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Open Source Satellite Work Determined to be Free of ITAR
by Michelle Thompson 19 Aug '20

19 Aug '20

Open Source Satellite Work Determined to be Free of ITAR https://openresearch.institute/2020/08/18/cj-determination-open-source-sate… The United States Department of State has ruled favorably on Open Research Institute's commodity jurisdiction request, finding that specified “Information and Software for a Digital Microwave Broadband Communications System for Space and Terrestrial Amateur Radio Use” is definitely not subject to State Department jurisdiction under ITAR, the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. This is an important step toward reducing the burden of regulations restricting international cooperation on amateur satellite projects, which have impeded engineering work by amateurs in the United States for decades. Export regulations divide both technical information and actual hardware into three categories. The most heavily restricted technologies fall under ITAR, which is administered by the State Department. Technologies subject to more routine restrictions fall under EAR, the Export Administration Regulations, administered by the Department of Commerce. Technologies that are not subject to either set of regulations are not restricted for export. On 20 February 2020, Open Research Institute (ORI) filed a Commodity Jurisdiction (CJ) Request with the US State Department, seeking to establish that key technologies for amateur radio are not subject to State Department jurisdiction. “Information and Software for a Digital Microwave Broadband Communications System for Space and Terrestrial Amateur Radio Use” was assigned the case number CJ0003120. On 11 August 2020, the case received a successful final determination: the technology is not subject to State Department jurisdiction. This is the best possible outcome of a CJ request. The Final Determination letter can be found at https://openresearch.institute/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/08/CJ-00031… . Under this determination, the technologies are subject to the EAR. The next step is to submit a classification request to the Commerce Department. ORI anticipates that the Commerce Department will find that these technologies are unrestricted under the carve-out for open source in the EAR. Open Research Institute (ORI) is a non-profit research and development organization which provides all of its work to the general public under the principles of Open Source and Open Access to Research. This work was accomplished by a team of dedicated and competent open source volunteers. The effort was initiated by Bruce Perens K6BP and lead by Michelle Thompson W5NYV. Open Research Institute developed the ideas behind the Commodity Jurisdiction request, hired Thomsen and Burke LLP (https://t-b.com/) for expert legal advice, organized the revisions of the document, and invited organizations and individuals with amateur satellite service interests to join or support the request. ORI thanks Libre Space Foundation and Dr. Daniel Estevez for providing their subject matter expertise and written testimony, and JAMSAT for helpful encouragement and support. The legal costs were fully reimbursed with a generous grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC). See https://www.ampr.org/grants/grant-open-research-institute/. ARDC and ORI share a vision of clearly establishing open source as the best and safest way to accomplish technical volunteer work in amateur radio. This final determination letter provides solid support for that vision. The determination enables the development of implementation guidelines that will allow free international collaboration. This clears the path for a number of interesting projects facilitating new methods for terrestrial and satellite communications, opening the door to robust global digital amateur communications. Questions and inquiries to ori(a)openresearch.institute

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Open Source Satellite Work Determined to be Free of ITAR
by Joe Leikhim 19 Aug '20

19 Aug '20

1) - Great Work Bruce P and Michelle T! 2) - So many "Debbie Downers", no wonder AMSAT has been frozen in place for so many years: "In the past, AMSAT volunteers have had a rude surprise when they were held personally liable for violating ITAR,*_or so I'm told_*. Will ORI indemnify volunteers who work on projects where it may, later, be found that ITAR applies? Is that even possible for ORI to do? If not, this makes me less interested in volunteering my skills and time to ORI projects. --- Zach N0ZGO" -- Joe Leikhim Leikhim and Associates Communications Consultants Oviedo, Florida JLeikhim(a)Leikhim.com 407-982-0446 WWW.LEIKHIM.COM

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Re: [amsat-bb] Open Source Satellite Work Determined to be Free of ITAR
by Jeff Johns 18 Aug '20

18 Aug '20

Good job! Jeff WE4B http://we4bravo.com > On Aug 18, 2020, at 11:29 AM, Michelle Thompson via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: >

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Please advise
by Jean Marc Momple 18 Aug '20

