to leak some RF signal.” CAS-6 launched successfully on December 20, piggybacked on a TIANQIN-1 technology test satellite. The microsatellite will be known as CAS-6/TIANQIN-1, and the call sign is BJ1SO. The primary launch pay- load was the China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite, CBERS-4A. CAS-6 is in a sun-synchronous orbit with an apogee of 390 miles. It carries a U/V linear transponder, with a downlink of 145.925, 20 kHz passband (inverted) and an uplink of 435.28 MHz. The CW telemetry beacon is on 145.910 MHz, while 4k9 baud GMSK telemetry will be trans- mitted on 145.890 MHz. [ANS thanks CAMSAT and the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Telemetry Dashboard Available for SMOG-P and ATL PocketQubes The SMOG-P and ATL PocketQube team at the Budapest University of Tech- nology and Economics has released additional information about their satellites recently launched by RocketLab from New Zealand. SMOG-P digital downlink: 437.150 MHz ATL digital downlink: 437.175 MHz More information on both satellites is posted at: http://gnd.bme.hu SMOG-P (MO-105) is a 1p PocketQube (5x5x5 cm, 250 grams), a fully re- dundant tiny satellite with an actual scientific payload: a flying spectrum analyzer. It measures the scattered RF energy over the UHF band (specifically, in the digital terrestrial TV band) that can be detected in space. ATL-1 (MO-106) is a larger 2p PocketQube featuring the same spectrum analyzer experiment. Both satellites transmit almost identical telemetry data. In addition to basic CW telemetry carrying callsign, battery voltage and tempera- ture, there is digital telemetry with variable data rate and coding scheme. Most frequently, modulation is 1250 or 5000 bps GMSK. The data is encoded either by the well-known "AO-40" FEC, or a shorter, pro- prietary variant of it, but they can also use a more powerful, state- of-art repeat-accumulate (RA) coding scheme. Some practical information about receiving the telemetry: A GUI telemetry receiver is available for Windows and Linux (soon for OS X as well), and a command line receiver can also be used (Linux only). Both can be downloaded from: https://gnd.bme.hu:8080/index The programs are able to submit the received packets to the central telemetry data base. This requires a quick registration, the login credentials can be used with either of the decoders. There are some issues with the GUI software that hopefully will be resolved within a few days. These decoders assume either a USB receiver connected through the sound card or an rtl-sdr receiver. Thanks to Daniel Estevez, EA4GPZ, a high quality, full decoder and packet uploader is also available for GNU Radio 3.8 within the out- of-tree module gr-satellites. For uploading to the received packets, it uses the same login as the "official" programs do: https://github.com/daniestevez/gr-satellites/tree/maint-3.8 This decoder can unleash the full potential of the RA FEC. You'll need to put an FM demodulator in front of the flowgraph. The team is looking forward to seeing many submissions on the "Leader- board" from around the world: https://gnd.bme.hu:8080/leaderboard Having many receiving stations around the globe could greatly improve the global picture the spectrum analyzer payload can offer. [ANS thanks the PocketQube team at the Budapest University of Tech- nology and Economics for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- MIT Radio Society W1MX January Lecture Series on “Everything Radio” The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radio Society (W1MX) and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science are hosting a lecture series in January that may answer some of your questions about such topics as radar techniques, interferometry, imaging, and radio astronomy, to antenna design and modern chip- scale RF devices. No prior experience with radio is necessary, and all are welcome. All lectures will take place in the Green Building — MIT’s tallest academic building. Sessions will be live streamed and archived for later viewing. The lectures have already kicked off on January 10 with “The Next Generation of Weather Radar.” Other topics include “Lightning Interferometry” (January 13); “Radio Noises from the Sky” (January 15); “EDGES: Measuring the Early Universe” (January 22); “Antennas” (January 24), and “Chip-Scale THz Circuits and Sensors” (January 29). Lectures begin at 5 PM ET and conclude at 7 PM. MIT has posted details at: http://w1mx.mit.edu/iap/2020/ [ANS thanks the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-DL Announces a New QO-100 DownConverter V3d The first version of the AMSAT-DL down converter was built in early 2019, enabling many stations to become active on QO-100 for the first time. Since then, a lot of operating experience and new insights have been gained, which have flowed into the new board V3d. The AMSAT-DL DownConverter V3d is a completely new development. It offers important functions for all QO-100 stations, no matter if you work with VHF/UHF, HF transceiver, or an SDR. This new board can be used as a central frequency converter assembly for your QO-100 sta- tion providing stable clocks for all components meaning that addi- tional external GPS modules are not required. The specification for the AMSAT-DL DownConverter V3d includes: + Centralized clock generation with GPS or OCXO + Reference clock for the PLL in the LNB + Reference clock for a transmit mixer + Reference clock for an SDR + Short-circuit proof LNB phantom power + Connection for a dual LNB (for simultaneous NB and WB reception) + Downward mixing of the NB transponder into an amateur band (UHF/VHF or HF) + OLED display for displaying the operating status and the station coordinates The full specification and list of features is posted at: https://amsat-dl.org/der-neue-amsat-dl-qo-100-downconverter-v3d and you can order your unit at: https://shop.amsat-dl.org/ [ANS thanks AMSAT-DL for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The digital download version of the 2019 edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ AMSAT South Africa Space Symposium 2020 First Call for Papers Papers are invited for presentation at the conference and publi- cation on the web. Please send your synopsis by 28 February 2020 in a word document of no more than 300 words to: admin(a)amsatsa.org.za. Please tell us if you will be available to present your paper at the conference ... speakers attend free. The Symposium date is July 18, 2020 at the Premier Hotel Midrand. The theme this year is "Amateur Radio in Space – exploring VHF, UHF and Microwaves". Watch http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ for the latest information. [ANS thanks AMSAT SA 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 ARISS Contact Schedule Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: + Sayama Mizutomi Community Center, Sayama, Japan, direct via 8J1SS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go: Mon 2020-01-13 11:58:07 [ANS thanks Charlie Sufana, AJ9N, and David Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS opera- tion team members, for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations Satellite Shorts + January 17-19 EM17 KN6DBC AO-91 & AO-92 night passes (@KN6DBC) New Orleans, LA (EL49, EL58, EM59, EM40, EM50, EM60) January 14 – February 1, 2020. Adam, KC3OBS, will be roving EM40, EM50, EL49, EL59, January 14th – Feb 1. In between, Adam will be EL58, January 18th or 19th depending on weather, and in EM60 January 29. Adam will announce passes and updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparky_husky Lucas Gusher Special Event (EM20) January 11-12, 2020 The Beaumont Amateur Radio Club will be operating using the call- sign K5S on various HF bands including as many CAS-4A, CAS-4B, AO-91, AO-92 passes that we can. SO-50 and XW-2A also possible. More information about K5S can be found on qrz.com. Labrador (GO11 +) January 19-27, 2020 Chris VE3FU, Dave VE9CB, and Frank VO1HP will be active as VO2AC in the 2020 CQ160 CW contest, January 24-26, from Point Armour Lighthouse, in Labrador. If time permits before the contest, they may be active on FM satellites from GO11 as VO2AC or VO2AAA. Depending on weather and timing of passes, you might catch them on FM satellites as they make their way from FO93 to GO-11, passing through FO92, GO02, GO13, GO12, and GO22 along the way, but no promises. They will also make the reverse trek on January 27. Brennan Price, M/N4QX, will be active from grid square IO91 *as work permits* January 20-24. QSL *exclusively* via Logbook of the World. Montserrat, January 26 to February 2 Mel, W8MV, will be working the FM satellites using the callsign VP2MCV. He will then be operating from Antigua from February 2 to February 9. Mel is still waiting for the license so it is not yet known what the callsign will be from Antigua. QSL via LoTW. Isla Perez, Mexico - EL52dj February 11-17 Members of Radio Club Puebla DX will be active as 6F3A from Isla Perez (grid EL52dj), Mexico, between February 11-17. The operators mentioned are Patricia/XE1SPM (Team Leader), Ismael/XE1AY, Rey/ XE1SRD and Ricardo/XE1SY. Activity will be on 80/40/20/17/15/12/ 10/6 meters, and include the ARRL DX CW Contest (February 15-16). QSL via XE1SY. ADDED NOTE: Ismael, XE1AY, reports that he doing CW and the satellites, and will also TX from EL50 and XE1AY/mm from EL51. (Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1446) Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP User Services for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Need help getting your Icom IC-9700 working with SatPC32? Check out this guide written by Stefan Wagener, VE4SW posted on at: http://www.amsat.org --> Satellite Info --> Station and Operating Hints --> "The new Icom IC-9700 is a great satellite radio ..." document is at the bottom of the page. The direct URL to the PDF document is: https://tinyurl.com/ANS-012-IC9700-SatPC32 + NASA's Texas Space Grant Consortium announced the summer program for STEM Educators (grades 5-12), LiftOff 2020: Moon to Mars, a weeklong professional development training for teachers, June 21-26, 2020. The application deadline is March 2, 2020. Workshops include learning experiences by incorporating a space science theme support- ed by NASA missions. Teacher participants are provided with infor- mation and experiences through speakers, hands-on activities and field investigations that promote space science and enrichment activities for themselves and others. Visit the program website at: http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/liftoff/ + A new distance record has been set on the PO-101 (Diwata2H) FM transponder. F4DXV worked R9LR on 08-Jan-2020 at 22:57 UTC for a distance of 4,542 km. More posted at: https://twitter.com/PRStoetzer/status/1215441267976523777 https://www.amsat.org/satellite-distance-records/ + The AMSAT-DL radome to house their QO-100 antenna made it to Ant- arctica and is installed on top of Neumayer-Station III. Further work will be needed to be install it permanently. The station is also waiting for the AMSAT-UK FUNcube relay to arrive, pending wea- ther conditions for flying there. See the photo posted by HB9HCF: https://twitter.com/pa3weg/status/1215642731336404995 + A tweet from @AlbaOrbital reports that AMSAT Spain is signed up to fly on Alba Cluster 3. The Spanish satellite is a 1.5p PocketQube called Hades which is a satellite for amateur communications imple- menting a Bent-Pipe type repeater and with Store & Forward capabil- ities. See: https://twitter.com/AlbaOrbital/status/1214932730045194240 + AMSAT-EA (Vocalía de Satellites de URE) has registered with IARU and the Spanish administration their GÉNESIS-L and GÉNESIS-N sat- ellites for launch in mid-2020. An introduction to the project: https://www.ure.es/satelites-genesis-de-amsat-ea/ - and - https://twitter.com/ure_es/status/1214911584927133701 http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=698 http://www.amsatuk.me.uk/iaru/finished_detail.php?serialnum=699 + A 3-axis rotor based on the Celestron NexStar telescope mount with hamlib and rotctl drivers is demonstrated at: https://youtu.be/Avp1ROEkgeA -and- https://youtu.be/BDTjnJm41mc + Stuart Thomas, KB1HQS, author of the ARRL book, "Portable Operating for Amateur Radio", describes construction of a Hiking Pole Yagi Antenna for Extreme Environments" on his web page: https://kb1hqs.com/2019/12/26/ultralight-hiking-pole-yagi-antenna/ + Amateur radio talks featured at the popular DEF CON 27 event in Las Vegas during August 8-11, 2019. Watch Mark KR6ZY - Hunting tape measure yagis and offset attenuators - DEF CON 27 Ham Radio Village: https://youtu.be/KGQDQZT9lRQ - and - feast on the videos of hundreds of additional DEF CON talks posted at: https://www.youtube.com/user/DEFCONConference/videos (via Southgate) + In April 2020, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope will celebrate 30 years since its launch. ESA/Hubble has produced a commemorative calendar of the telescope’s Hidden Gems that is now available for everyone to use and enjoy. See: https://www.spacetelescope.org/news/heic2001/ + Opensource.com has published 12 open source resources for kids and young adults to learn from open source technology: https://opensource.com/article/19/12/kids-students-education + Did you ever dream of being a NASA astronaut? This spring, NASA once again will be accepting applications for New Astronauts! Stay tuned to http://nasa.gov/astronauts for upcoming information on how you can explore places like the Moon and Mars. + The Signal Path presents, "Tutorial on Theory, Characterization & Measurement Techniques of Phase Noise" in a video posted at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOHjFtw0sgo&feature=youtu.be + If phase noise doesn't keep you up at night you've probably found yourself wondering why do mirrors flip left & right but not up and down? A video giving you the answer that this has to do with specu- lar reflection, mirrors being like windows into another world like alternate universes, just with in and out flipped! There's your answer! Have a good night after you watch at: https://youtu.be/1t4dOPxKgrY --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and remember to behave and to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM k9jkm at amsat dot org

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API for satellite status now being tested.
by Joseph B. Fitzgerald 11 Jan '20

11 Jan '20

Thanks to the efforts of Heimir, W1ANT, an API has been added to retrieve satellite status data as used in the amsat.org/status page. Send a query like : amsat.org/status/api/v1/sat_info.php?name=AO-91&hours=24 and you will get the last 24 hours of reports for AO-91 in JSON format. The hours parameter is optional, if you omit it you will get the last 96 hours of reports. The name of the satellite must match the string shown on amsat.org/status , i.e AO-91 works, but AO-92 does not ... use AO-92_L/v or AO-92_U/v instead. This API is not stable yet ... we are still working on the time, and it seems a query for the list of available satellites is in order. For the moment, all reports show half past the hour that they were in. de KM1P Joe

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Android app now using the new Status API
by Heimir Thor Sverrisson 11 Jan '20

11 Jan '20

Hi all, Last year I wrote an app to help me operate LEO satellites and in December I decided to make it available in the Google Play Store. The app has information on the satellites I've found interesting, including the radio transponders and beacons on board, in addition to the Keps, that I fetch automatically on occasion over the Internet. In order to plan activity, the app will show a list of passes coming up for your QTH in the next 18 hours. Once you select a bird you are interested in you will get an Overview Page for it. From there you can select a link taking you to a web page about it, you can also see its Location in real time and its trajectory for the next hour. All passes for this satellite for the next 48 hours are also available from the Overview Page. >From the overview page you can also select Status Reports, that will display a list based on the Status API that I helped Joe KM1P to set up earlier this week. Finally if you select a Beacon or Transponder from the overview page you will land on the Aiming View that uses the built in sensors of the phone to point at where in the sky the satellite is in real-time. This view also shows the Uplink and Downlink frequencies with the Doppler shift included. I use this view with my phone mounted on a tripod behind the reflectors on my Arrow beam in portable operations. I would really appreciate any and all feedback on the app and thanks for making this hobby even more interesting. Heimir W1ANT P.S. The app called 'W1ANT Satellite Tracker' is available for free here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.coolprimes.sattrack

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9700 scope
by James Brown 11 Jan '20

11 Jan '20

I want to thank all for the presentation and setup procedure for the ic9700 scope...Well Done!! being computer illiterate it was perfect for me. I tried to download today's revision of sat 32 and was blocked with a red slash thru the dk1... site. I have never experienced this before and will assume something at the site. My scope is all "red" changing the reference level and filter does not change the colors.Any suggestions.I will try another day to update sat 32 to todays revision. ThanksJim KI6WJ

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Sayama Mizutomi Community Center, Sayama, Japan
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 11 Jan '20

11 Jan '20

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Sayama Mizutomi Community Center, Sayama, Japan on 13 Jan. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 11:58 UTC. The duration of the contact is approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds. The contact will be direct between NA1SS and 8J1SS. The contact should be audible over Japan and adjacent areas. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. The Mizutomi Community Center is located in the center of the Mizutomi area in the northwestern part of the Sayama city, and is a community center surrounded by greenery and greenery where colorful carp swim. This Center has Mizutomi elementary school, Hirose elementary school and Nishi junior high school in area. The center gathers students of those schools and performs various events. Recently, we have held a training course for amateur license. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. How did you feel when you got to space? 2. Do you feel hot or cold in the space station? 3. What is the most beautiful place on Earth that you can see from the space station? 4. How fast are you moving now? 5. Can you see rainbows in space, if so what do they look like? 6. How do astronauts navigate space, find positions and directions? 7. Can you see meteor showers from the i.s.s.? 8. Do you have animals in the ISS now? 9. Do you see morning or night from the space station? 10. When and how do you contact your family? 11. How do you wash yourself in space? 12. Why did you become an astronaut? 13. What is the most crucial thing for astronauts? 14. In space what has been a difficult work for you? 15. What space food do you like the most? 16. Are there any other food but space food. 17. Can you see a super nova from ISS? 18. Do you want your own house in space? 19. What do you want to do first when you return to Earth? 20. In space, what has surprised you the most? PLEASE CHECK THE FOLLOWING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARISS UPDATES: Visit ARISS on Facebook. We can be found at Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS). To receive our Twitter updates, follow @ARISS_status Next planned event(s): TBD About ARISS Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the 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 (STEM) 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. Thank you & 73, David - AA4KN

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Spectrum Scope Version, new setup files
by Erich Eichmann 09 Jan '20

09 Jan '20

I have uploaded new setup files for the Spectrum Scope version. Some minor bugs have been fixed. In addition, the program can now optionally open the spectrum scope window at program start. 73s, Erich, DK1TB

2 1

Did anyone ever publish the results of the KURSK experiment from ARISSat-1?
by Douglas Quagliana 09 Jan '20

09 Jan '20

Did anyone ever interpret and/or publish the results of the KURSK experiment from ARISSat-1? I know we collected a lot of telemetry from the KURSK experiment. Was anything ever published regarding that data? 73, Douglas KA2UPW/5

2 1

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-01-09 03:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 09 Jan '20

09 Jan '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-01-09 03:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Sayama Mizutomi Community Center, Sayama, Japan, direct via 8J1SS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Contact is go: Mon 2020-01-13 11:58:07 UTC 84 deg 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) 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 2020-01-09 03:30 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 2019-12-21 03:00 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 136 Sergey RV3DR with 131 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 1374. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1307. 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. 59 on orbit Christina Koch Exp. 60 on orbit Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Alexander Skvortsov Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

1 0

Suggestion for beginners on FM sats
by skristof＠etczone.com 08 Jan '20

08 Jan '20

Just sending out a friendly reminder to anyone who is just beginning on the FM satellites that there is a standard operating procedure that helps to ensure that everyone gets a chance at a QSO or two on a pass. (Calling "CQ Saudisat" is not standard operating procedure, especially if you are transmitting over someone else.) Please take the time read the following very helpful document from the amsat.org website: https://www.amsat.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/FM-Satellites-Be… Following these procedures makes the satellite more fun for everybody. 73! Steve AI9IN

1 0

How do I reply to a message on here.
by Bernie and Cheryl 08 Jan '20

08 Jan '20

I just got a reply to a prior post of mine and I'd like to thank the author (VE4SW). But I don't see any link on the reply where I can send a reply. I checked out the FAQ's and couldn't find the answer. Thanks and 73 de Bernie, KF0QS