18 Aug '20

Hi Michelle, I just receive the ballot and wish to have your personal advices for whom to vote (surely not the legacy team), being quite far and not knowing the OM personally. More I really believe that the organization need a shake and this will be my vote, but wish to have a team in place hopefully lead by you or someone you will work with serenity. Please indicate and recommend to me for whom I should vote for to make the change and a real working Board.. Make the change and bring AMSAT to new heights Madam, my personal wish and dream is to get either HEO's or GEO’s for worldwide coverage, more unite the different AMSAT organizations worldwide for a common vision so that all cents we spent are in line with that vision/common goal (my 1 cent input). Also wish you and your team the best for this election. 73 Jean Marc (3B8DU) AMSAT Ambassador Member of AMSAT NA & DL Member of MARS IARU Responsible operator for MIR-SAT1, the first 3B8 satellite which will be a HAM one in orbit early next year. Driving HAM and satellite operations in the region (Indian Ocean, FR Reunion Is. and 3B8) with much success for some years. Etc… List just too long

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-08-18 14:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 18 Aug '20

18 Aug '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-08-18 14:00 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Kopernik Observatory & Science Center, Vestal, NY, direct via K2ZRO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Wed 2020-08-19 18:21:55 UTC 85 deg Rescheduled again due to ISS hatch closures for leak detection activity. Watch for live stream starting about 20 to 30 minutes ahead of AOS at: https://youtu.be/1Pwcc2rilz0 Information and Technologies Branch, Department of Education-Queensland Government, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, telebridge via ON4ISS The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Mon 2020-08-24 08:09:22 UTC 80 deg Greenwood Primary School, Greenwood, Western Australia, Australia, telebridge via AB1OC The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR The school has elected to cancel the contact. (***) ######################################################################################################################################## A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. ************************************************* ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, I will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates. The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No new schools Cancelled: No new schools The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements here also. Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2020-08-18 14:00 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 2020-08-11 16:30 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Proposal Window of February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 has now closed. For future proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. ******************************************************************************** ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, go to: https://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) https://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ ****************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. ******************************************************************************* All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 138 Sergey RV3DR with 135 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 1394. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1327. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 62 now on orbit Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Thinking and thanking...Tony AA2TX
by Mark L. Hammond 17 Aug '20

17 Aug '20

About a week ago, Facebook alerted me that it was Tony AA2TX Monteiro's birthday. I'll admit it caught me off guard, yet it was really fun thinking about the wonderful work he did for us, AMSAT, as the "father of the Fox satellite family." He was such a neat and brilliant guy. So over the past several days I have been thinking of him, and being thankful for him. It brought back memories of a HamRadioNow.TV interview from Dayton Hamvention in 2013, where Tony was VP for Engineering, and I was the first VP for Educational Relations. This is before any of the Fox birds were built and buttoned up for launch. If you're curious, and you never had the chance to meet Tony (or even if you did!!) you might enjoy watching the video and hearing about the vision and planning; note that the interview starts about 5 mins into the recording. It was touching for me, personally. https://www.amsat.org/hamradionow-amsat-fox-1-interview-now-online/ It took Jerry N0JY Buxton as the "new VP" and friends stepping up to fulfill Tony's vision. So I'm thankful for all of you that did all of this. Far too many to count. And the "bonus bird" Fox-1E wasn't even part of Tony's original vision...but I can't wait to have that one flown and operational "someday soon" as well! If you work AO-91 or AO-92 this weekend, maybe you'll also be "thinking and thanking" Tony AA2TX, too! 73, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] AMSAT Director and Command Station

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Getting on Jan satellites
by Russ Kinner 17 Aug '20

17 Aug '20

I've used what I had on hand, a FT7900 and a dual band mobile Diamond antenna, both items I've had to operate from my car for 10 years. I have built an eggbeater for both bands and the fading on high passes went away but it just wasn't very efficient and I went back to the mobile antenna. The 1/2 wave design doesn't need a ground plane, it works about the same with or without radials. One thing I'm contemplating is a easy to adjust angle mount so I can be close to a right angle on different elevation passes. Not sure exactly how I'll do that but it may help and I would not need to point a beam. A tripod if you use a directional antenna can help. Even a light weight antenna can get heavy for 15 minutes and if it's windy.... There is a zoom presentation available on this topic, a link is provided in other amsat-bb messages. In general, get the frequencies and pl tone set in your rig and listen. Late night passes are often easier to start operating with less competition. I've had pass with only 2 other stations and then others where no one hears me at all. Don't get discouraged, there will be a pass where everyone calls you one after another. I've had a pass with 6 contacts - once in a while you find several stations that need your grid and you knock them off in short order. Rusty, WA8ZID