2 1

FS-3 (PacSat Ground Station) - holes not filled
by Hans BX2ABT 08 Jan '20

08 Jan '20

Hello Chris and others, I've got a hole dated Jan 3, that doesn't want to be filled and I can't find my notes on how to deal with that. What files do need to be deleted or altered? Who can help me out with some advice here? Thanks. --Hans (BX2ABT)

3 6

AO-92 in L/v at 0218 utc for 24 hours 8 Jan 2019
by Mark L. Hammond 07 Jan '20

07 Jan '20

Happy L-band! Subject says it all. 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

1 0

CAS-6/TIANQIN-1 TT&C Frequency or Object Number?
by Mark Jessop 07 Jan '20

07 Jan '20

Hi all, >From this article, it looks like the CAS-6 payload V/UHF antennas on TIANQIN-1 haven't yet been deployed: http://www.arrl.org/news/view/camsat-says-cas-6-activation-for-amateur-use-… I'm wondering if TIANQIN-1 is beaconing on any other frequency? Clearly the controllers are getting data from the sat somehow. I have identified a few objects from the same launch transmitting on the 400-403 MHz TT&C band, though none of these have been named in the catalogues (as seems to be typical for Chinese launches). In particular, I have seen: Object 44884 - 401.548 MHz Object 44886 - 401.951 MHz (This is apparently a rocket body) Object 44887 - 401.951 MHz Object 44889 - 401.750 MHz I'm wondering if any of these are TIANQIN-1 .. if the operators of the sat have an object number, it would be great if they could share it, so we can at least point our antennas in the right direction! 73 Mark VK5QI

1 0

Version 0.36 pacsat
by Kevin 07 Jan '20

07 Jan '20

Big shout out to Chris for version 0.36, I had a 10K file go up quickly and with no issue, especially like that the percentage complete is shown in the upload process. 73 Kevin WA7FWF

2 1

Problem with SatPC32 Doppler Frequency Control
by Bernie and Cheryl 07 Jan '20

07 Jan '20

Dear Folks: I can't get Doppler correction to work on my SatPC32 program /for most of the satellites./ Let me be clear that, for SO-50, my Doppler frequency correction works just fine. That tells me that the hardware, and some of the software, is set up properly. Here's the difference that I see. On the top of the SatPC32 screen, there is a section that shows "Downlink" and "Uplink" frequencies, right next to the portion where the pushbuttons exist to shift frequencies by 20khz, etc. When I bring up SO-50 on SatPC32, the box below the "Downlink" and "Uplink" sections is populated with the actual frequencies, and they change during the course of a pass. On the other satellites, that box is a complete blank. What do I need to do to get the data to populate in that box, since I suspect that's what needs to happen in order for Doppler correction to occur? Thanks and 73 de Bernie, KF0QS

2 1

Needed Home Grids ~EM58
by Michael N4DCW 07 Jan '20

07 Jan '20

Good evening, AMSAT, *Hypothetically*, if I were to plan a roving trip around EM58 on MLK weekend, are there any stations that are in need of their home grids adjoining EM58? That would be any station whose QTH is within EM47-49, EM57-59, or 67-69. Thanks in advance, Michael, N4DCW

1 0

A9JBQ?
by Bob Hammond 06 Jan '20

06 Jan '20

I made contact with, I think, A9JBQ this morning at ~1921 UTC on AO-91. I can't find that call in the QRZ or FCC database. Anyone?

2 2

Re: [amsat-bb] FS-3 (PacSat Ground Station) - holes not filled
by Mark L. Hammond 06 Jan '20

06 Jan '20

Hi Robert, Please check out the Falconsat-3 webpage at AMSAT, located here. It has the links and some helpful information as well. https://www.amsat.org/falconsat-3/ Also, I suggest you try this site--a very useful page with some good instructions! http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/wispinsv.htm 73-- Mark N8MH On Mon, Jan 6, 2020 at 12:05 PM Robert Switzer <rs2atmink(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > Mark, > > I always see references to Wisp, but is there a current version (source or > binary) actually available? > > The amsat link is broken > > http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ftp/software/win32/wisp/ > > On Monday, January 6, 2020, 10:19:36 AM EST, Mark L. Hammond via AMSAT-BB < > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > > Hello Hans, > > Glad you're using Falconsat-3. Which client are you using---Wisp or > Pacsat Ground Station? The answers are different... > > For Wisp, there is a utility program in Wisp where you can reset the > holes; Poking around you'll find it. > > For PacSat Ground Station---I *highly* recommend updating to the latest > release (0.36). Chris AC2CZ has made some great improvements, and > directory information function (including requesting/filling holes!) is > among them. I think the new code will resolve your hole issue, if that's > your client... > > https://www.g0kla.com/pacsat/index.php > > 73! > > Mark N8MH > > > > On Sun, Jan 5, 2020 at 9:18 PM Hans BX2ABT via AMSAT-BB < > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> > wrote: > > > Hello Chris and others, > > > > I've got a hole dated Jan 3, that doesn't want to be filled and I can't > > find my notes on how to deal with that. What files do need to be deleted > > or altered? Who can help me out with some advice here? Thanks. > > > > --Hans (BX2ABT) > > > > _______________________________________________ > > 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 > > > > > -- > Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] > > _______________________________________________ > 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 > -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

1 0

API for the information displayed on the amsat.org status page?
by Heimir Thor Sverrisson 06 Jan '20

06 Jan '20

Hi all, hope this in not the wrong forum to ask this question. Is the data shown on the amsat.org/status page somehow available through an API? I'm asking because I would like to be able to show this valuable information to the users of my Android app in close to real time. It is not easy to browse this page on a small mobile device, and I would also just need to show one satellite at a time. Thank you, /Heimir, W1ANT

2 1

API for the information displayed on the amsat.org status page?
by Heimir Thor Sverrisson 06 Jan '20

06 Jan '20

Hi all, hope this in not the wrong forum to ask this question. Is the data shown on the amsat.org/status page somehow available through an API? I'm asking because I would like to be able to show this valuable information to the users of my Android app in close to real time. It is not easy to browse this page on a small mobile device, and I would also just need to show one satellite at a time. Thank you, /Heimir, W1ANT

1 0

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-01-06 16:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 06 Jan '20

06 Jan '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-01-06 16:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Sayama Mizutomi Community Center, Sayama, Japan, direct via 8J1SS (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Luca Parmitano KF5KDP (***) Contact is go: Mon 2020-01-13 11:58:07 UTC 84 deg (***) 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) 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 2020-01-06 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 2019-12-21 03:00 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 136 Sergey RV3DR with 131 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 1374. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1307. 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. 59 on orbit Christina Koch Exp. 60 on orbit Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Alexander Skvortsov Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

1 0

Falconsat-3
by Kevin 05 Jan '20

05 Jan '20

Is Falconsat-3 down? last couple passes I see a signal but it looks like gibberish. Could be me but just checking. 73 Kevin WA7FWF

5 5

Fox-in-a-box download is updated
by Burns Fisher 05 Jan '20

05 Jan '20

The download website, http://burnsfisher.com/AMSAT/FoxInABox now contains the SD card image, FIAB-distro8-V1.08w.zip. This file, when unzipped and written to a 16Gb SD card will give you the latest software for FoxTelem and will run on a Raspberry Pi 4. This is an image of the same SD card that has been shipping from the AMSAT store for several weeks. (It should work on an 8Gb card as well with less room to spare of course). 1.08w has a few fixes from 1.08r, the previous download version, and will capture data a bit better. Remember that the later 1.08 versions (including r and w) know how to switch bands between listening on VHF and UHF based on which of Fox and Husky satellites are overhead at the time. We expect HuskySat to be released from the ISS relatively soon, so be prepared! 73, Burns Fisher WB1FJ

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AMSAT Awards Update
by Bruce 05 Jan '20

05 Jan '20

Now that 2019 is behind us, I thought I would catch up with the awards issued the last half of the year. AMSAT Satellite Communicators Award for making their first satellite QSO Daniel Rahn, K8EC Bernd Peters, KB7AK Shane Hale, KE5HSS Benny Chandra, YD0SPU Martin Lipert, OK1UM Helene Charbonneau, VE2AQM Spiro Andy Loizos, VE2LZS Stelios Alex Loizos, VA2LZS Souly Loizos, VE2FFS Adam Warrix, KD9NRT Steffen Gross, DM3CW (had to include his submission today) ------ AMSAT Communications Achievement Award Jonathan Zylstra, KL2DN #620 Robert Bankston, KE4AL #621 Sloan Davis, KN4GQB #622 Walter Mercado Vazquez, KP4T #623 ------ AMSAT Sexagesimal Satellite Communications Achievement Award Robert Bankston, KE4AL #184 ------ AMSAT Century Club Award Robert Bankston, KE4AL #54 ------ AMSAT South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement Award Jonathan Zylstra, KL2DN #US222 Robert Bankston, KE4AL #US223 Sloan Davis, KN4GQB #US224 ------ AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award (1,000-4,000) Ron Parsons, W5RKN upgrade to 4000 ------ AMSAT Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award 5,000 Adrian Liggins, VA3NNA #35 Ron Parsons, W5RKN #36 ------ AMSAT Rover Award Rover Call ===== ======== #043 N7EGY #044 CU2ZG #045 K9EI #046 KR5Z #047 N4DCW #048 KC9VGG #049 W3ZM/9 (OP KC9VGG) #050 W5PFG (had to include his submission today) To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org and click on Services then Awards. 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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ANS-005 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Mark D. Johns 04 Jan '20

04 Jan '20

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-005 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * AMSAT Member KC9ZJX Receives 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Award * Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 2, 2020 * Space Fence nearing operational acceptance by U.S. Air Force * VUCC Awards-Endorsements for January 2020 * Winter Field Day to Include Limited Satellite Operations * Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-005.01 ANS-005 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 005.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE 2020 Jan 05 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-005.01 AMSAT Member KC9ZJX Receives 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Award Congratulations to AMSAT member Dhruv Rebba, KC9ZJX, winner of the Bloomington and Normal (Illinois) Human Relations Commissions 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. award. The commission chooses people who re- flect the ideology of the late Dr. King. Rebba is a sophomore at Normal Community High School. He is a volun- teer and/or member of YMCA/YWCA, Illinois 4-H, Multicultural Leader- ship Program (MCLP), National Computer Science Honor Society, and First Robotics. He is also Amateur Radio Newsline's 2019 Young Ham Of The Year. Rebba gave the youth presentation at AMSAT 36th Annual Symposium Huntsville, Alabama in 2018 where is also received AMSAT's Presidential Award. The announcement is posted on-line at: https://www.wglt.org/post/bloomington-normal-mlk-awards-announced [ANS thanks WGLT.org, NPR Radio from Illinois State University, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Changes to AMSAT-NA TLE Distribution for January 2, 2020 Correction to the addition of FloripaSat 1 to last week's TLE distri- bution: FloripaSat 1 is NORAD CAT ID 44885. Also the first part of the TLE distribution was left off the orb19360.2l.amsat file sent last week. The second file sent orb19361.2l.amsat contained the full list of satellites. We are still awaiting the identification of CAS-6. Or... Use the keps for FloripaSat 1 (NORAD CAT ID 44885) for CAS-6 per suggestion of Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P. This, of course, assumes that CAS-6 is in fact transmitting??? [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Space Fence nearing operational acceptance by U.S. Air Force According to NASA’s most recent Orbital Debris Quarterly News, NASA calculates about 17.6 million pounds of objects are in earth orbit. That number will only grow as more commercial space projects launch massive constellations with thousands of smallsats, presenting a huge problem for both U.S. government and commercial organizations. That’s where the U.S. Air Force’s Space Fence will play a crucial role. Using advanced solid-state S-band radar technology, the Space Fence radar located on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, it will play a critical role in the everyday lives of Americans who are becoming more dependent on space-based technologies for everything from weather forecasting, banking, global communications to GPS navigation. Today, these critical services are being threatened by hundreds of thousands of objects and space debris orbiting the Earth. Frequent col- lisions and deterioration of assets, such as defunct satellites and rocket boosters, have increased the amount of space debris and raised the risk of future collisions in space. The Air Force Space Surveillance Network currently tracks about 25,000 objects. When Space Fence comes online, the catalog will experience significant growth and when fully operational, Space Fence will be the world’s largest and most advanced radar system, providing unprecedented space situational awareness. Beyond cataloging objects, Space Fence will detect closely-spaced ob- jects, breakups, maneuvers, launches and conjunction assessments from LEO through GEO. Space Fence is currently in a trial period and expected to become fully operational in 2020. [ANS thanks Milsat Magazine for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ VUCC Awards-Endorsements for January 2020 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period December 3, 2019 through January 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! DEC JAN AA5PK 1064 1074 AA8CH 620 641 N3GS 601 624 WD9EWK(DM43)585 597 NS3L 526 551 W5CBF 179 533 K9UO 500 528 AA9LC 416 514 W7QL 451 478 PS8ET 303 326 G0ABI 306 320 WB7VUF 206 319 AA4QE 204 305 KC9VGG 200 228 KC9UQR 172 196 N9FN 103 194 W4AQT 153 179 W5CBF(EM21) New 179 W0NBC 152 176 KJ4M 102 170 W9VNE New 169 VE1VOX 126 155 W4DFU 116 151 AI9IN 125 150 WD9EWK(DM41)127 148 WD9EWK(DM23)104 137 N7AME 127 128 WA9JBQ 104 125 VU2LBW 100 114 KC8AMH New 101 N3CAL New 100 YO2CMI New 100 If you find errors or omissions, please contact W5RKN at w5krn.com. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apolo- gies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are rov- ing to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! [ANS thanks Ron Parsons, W5RKN, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Winter Field Day to Include Limited Satellite Operations Winter Field Day runs for 24 hours during the last full weekend in Jan- uary each year from 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Saturday to 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Sunday. For 2020 the dates are January 25th and 26th. Station set-up may commence no earlier than 1900 UTC (2pm EST) on the Friday before. Station setup may consume no more than 12 hours total. All Amateur bands, HF, VHF, & UHF except 12, 17, 30 and 60 meters. Any mode that can faithfully transmit the exchange intact without a conver- sion table... CW, SSB, AM, FM, DStar, C4FM, DMR, Packet, PSK, SSTV, RTTY, Olivia, Satellite, etc... (note FT8 is excluded). Satellite contacts do not count as a new mode/band multiplier. Satel- lite contacts are limited to ONE ONLY per entry so as to not tie up satellite frequencies with stations calling CQ WFD. Three operating categories are available: Indoor: Operation from inside a remote, insulated, heated, and weather- protected structure where an Amateur station is normally not available. Outdoor: Operation from a location partly or fully exposed to the ele- ments and at least 30 feet away from your normal station location and not using any part of a previously erected antenna system or station. Home: Operation from inside a home or inside another structure attach- ed to a home that could or would be the usual location of an Amateur station. For additional information, see: https://www.winterfieldday.com/ [ANS thanks the Winter Field Day Association 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Hamfests, Conventions, Maker Faires, and Other Events Want to see AMSAT in action or learn more about amateur radio in space? AMSAT Ambassadors provide presentations, demonstrate communicating through amateur satellites, and host information tables at club meet- ings, hamfests, conventions, maker faires, and other events. Current schedule: January 6, 2020 West Valley Amateur Radio Club, Sun City, AZ January 11, 2020 Thunderbird ARC Hamfest, Glendale, AZ January 17-18, 2020 Cowtown Hamfest, Fort Worth, TX February 7-9, 2020 Hamcation, Orlando, FL March 6, 2020 Irving Hamfest, Irving, TX May 15-17, 2020 Hamvention, Xenia, OH June 12-13, 2020 Ham-Con, Plano, TX A copy of the AMSAT hamfest brochure is available for download at: https://tinyurl.com/yx7lc7m8 This color brochure is designed to be printed double-sided and folded into a tri-fold handout. To include your upcoming AMSAT presentation and/or demonstration, please send an email to ambassadors (at) amsat (dot) org. For additional information on the AMSAT Ambassador Program, see: https://www.amsat.org/ambassador/ [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, Director, AMSAT Ambassadors for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Upcoming Satellite Operations Due to weather concerns, the W5M/MM satellite expedition to EL58 is being postponed to Sunday Jan 5th. For updates, follow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ad0dx Lucas Gusher Special Event (EM20) January 11-12, 2020 The Beaumont Amateur Radio Club will be operating using the call- sign K5S on various HF bands including as many CAS-4A, CAS-4B, AO-91, AO-92 passes that we can. SO-50 and XW-2A also possible. More information about K5S can be found on qrz.com. Labrador (GO11 +) January 19-27, 2020 Chris VE3FU, Dave VE9CB, and Frank VO1HP will be active as VO2AC in the 2020 CQ160 CW contest, January 24-26, from Point Armour Lighthouse, in Labrador. If time permits before the contest, they may be active on FM satellites from GO11 as VO2AC or VO2AAA. Depending on weather and timing of passes, you might catch them on FM satellites as they make their way from FO93 to GO-11, passing through FO92, GO02, GO13, GO12, and GO22 along the way, but no promises. They will also make the reverse trek on January 27. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here, as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP User Services 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Shorts From All Over + TAPR PSR Digital Journal Winter 2020 Edition Available at: http://tapr.org/psr/psr143.pdf (ANS thanks TAPR for the above information) + The January/February 2020 SARC Communicator newsletter is available at: http://bit.ly/SARC20JanFeb This edition has 75 pages of projects, news, views, and reviews from the SW corner of Canada. Find out about the northernmost amateur radio station: "VY0ERC: What is life like at the farthest north Amateur Radio Club in Canada?" starting on page 14. (ANS thanks Surrey Amateur Radio Communications for the above info) + A CBC Hamilton news feature on John David, VA3JHD, and his work with the Canadian Forces Affiliate Radio Systems (CFARS), briefly mentions amateur satellites. See the article at: https://tinyurl.com/rmbpfxa (ANS thanks CBC Hamilton for the above information) + Work is going "smoothly" on the Chandrayaan-3 mission to put a rover probe on the moon's surface, Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K. Sivan told a press conference. India is seeking to become only the fourth nation after Russia, the United States and China to put a mission on the moon's surface and boost its credentials as a low-cost space power. The country's Chandrayaan-2 module crashed on the moon's surface in September. (ANS thanks spacedaily.com for the above information) + China has just released the first batch of #ChangE4 science data! The first ever mission to land on the the far side of the Moon. This is actually a really cool and user friendly website. To access in En- glish visit: http://moon.bao.ac.cn/index_en.jsp + E-members of AMSAT-UK can now download the December 2019 edition of OSCAR News, issue 228. For details, see: https://amsat-uk.org/2019/12/31/december-2019-oscar-news/ Also, a video on a recent moonbounce and satellite expedition to Botswana may be found on the AMSAT-UK website: https://amsat-uk.org/2019/12/27/a21eme-moonbounce-qo100/ (ANS thank AMSAT-UK and Trevor Essex, M5AKA, for the above informa- tion) + Congratulations to Chris Taron, NK1K, on the achievement of DXCC via LEO satellite! This is a remarkable achievement matched by few. (ANS thanks Twitter @NK1K for the above information) + Congratulations to WA7FWF on uploading 1 million Fox Telemetry frames to the server. For more information on capturing telemetry from the Fox satellites, see: https://www.amsat.org/foxtelem-software-for-windows-mac-linux/ (ANS thanks Mark Hammond, N8MH, AMSAT Board Member, for the above information --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and Remember to help keep amateur radio in space, This week's ANS Editor, K0JM at amsat dot org