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AMSAT GridMaster Award Application Process
by George Sakai 17 Aug '20

17 Aug '20

Bruce, I sent you two e-emails regarding AMSAT GridMaster Award process (first one on July 24 and second one on August 10). I have not received any response from you. Are you having problems receiving e-mails ? George Sakai, N3GS

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-08-17 22:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 17 Aug '20

17 Aug '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-08-17 22:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Kopernik Observatory & Science Center, Vestal, NY, direct via K2ZRO The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Wed 2020-08-19 18:21:55 UTC 85 deg Rescheduled again due to ISS hatch closures for leak detection activity. Watch for live stream starting about 20 to 30 minutes ahead of AOS at: https://youtu.be/1Pwcc2rilz0 Information and Technologies Branch, Department of Education-Queensland Government, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, telebridge via ON4ISS (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be OR4ISS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Mon 2020-08-24 08:09:22 UTC 80 deg (***) Greenwood Primary School, Greenwood, Western Australia, Australia, telebridge via AB1OC (***) The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS (***) The scheduled astronaut is Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Contact is go for: Mon 2020-08-24 09:32:57 UTC 34 deg (***) ######################################################################################################################################## A multi-point telebridge contact means that each student will be on the telebridge from their own home. ************************************************* ARISS is very aware of the impact that COVID-19 is having on schools and the public in general. As such, we may have last minute cancellations or postponements of school contacts. As always, I will try to provide everyone with near-real-time updates. The following schools have now been postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19: Postponed: No new schools Cancelled: No new schools The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Watch for future COVID-19 related announcements here also. Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) Note, all times are approximate. It is recommended that you do your own orbital prediction or start listening about 10 minutes before the listed time. All dates and times listed follow International Standard ISO 8601 date and time format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS The complete schedule page has been updated as of 2020-08-17 22:30 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 2020-08-11 16:30 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Proposal Window of February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 has now closed. For future proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. ******************************************************************************** ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, go to: https://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) https://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ ****************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. ******************************************************************************* All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 138 Sergey RV3DR with 135 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 1394. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1327. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 62 now on orbit Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Ballot return date is September 15
by Brennan Price 17 Aug '20

17 Aug '20

All, Please indulge an election procedure post--with four weeks of balloting remaining, I think a reminder of procedures is warranted. Ballots for the AMSAT board of directors election must be received by 5 p.m. US Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 15. If you have received your ballot and wish to vote, please mail your ballot with sufficient time to arrive by this time. If you have not received your ballot and were a member of AMSAT on July 1, please email me at brennanprice(a)verizon.net to request a replacement ballot. All such requests that were made by today (Monday, August 17) have been fulfilled no later than today. A note to non-US based members: The printed return envelope does not specify that the return address is in the United States. The design of the envelope (my effort alone) may be fairly criticized on this basis. Several non-US members have added USA to the printed return address and successfully returned the ballot. This is my recommended remedy, but if for whatever reason it's too late for that (and I know of one such case), I will gladly send a replacement (as I have in said case). I am verifying envelopes against the voter list and keeping them unopened until the time of counting, when they will be opened face down and separated from the ballot without immediate counting to maintain secrecy. This is a key part of verifying that each ballot going out generates no more than one ballot coming back in. Presumably out of an understandable but self-defeating desire to ensure the secrecy of the ballot beyond this procedure, about ten members have sought to obscure the return address or use a different envelope, either with no return address or a different return address. In all but one of those cases, the printed address was insufficiently obscured, or the alternate address was traceable to a member who had not yet voted. The attention required to verify the nonconforming envelope in each case substantially exceeded the attention normally necessary, and actually increased the possibility of me inadvertently discerning the contents without opening the envelope through inspection I would ordinarily forego. Nevertheless, these envelopes have been accepted for eventual accounting. In the remaining case, postmarked last week in Grand Junction, Colorado, there is no indication on the outside the envelope to permit me to conclude that the ballot is not cumulative of one already returned. As it stands, this is the only envelope out of the several hundred returned thus far that I cannot accept. If you are that voter mailing from or near Grand Junction, please be in touch so we can remedy. All others, please use the provided return envelope. I welcome questions. 73, Brennan Price, N4QX Secretary Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation

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