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6F3A Perez Island DXpedition-EL52
by George Sakai 04 Jan '20

04 Jan '20

I received the message below from XE1AY. "From 11 to 17 february, I will be in a dxpedition 6F3A, Perez Island, EL52dj, doing cw and satellitealso I will tx from EL50 and xe1ay/mm EL51 I hope to work you 73 de Ismaelxeay " George N3GS

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Re: [amsat-bb] New SatPC Version with 9700
by Yono Adisoemarta 04 Jan '20

04 Jan '20

I built myself. de Yono YD0NXX Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 4, 2020, at 6:20 AM, Bob Hammond via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: >

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W5M/MM Expedition to EL58 Postponed to Sunday Jan 5th
by Ron Bondy 04 Jan '20

04 Jan '20

Due to weather concerns tomorrow, the EL58 satellite expedition is being postponed to Sunday Jan 5th. 73 Ron, ad0dx

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New SatPC Version with 9700
by Richard Lawn 04 Jan '20

04 Jan '20

I have to admit that I'm having trouble following Erich's instructions for activating the new spectrum scope for ic-9700 radios he has added. I got to #5 where he says "Open the SatPC32 menu DIV and click on Spectrum. On my copy there is no such menu item. I'd appreciate someone sharing their radio and software setup as I'm not having any luck. Happy New Year! Rick, W2JAZ

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moving my SatPC32 to a new laptop.
by Mr B r a d 03 Jan '20

03 Jan '20

Is there a easy way to get my old xp desktop setup of satPC32 on to my win10 laptop ?73 Brad ko6kL

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Congrats WA7FWF on 1M Fox Telemetry frames!!
by Mark L. Hammond 03 Jan '20

03 Jan '20

Way to go, Kevin! It’s a big deal passing the 1 million mark. Congratulations and thanks for feeding the frames to the server. Alan WA4SCA is nearly there, too!! Nice. Mark N8MH -- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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Question about SatPC32 Auto satellite switching
by Thomas Schaefer 03 Jan '20

03 Jan '20

There is a feature to automatically switch to the next satellite. I have it enabled (A+ in commands). But when a satellite goes past LOS, it does not switch to next. Is the idea that is will switch to the next one at AOS?When I say it does not switch, the frequency and active sat / letter does not change. Is the program supposed to change automatically to the next satellite in the list of upcoming passes? Thanks, Tom NY4I Blog: www.ny4i.com Madeira Beach, FL (Grid: EL87ot)

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Uni_Trac 200 to give away
by Doug Faunt N6TQS +1-510-717-1197 02 Jan '20

02 Jan '20

Hi, I have a printer port Unitrac_2000 that I'd cheerfully send to anyone who can use it. 73, doug N6TQS

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SSTV on the birds
by radiomb 01 Jan '20

01 Jan '20

A couple of years back when I was getting into satellites was there not an experimental day for SSTV like L band today. I think that would be nice for us new to the birds. Just dreaming maybe some day have digital video. Uplink to the bird and have it re-transmitted to restrict to 1 minute. Hope we do get something setup to encourage SSTV on a scheduled day.73 K4MIA

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VUCC Awards-Endorsements for January 2020
by Ronald Parsons 01 Jan '20

01 Jan '20

Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period December 3, 2019 through January 1, 2020. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! I hope this is accurate. Thanks to my computer quitting on me, I lost all my old work, including the VUCC Satellite Standings from December 1, 2019. But thanks to K9UO, I was provided the December 3 version. Close enough! AA5PK 1064 1074 AA8CH 620 641 N3GS 601 624 WD9EWK (DM43) 585 597 NS3L 526 551 W5CBF 179 533 K9UO 500 528 AA9LC 416 514 W7QL 451 478 PS8ET 303 326 G0ABI 306 320 WB7VUF 206 319 AA4QE 204 305 KC9VGG 200 228 KC9UQR 172 196 N9FN 103 194 W4AQT 153 179 W5CBF (EM21) New 179 W0NBC 152 176 KJ4M 102 170 W9VNE New 169 VE1VOX 126 155 W4DFU 116 151 AI9IN 125 150 WD9EWK (DM41) 127 148 WD9EWK (DM23) 104 137 N7AME 127 128 WA9JBQ 104 125 VU2LBW 100 114 KC8AMH New 101 N3CAL New 100 YO2CMI New 100 If you find errors or omissions. please contact me off-list at <mycall>@<mycall>.com and I'll revise the announcement. This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for the two months. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! Ron W5RKN

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Ground Station Calculator
by Wendy and Terry Osborne 01 Jan '20

01 Jan '20

Hi John, While rummaging through my garage looking for old tracking programs for Paul N8HM, I found Orbit magazine from May/June 1983. In it is an article by Hasan N0AN called AO-10 Ground Station Analysis. You can use Hasan’s equations to calculate your ground station performance. I’ve put the equations into a spreadsheet with the numbers for your home station. The article and spreadsheet are here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rvb80ajqcpkc47x/AAAHKhwYaI8UkwBR9sx0fw6Fa?dl=0 Best wishes for the new year and 73, Terry Osborne ZL2BAC

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AMSAT @ Thunderbird Hamfest in Glendale AZ (11 January 2020)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

Hi! AMSAT will be at the Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club's annual hamfest on the morning of Saturday, 11 January 2020. The hamfest will be at Glendale Nazarene Church, at the northwest corner of 59th Avenue and Cactus Road in Glendale, Arizona. More information about the hamfest is available at: http://www.tbirdfest.org/ Information about the Thunderbird Amateur Radio Club is available at: http://www.w7tbc.org/ WD9EWK will be on the satellites during the hamfest, demonstrating satellite operating. If you hear WD9EWK on a pass that morning, please call and join in the demonstration. The hamfest site is in grid DM33, in Arizona's Maricopa County. QSOs made during the hamfest will be uploaded to Logbook of the World, and QSL cards are available on request (please e-mail me directly with the QSO details). I will tweet updates from the hamfest using my @WD9EWK Twitter account. If you do not use Twitter, you can see the tweets in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK Thanks, and 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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Satellite presentation in Sun City AZ (6 January 2020)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

Hi! I will give a satellite-themed presentation for the West Valley Amateur Radio Club at their meeting on Monday evening, 6 January 2020. The club meets at the Shepherd of the Desert Lutheran Church on 111th Avenue in Sun City, Arizona. The meeting is scheduled to start at 7pm. More information about the club is available at: https://westvalleyarc.com/ Before the meeting, WD9EWK should be on the air from outside the meeting, demonstrating satellite operating. There are a couple of passes that may work for demonstrations before the meeting: XW-2F at 0052 UTC (5.52pm local time) XW-2B at 0110 UTC (6.10pm local time) I may also work passes after the meeting, depending on when it wraps up. Please check my @WD9EWK Twitter account on Monday evening for that. If you do not use Twitter, you can see my tweets in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK I will tweet out pass information, if I am able to get on after the meeting. The meeting site is in grid DM33. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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Celebrate New Years with the L Band Boys
by Ronald Parsons 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

Or is it the L Boys Band? AO-92 in L/v at 0140utc 1/1/2020 for 24 hrs Ron W5RKN

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AO-92 in L/v at 0140utc 1/1/2020 for 24 hrs
by Mark L. Hammond 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

Happy L-band New Year to you all! 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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SKN on the birds
by Mike Herr 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

Where are all the CW ops? -- Mike Herr WA6ARA DM-15dp Home of The QRP Ranch No trees were killed in the sending of this message, however, a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced. "Dad says that anyone who can't use a slide rule is a cultural illiterate and should not be allowed to vote. Mine is a beauty - a K&E 20-inch Log-log Duplex Decitrig." - Robert Heinlein

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SSTV on Linears
by Roy Dean 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

> > I did some SSTV years ago via AO-40. Really fun. But with a LEO > satellite, you will need to be actively adjusting for Doppler shift in > real time, as SSTV is frequency sensitive. You might try some of the > faster modes, especially since a pass is over in just a few minutes. Greg > KO6TH I just did a dry run with my station, and think I'm ready to try an actual pass. I will be operating in "Robot36" mode on CAS-4B (17:00z) and CAS-4A (17:30z) this afternoon as first attempt. I plan on shooting for the lower portion of the 2m passband (going to target the lowest published downlink frequency). I will likely announce several times prior to first transmitting to fine tune. My test image is very simple black and white call/grid. If anybody hears it, please feel free to respond with an image (short notice, I know), or voice. If you don't hear me, then something came up to pull me away from my computer or I simply can't get in. --Roy K3RLD

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A21EME Video
by M5AKA 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

December 2019 issue of OSCAR News is now available for e-members to download https://amsat-uk.org/2019/12/31/december-2019-oscar-news/ A21EME Moonbounce and QO-100 Dxpedition video https://amsat-uk.org/2019/12/27/a21eme-moonbounce-qo100/ TF3YOTA active on Es’hail-2 / QO-100 satellite https://amsat-uk.org/2019/12/20/tf3yota-active-on-eshail-2-qo-100-satellite/ CAMSAT CAS-6 satellite launched December 20 https://amsat-uk.org/2019/12/19/camsat-cas-6-satellite/ 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] SSTV on Linears
by Roy Dean 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

Here is some additional information: CAS-4B: https://network.satnogs.org/observations/1469843/ Here you can see two SSTV transmissions starting at about 150s. I see no impact on the ongoing qso's going on higher up the passband. CAS-4A: https://network.satnogs.org/observations/1469844/ Here there is an SSTV transmission at about 200s, also doesn't seem to impact the ongoing qsos. And yes - all of this was in SSB. I suppose a trial in NFM would really cause havoc on the transponder. --Roy K3RLD

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Re: [amsat-bb] SSTV on Linears
by Roy Dean 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

> > Roy, Have you checked this out with the control ops? I don't know but are > there > any duty cycle issues to worry about? And given that a linear transponder > has a finite power budget what does it do to the other users? Maybe not a > big deal but I wonder if the sys ops for these birds have any words of > wisdom for us before we all start cranking up MMSSTV and banging away. John I have not. However I did just try it out and was monitoring the pass band and did not see any adverse affect. In fact, there were QSO's going on simultaneously that were very strong (stronger than my signal, for sure). At one point, it did seem as though somebody may have been doing something that was affecting the downlink (but it wasn't me as I wasn't Tx'ing at the time) - as it was a very wide signal that sort of sounded like it could have been SSTV splatter. Could have been local QRM, too. At the start of the first pass I received a partial image from another operator that was very nice (I just didn't pick up the signal until the image was completing). I also decoded my downlink after the pass and one came in very nicely and the other was recognizable but I think a frequency shift caused a decode hiccup that introduced interesting patterns and colors. I didn't get any "good" decodes from the second pass, but I'm wondering if I can do some post processing of the recorded file to shift the audio frequencies (they decode, but again stange colors and patterns - but can still make out text on solid backgrounds). I took some screen grabs of the passband during transmission, and it looks pretty good. At one point I had my power down to "3" on my 706MKIIG, which should be about 7 watts out of the transceiver (through 50 ft of RG-8X, an auto switching LNA, MFJ 916b, and another 6ft of LMR-240UF) and I was still getting in (and heard on the downlink). I'll reserve further linear SSTV operations until we've had a chance to discuss the opportunity (and/or abuse). It is definitely a challenge, and could be a lot of fun. Not sure how possible it would be with manual tuning, though. --Roy K3RLD

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Has AO-85 finally bit the dust?
by Ronald Parsons 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

Last heard report was almost 2 days ago. Before that, the downlink frequency was wobbling +- 5-10 kHz. Ron W5RKN

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-12-31 14:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2019-12-31 14:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Worldwide ARISS commemorative SSTV operation runs from Dec 28 (11:00 UTC is the setup time) until Jan 1, 2020 (18:20 UTC when the system is scheduled for shutdown). (***) Transmissions should be on the standard frequency of 145.800 MHz and in the PD 120 format. Once again, ARISS has had an outstanding year of contacts. We would especially like to thank the hardworking telebridge ground stations for their help: IK1SLD, K6DUE, LU8YY, ON4ISS, VK4KHZ, VK5ZAI, VK6MJ, and W6SRJ. (***) 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) 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 2019-12-31 14:30 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 2019-12-21 03:00 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity Call for Proposals Upcoming Proposal Window is February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Program is seeking formal and informal education institutions and organizations, individually or working together, to host an Amateur Radio contact with a crew member on board the ISS. ARISS is happy to announce a proposal window will open February 1, 2020 for contacts that would be held between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021. Crew scheduling and ISS orbits will determine the exact contact dates. To maximize these radio contact opportunities, ARISS is looking for organizations that will draw large numbers of participants and integrate the contact into a well-developed education plan. The proposal window for contacts between January 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021 will open on February 1, 2020 and close on March 31, 2020. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.ariss.org. Two ARISS Introductory Webinar sessions will be held on November 7, 2019. The first is at 6:00 PM ET and the second is at 9:00 PM ET. The same material will be covered during both sessions, so choose the session that best fits your schedule. The Eventbrite link to sign up is https://ariss-introductory-webinar-fall-2019.eventbrite.com . The Opportunity Crew members aboard the International Space Station will participate in scheduled Amateur Radio contacts. These radio contacts are approximately 10 minutes in length and allow students to interact with the astronauts through a question-and-answer session. An ARISS contact is a voice-only communication opportunity via Amateur Radio between astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the space station and classrooms and communities. ARISS contacts afford education audiences the opportunity to learn firsthand from astronauts what it is like to live and work in space and to learn about space research conducted on the ISS. Students also will have an opportunity to learn about satellite communication, wireless technology, and radio science. Because of the nature of human spaceflight and the complexity of scheduling activities aboard the ISS, organizations must demonstrate flexibility to accommodate changes in dates and times of the radio contact. Amateur Radio organizations around the world with the support of NASA and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe present educational organizations with this opportunity. The ham radio organizations' volunteer efforts provide the equipment and operational support to enable communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world using Amateur Radio. More Information For 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 136 Sergey RV3DR with 131 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 1374. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1307. 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. 59 on orbit Christina Koch Exp. 60 on orbit Luca Parmitano KF5KDP Alexander Skvortsov Drew Morgan KI5AAA Exp. 61 on orbit Oleg Skripochka Jessica Meir **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Re: [amsat-bb] sstv saving pics from mmsstv
by Roy Dean 31 Dec '19

31 Dec '19

> > Anyone want to work me on a ssb bird in sstv mode??I hear a lot of open > time on western US pass's brad Ko6kLSSTV Webcam View Slow Scan TV shortwave > bands LIVE I've been looking to do something like this, too. Interested in hearing the groups thoughts before proceeding, though. --Roy K3RLD

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January Satellite VUCC Status Report may be delayed ...
by Ronald Parsons 30 Dec '19

30 Dec '19

... unless someone has a pdf copy of the December 1 Satellite 2019 VUCC Standings. One of my computers died and I won't be able to recover it for a few weeks. Email it to <mycall> @ <mycall> .com Ron W5RKN

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sstv saving pics from mmsstv
by Mr B r a d 30 Dec '19

30 Dec '19

to save a SSTV pic on mmsstv....right click on the pics in the receive or history tab and save-as to a folder or the desktop.in the receive tad make sure you have the save pics to history check box checked.also good to have (V)iew set to always show history pics. Anyone want to work me on a ssb bird in sstv mode??I hear a lot of open time on western US pass's brad Ko6kLSSTV Webcam View Slow Scan TV shortwave bands LIVE | | | | | | | | | | | SSTV Webcam View Slow Scan TV shortwave bands LIVE | | |

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ANS-363 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Paul Stoetzer 29 Dec '19

29 Dec '19

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-363 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and commun- icating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. You can sign up for free e-mail delivery of the AMSAT News Service Bulletins via the ANS List; to join this list see: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans In this edition: * First Element of ARISS Next Generation Radio System Readied for Launch on SpaceX CRS-20 * ARISS SSTV Event Planned for December 28 - January 1 * Reminder: AMSAT CW Day on January 1 * Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for December 26 * Upcoming Satellite Operations * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-363.01 ANS-363 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 363.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE December 29, 2019 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-363.01 First Element of ARISS Next Generation Radio System Readied for Launch on SpaceX CRS-20 During this Holiday Season, when the spirit of giving and receiving gifts reigns high, ARISS received a special gift and delivered a phenomenal gift to the international community. This occurred on Thursday December 19, 2019. Our international gift to all—students, STEM education, the public and the amateur radio community—was the historic transfer of the first Interoperable Radio System (IORS) flight unit, serial number 1001, to NASA Johnson Space Center for launch on SpaceX CRS-20. The special gift received by ARISS was the approval from NASA Safety to launch the IORS on SpaceX CRS-20 and stow the radio system on the International Space Station. December 19, 2019 was truly a banner day for ARISS! The IORS is a foundational element of the ARISS next generation radio system and is an incredible engineering achievement by the ARISS hardware team. This first element delivery will support easier radio mode transitions and enable new, exciting capabilities for hams, students and the general public. The IORS will include a higher power radio, an enhanced voice repeater, updated digital packet radio (APRS) capabilities and slow scan television (SSTV) capabilities for both the US and Russian segments. The IORS consists of a special, modified JVCKenwood TM-D710GA transceiver, an AMSAT-developed multi voltage power supply and interconnecting cables. This first flight IORS will be installed in the ISS Columbus module. A second flight unit is expected to be launched sometime in 2020 for installation in the Russian Service module. A total of 4 flight units and 10 total units will be built by the ARISS hardware team to support on-board flight operations, training, operations planning and hardware testing. Future upgrades and enhancements to the next generation system are in various stages of design & development. These include a repaired Ham Video system (currently planned for launch in mid-to-late 2020), L-band (uplink) repeater, ground command operations capability, LimeSDR signal reception, a microwave “Ham Communicator” and Lunar Gateway prototype experiment. While yesterday was truly an historic milestone, it should be noted that there is still much “heavy lifting” work to be done to prepare the IORS for Operations on ISS. ARISS has 92 engineering requirements and our operations Phase III safety review to complete. The space agencies take a position of “Trust but Verify.” Thus, these engineering and safety “verifications” all need to be closed out before the IORS can be unstowed and turned on. This will be the ARISS hardware team’s focus over the next few months. Also, please remember that ARISS is almost entirely run by volunteers. So donations to the ARISS program for next generation hardware devel- opments, operations, education and administrative functions are always welcome. Please go to https://www.ariss.org/donate.html if you want to contribute to our efforts! In closing, ARISS would like to thank the outstanding contributions of the IORS hardware development team on an incredible radio system. ARISS would like to thank our sponsors and donors for helping us realize the IORS hardware systems. On behalf of the ARISS team, we would like to wish you all a joyful and prosperous Holiday Season — Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!! Ad Astra! To the Stars! 73, Frank Bauer, KA3HDO ARISS International Chair AMSAT V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs [ANS thanks Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, AMSAT Vice President - Human Space- flight and ARISS International Chair for the above information] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Purchase AMSAT Gear on our Zazzle storefront. 25% of the purchase price of each product goes towards Keeping Amateur Radio in Space https://www.zazzle.com/amsat_gear +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ ARISS SSTV Event Planned for December 28 - January 1 ARISS is planning an SSTV event featuring commemorative images. This event is currently scheduled to begin on December 28, 2019 at 11:00 UTC and ends at 18:20 UTC on January 1, 2020. Please make note that sometimes changes may occur in the crew work schedule that could affect our SSTV transmission dates and times, so frequently check our ARISS Facebook and Twitter accounts shown below for any updates before and throughout the event. Transmissions will be sent at 145.800 MHz FM in the SSTV mode PD-120. Once received, images can be posted and viewed by the public at http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php and you can receive a special SSTV ARISS Award for posting your image. See https://ariss.pzk.org.pl/sstv/ for details. Also for simplicity, we have added a new information tab for SSTV events, under the General Contacts pulldown menu at www.ariss.org . [ANS thanks Dave Jordan, AA4KN, ARISS Public Relations for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Reminder: AMSAT CW Day on January 1 You are cordially invited to take part in AMSAT CW Activity Day 2020 sponsored by AMSAT for all radio amateurs throughout the world. The 2020 event will be held in memory of Larry Brown, W7LB, and Keith Pugh, W5IU. Among their many contributions to AMSAT, they were the AMSAT 20-meter net for many years. Participation is easy. Just operate CW through any Amateur Radio satellite on 1 January 2020. Use of straight keys or bugs is encouraged but not required. If you use AO-7, please observe the QRP rules currently in effect for that 45-year-old satellite. May it be with us for many years to come! [ANS thanks Raphael Soifer, W2RS, AMSAT Senior Advisor for the above information.] +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ The digital download version of the 2019 edition of Getting Started with Amateur Satellites is now available as a DRM-free PDF from the AMSAT Store. Get yours today! https://tinyurl.com/ANS-237-Getting-Started +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Changes to AMSAT TLE Distribution for December 26 This week's AMSAT TLE distribution reflects the following two satellite name changes per ANS Bulletin 356.01 dated December 22, 2019: SMOG-P (Cat. ID 44832) is now MO-105 (Magyar-OSCAR 105) and ATL-1 (Cat. ID 44830) is now MO-106 (Magyar-OSCAR 106). (Per Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA AMSAT VP Operations / OSCAR Number Administrator) The following Amateur Radio satellite has been added to this week's TLE distribution: FloripaSat 1 - NORAD CAT ID 44830 (Taiyuan Space Center launch, 12/20/2019). (Thanks to Nico Janseen, PA0DLO, for satellite identification.) CAS-6 was launched as a piggyback satellite on TIANQIN-1 on December 20, 2019 via a CZ-4B launch vehicle from Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center. Still awaiting a satellite signal, thus the CAT ID has not been positively identified as yet. More later. [ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD, AMSAT Orbital Elements Manager 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Donate to AMSAT Tax-Free From Your IRA Are you over 70-1/2 years of age and need to meet your IRA's Required Minimum Distribution for 2019? Consider making a donation to AMSAT! Under the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015, individuals over 70-1/2 years of age may make direct transfers of up to $100,000 per year from a traditional IRA to an eligible charity without increasing their taxable income. Consult your tax advisor or accountant to make certain you are eligible. AMSAT is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational and scientific organization whose purpose is to design, construct, launch, and operate satellites in space and to provide the support needed to encourage amateurs to utilize these resources. AMSAT's federal tax ID is 52-0888529. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Upcoming Satellite Operations Satellite Shorts: Dec 27-30 EM90 N4DCW – vacation style (Twitter: @MWimages) Dec 27-30 EL86 K4WPX FM Dec 30 EM94 (overnight) – vacation style (Twitter: @MWimages) Dec 30-Jan 01 EL87/88 K4WPX FM Jan 02 EM58/68 WB9VPG Midday passes on AO-91/92 Wyoming (DN71,DN72,DN81,DN82) December 31, 2019 Doug, N6UA, and RJ, WY7AA are teaming up with special guest operator Ron, AD0DX, to activate the DN71, DN72, DN81, DN82 grid corner on December 31st. Plan is to be there for the morning FM passes and stay until they get bored. FM and SSB. Mississippi River Delta (EL58) January 4, 2019. Ron AD0DX, Brian KG5GJT, and Robert KE4AL will operate as W5M/mm from the mouth of the Mississippi River (EL58) on January 4th. This will be a 6-hour activation from approximately 1430z to 2030z, on FM and linear satellites. Further information will be posted as it comes available. Labrador (GO11 +) January 19-27, 2019 Chris VE3FU, Dave VE9CB, and Frank VO1HP will be active as VO2AC in the 2020 CQ160 CW contest, January 24-26, from Point Armour Lighthouse, in Labrador. If time permits before the contest, they may be active on FM satellites from GO11 as VO2AC or VO2AAA. Depending on weather and timing of passes, you might catch them on FM satellites as they make their way from FO93 to GO-11, passing through FO92, GO02, GO13, GO12, and GO22 along the way, but no promises. They will also make the reverse trek on January 27. Big Bend National Park (DL88) March 16-17, 2020 Ron AD0DX, Doug N6UA, and Josh W3ARD will operate from Big Bend National Park to put grid DL88 on the air. Details will be added here as they come available, but you are more than welcome to keep an eye on their individual Twitter feeds: https://twitter.com/ad0dx, https://twitter.com/dtabor, and https://twitter.com/W3ARDstroke5 Please submit any additions or corrections to ke4al (at) amsat.org [ANS thanks Robert Bankston, KE4AL, AMSAT VP - User Services, 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/ +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+ Satellite Shorts From All Over + www.zarya.info (@Zarya_Info) reports that on Dec 18 at ~01:00 UTC, the Meteor M2-2 meteorological satellite collided with an item of space debris and entered a tumble. This event reduced orbit SMA by 1 km and height from 813 x 815 km to 811 x 814 km. The satellite is now stabilized and communicating. Damage is being assessed. + Mike Thomas, KB8BMY, has made a video for those of you wanting to take the next step to Linear Ham Radio Satellites. He shows how he put his station together: My Linear Satellite Setup / KB8BMY / How to Set Up a Portable Linear Station: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrQ14Cs9ia4&feature=youtu.be + Satellite antennas don't need to be very high, but tower safety is always a good topic for amateurs: https://zerofalls.org/ + Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin #1445 listed these two satellite activations: 7X, ALGERIA. Members of the "Association des Radio Amateurs Tunisiens" (ARAT) are traveling to Algeria to conduct a joint Low Bands DX- pedition with five members of the "Amateurs Radio Algeriens" (ARA) between December 28th and January 2nd (2020). The team is led by Afif/ 7X2RO and Ash/3V8SS/KF5EYY, and will also includes Ahmed/3V1B/KG5OUE (22 years), Marwa/3V8CB (24 years, YL), Mohamed/7X3TL (27 years), Mohamed/7X5FG, Redha/7X5QB and Abdelghani/7X2TT/M0NPT. The operators will be focusing on working as many stations as possible on 160 and 80 meters as well as the other HF bands and Satellites. Modes will be CW/ SSB/FT8. QSL via 7X2RO and LoTW. There will be ClubLog Live Streaming. For more details on how to help and/or LF skeds, E-mail Ash at: ash.kf5eyy at gmail.com Your financial support will be used to cover youngsters' costs. VO2, CANADA (Zone 2). Operators Chris/VE3FU (VO2AC), Frank/VO1HP and Dave/VE9CB (VO2AAA) will be active as VO2AC during the 2020 CQWW 160M CW Contest (January 24-26th) from the Point Amour Lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse in Atlantic Canada, on the south coast of the rare Labrador (LB) multiplier. Point Amour is located in the southeast part of CQ Zone 2, and has a salt water path from NE clockwise through SW. The team will be putting in a serious Multi-Op/High-Power effort as VO2AC. Expect some pre contest activity as VO2AC, VO1HP/VO2 and VO2AAA on 160m as they get their wire vertical array and beverage working; they will especially be looking for JA/Asia on CW and FT8. If time permits, they may also be active before the contest on 80m, 60m, 40m and the FM satellites (AO-85, AO-91 and AO-92) from Grid GO11. --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73 and remember to help Keep Amateur Radio In Space, This week's ANS Editor, Paul Stoetzer, N8HM n8hm at amsat dot org

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ISS picture
by James Brown 28 Dec '19

28 Dec '19

Got my first picture on the 17:02 pass. Thanks for the help with set up. i see the picture in history on MMSSTV but not sure how to find it in a file and open it as a learger picture or attach to email etc.? Jim

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SSB sats
by RG 28 Dec '19

28 Dec '19

Hi,I have a Kenwood TS2000.I can hear stations on the SSB sats but can seem to find my downlink.It is a vertical but I have worked half duplex and by chance made 3 contacts with a decent signal.Now I can find it to easily.Any suggestions??Rich73 marzo7088(a)yahoo.com

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portable rotator
by James Brown 28 Dec '19

28 Dec '19

Has anyone made a portable rotator AZ/EL using a rasberry. I see sat trackers but no mention of antenna control? I would like to pursue something as a learning project and drive my arrow yagi . Jim KI6WJ

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Dec28-Jan1 ISS/SSTV + Diploma
by Amsat Argentina 28 Dec '19

28 Dec '19

Dear Friends, >From Sat-28-Dec-2019 11-UTC to Wed-1-Jan-2020 18-UTC, ARISS plans to broadcast SSTV from the ISS in 145,800 KHz FM in PD-120 mode in commemoration of cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. Who made in 1975 the first human space walk from the spaceship Vosjod, orbiting earth at 500 kilometers of altitude. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexei_Leonov It is an excellent opportunity to excersize and optimize your SSTV reception by receiving and/or completing images applicable to the ARISS/SSTV Diploma (electronic and free) with bases on http://amsat.org.ar?f=9 We appreciate share your images by uploading them to http://amsat.org.ar/?f=iss Aids and Recommendations: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yXhBHZ1qPt_-VSSWtWf15fU8kbfBSvu7RN2Pm5P… It is suggested to use RX-SSTV available at http://amsat.org.ar/Setup_RXSSTV.exe and configured as to http://amsat.org.ar/images/rx-sstv.gif ISS schedules for your location at http://amsat.org.ar/pass?satx=iss 73, LU7AA, AMSAT Argentina http://amsat.org.ar https://facebook.com/Amsat.LU

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WD9EWK @ DM22/DM32 on Saturday (28 December 2019)
by Patrick STODDARD (WD9EWK/VA7EWK) 27 Dec '19

27 Dec '19

Hi! I plan on making a quick trip to the DM22/DM32 grid boundary for a few hours tomorrow (Saturday, 28 December 2019). This location is east of Yuma in southwestern Arizona, near the I-8 freeway. I should be out there for the AO-91 and AO-92 passes starting after 1730 UTC for a few hours, and might be out there for one or two of the XW-2A passes before that time. I know there will be some overlapping of the AO-91 and AO-92 pass times tomorrow, and will try to work the AO-91 passes before switching over to AO-92. My drive out to the DM22/DM32 grid boundary should show up on APRS as WD9EWK-9, on sites like: http://aprs.fi/WD9EWK-9 Updates during my time out there will be posted on my @WD9EWK Twitter feed. If you don't use Twitter, you can see these updates in a web browser at: http://twitter.com/WD9EWK QSOs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World after the trip. If you would like to receive a QSL card for any contacts made out there, please e-mail me directly with the QSO details. No need to first send me your QSL card and/or an SASE. If you're in my log, I will be happy to send you a WD9EWK DM22/DM32 QSL card. 73! Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/ Twitter: @WD9EWK or http://twitter.com/WD9EWK

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CAS-6 Missing From Keplerian Data?
by Hasan al-Basri 27 Dec '19

27 Dec '19

Since the data was restored this morning, I no longer see CAS-6 in the list and it has dropped out of my tracking program. Is there now another name? The good news is that a JK station reports TLM from CAS-6 at 1130z this morning. Hasan

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Re: [amsat-bb] portable rotator
by Roy Dean 27 Dec '19

27 Dec '19

> > Has anyone made a portable rotator AZ/EL using a rasberry. I see sat > trackers but no mention of antenna control? > I would like to pursue something as a learning project and drive my arrow > yagi . > Jim KI6WJ The satnogs rotator is a good start for DIY as Don had mentioned. It uses a homebrew tracker that is controlled by hamlib. There is also https://www.portablerotation.com/ for an off-the-shelf solution. I believe this can also be controlled via hamlib (and thus a raspberry pi running GPredict should be able to control it). --Roy K3RLD

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SatPC32 now has spectrum scope for IC-9700
by Mark L. Hammond 27 Dec '19

27 Dec '19

Hi 9700 Owners and Users-- Erich DK1TB has graciously added a spectrum scope window for the IC-9700. If you read his instructions on this page, and get the new SatPC32 download---you'll have the option of doing so. You'll have to update your SatPC32 install with the currently available package. http://www.dk1tb.de/indexeng.htm Only point to make very clear--you'll need both an "old" style Icom CAT control interface/cable for radio control AND the USB cable from the radio to the computer; the USB comport is used for the spectrum display only in this configuration, and the CAT cable is used for radio control. And yes--you can click on the spectrum and the radio frequency follows :) Read it all carefully--it worked first shot here. Thanks, Erich!! 73-- Mark L. Hammond [N8MH]

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sat pc
by RG 27 Dec '19

27 Dec '19

Hi, I have Satpc32 version 12.8D.Does this version have the sub window that shows the status of the satellites AOS/LOS times as they rise.It had a list of when the satellites would be in view.I can't seem to find it.ThanksRich marzo7088(a)yahoo.com

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nasabare.txt appears Hosed
by Hasan al-Basri 27 Dec '19

27 Dec '19

All the CAS birds are missing from nasabare.txt and most if not all the amateur satellites are also missing, as of this morning at 1000z. 73, N0AN Hasan

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VAC and WIN10 upgrades
by Alan 27 Dec '19

27 Dec '19

Some background first. Flex Radio uses a version of Virtual Audio Cable (VAC) called DAX with their current rigs. In the past, almost every WIN10 upgrade trashed the DAX installation which then needed to be laboriously manually repaired. Recently, that issue has been reported resolved. Has anybody had any issues with WIN10 upgrades with general VAC installed, especially recently? I have heard of one case, but not recently. I know there are some other equivalent packages, but for operational reasons need to stick with VAC. 73, Alan WA4SCA ----------------------------------- Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. George Orwell in "1984"

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M2 LEO pack discount via AMSAT store
by Devin L. Ganger 27 Dec '19

27 Dec '19

All, I've seen mentioned on the list before that there is a "substantial" discount for the M2 LEO pack via the AMSAT store for members. I'm looking at the page now and I'm not seeing a very big discount. However, I also notice that my user account shows my membership having expired in 2019 and not being current despite having a past order for 2019, so I'm wondering if there is an error in my membership status that would affect the price that I am seeing. The other option, of course is that I simply misunderstand the specifics of the discount. :) Thanks in advance, -- Devin L. Ganger (WA7DLG) email: devin(a)thecabal.org<mailto:[email protected]> web: Devin on Earth<http://www.devinonearth.com/> cell: +1 425.239.2575

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Cubesat Clean solar panel
by Gustavo Carpignano 26 Dec '19

26 Dec '19

Hello, I need to know how to clean some solar panels composed of a triple junction of Arsenide of Gallium.Any liquid or cloth in particular? Any help is wellcome! Gustavo, LW2DTZ

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CAS-6 Status?
by Hasan al-Basri 26 Dec '19

26 Dec '19

Starting to worry. Have seen no indication that anyone (even world wide now), has heard even a peep from CAS-6. Does anyone know anything? The announcement was on the 20th I think and I haven't seen anything other than speculation since. As mentioned in my other post, there were a couple of posts from a 7 that were most likely bogus and people whose calls I recognize that have posted to the status page recently are confirming my own experience, no reception. How can a new launch be met with such deafening silence? No reports and no announcements from the powers that be? Maybe it's all on twitter or facebook. :-) 73, N0AN Hasan

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Falconsat-3 telemetry server down
by Hans BX2ABT 26 Dec '19

26 Dec '19

Of course, this has to happy during Christmas: I noticed that since the 24th of December my (and everybody else's) telemetry is not getting logged into the FS-3 telemetry server anymore. SATNOGS is still getting telemetry in, so PSGS is working fine. Can anybody hit the reset switch after the holidays? 73 de Hans BX2ABT

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help to set up fossasat gournd station
by Nick Pugh 25 Dec '19

25 Dec '19

Is anyone on the list for help in setting a Fossasat-1 ground station using a tt/go Lora modal? Merry Christmas k5qxj nick Cell 337 258 2527 Helping UL become a world Class Engineering and Educational School Disagree I Learn

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ARISS News Release (ANR) No. 19-18
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 25 Dec '19

25 Dec '19

ARISS News Release No. 19-18 Dave Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org Dec. 24, 2019 SSTV Event Planned for Late December ARISS is planning an SSTV event featuring commemorative images. This event is currently scheduled to begin on December 28, 2019 at 11:00 UTC and ends at 18:20 UTC on January 1, 2020. Please make note that sometimes changes may occur in the crew work schedule that could affect our SSTV transmission dates and times, so frequently check our ARISS Facebook and Twitter accounts shown below for any updates before and throughout the event. Transmissions will be sent at 145.800 MHz FM in the SSTV mode PD-120. Once received, images can be posted and viewed by the public at http://www.spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.php and you can receive a special SSTV ARISS Award for posting your image. See https://ariss.pzk.org.pl/sstv/ for details. Also for simplicity, we have added a new information tab for SSTV events, under the General Contacts pulldown menu at www.ariss.org . About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) 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 Facebook: Amateur Radio On The International Space Station (ARISS) ARISS Twitter: @ARISS_status Media Contact: Dave Jordan, AA4KN ARISS PR aa4kn(a)amsat.org

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