- AMSAT-BB - mailman.amsat.org

QUESTION
by Rosa & Robert Fitzpatrick 10 Aug '20

10 Aug '20

WHAT GOING ON WITH AO-92 . I HEAR IT IS IN SAFE MODE.IS THER A PROBLEM WITH AO-92 ??????BOB/KB5SQG

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Re: [amsat-bb] Another call for forensic accounting and an inventory
by Chris Hoffman 10 Aug '20

10 Aug '20

That was my mistake, Joseph. I, too, am sorry for the misrepresentation. /ch On Mon, Aug 10, 2020 at 11:26 AM Joseph Armbruster < josepharmbruster(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Chris, > > I am not in Any position of leadership within AMSAT. And I have not meant > to mis-represent myself as one if I ever did. I'm just a life-member. > > Joseph Armbruster > KJ4JIO > > On Mon, Aug 10, 2020 at 1:51 PM Chris Hoffman <cq.kg6o(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> Each thread has a topic, and members are not incapable of intentionally >> ignoring threads by looking at the subject line. >> >> >> Remember those little boxy things that are whipping around the world that >>> we enjoy and have fun, learn, develop expertise, and just chat with like >>> people. Please knock off the BS! >>> 73 Bob W7LRD >>> >>> >> >> Bob and Joseph, as a dues-pyaing AMSAT member, I'm sorry to >> inconvenience you with my own '...BS,' however, please understand that --to >> me-- these "...the small things are complicated' or "...watch the birdie" >> misdirections, and the "...everyone is tired of it, so please knock it >> off!" comments can serve to undermine your standing as Trusted Leadership >> in the eyes of Interested Members by making it look as if the board and >> leadership really do have something to hide. >> >> If this is not the correct venue, then what is? >> >> Put another way, why even respond to these questions in the Email >> Threads? >> >> Also, Is wishing people would just stop griping and just enjoy the view >> really a successful strategy? >> >> >> Seeing these comments as you both speak from a position of leadership >> makes me worry that AMSAT may be lost in the woods, and not on an >> intentional path. At the moment, I can see NO better forum than an email >> list to express these concerns, and to suggest that this should not happen >> is... galling. Fundamentally, I see your comment as deprecating and >> dismissive of Members in Good Standing who are using the only venue >> apparently available with any significant level of accountability to air >> their concerns. >> >> There have been some important and simple questions asked: Why hasn't the >> board of an organization to which members pay dues address some valid >> questions and show that they are acting in good faith, let alone convene in >> order to do so? What was really behind the irregular use of funds paid to a >> law firm, and why was it handled that way? Your membership is smart enough >> to gain their Ham Radio license, and information is shared more broadly and >> easily than ever before, so it should be no surprise that a "...you just >> would not understand, so trust us" response --or silence-- may not have the >> desired effect. >> >> Do you understand that it is some of your comments, combined with >> [in-]actions --and not the legitimate questions being raised-- which >> undermine the confidence we have in the board and leadership? At this >> point, given the proven and highly irregular actions of the board '... we >> are making progress,' from the board may not be a sufficient answer to keep >> the Rabble at a low din. >> >> >> How about we turn this conversation to 'real' subject matter, then? >> AMSAT is still the preeminent forum within the US to provide new Amateur >> Radio Satellites. From my chair, however, given how seemingly few AMSAT >> OSCAR satellites are work-able in-orbit, I'd say we are not as successful >> in that effort as we have been in the past, and I would like to know why. >> Can leadership answer these questions for me: >> - Has a committee been convened to understand what happened with Husky >> Sat? >> - What is the full project plan, set of milestones, and real status of >> GOLF-TEE? >> - Where does AMSAT stand WRT launch strategies, and can we expect to see >> more operational FM and Transponder birds any time soon? >> - How is AMSAT now involved in helping schools get more satellites into >> the sky, and how is that effort changing? >> - What resources does AMSAT require to make these things happen? >> - We are geeks and enthusiasts and funders, and we want to know: how we >> can help? >> >> Respectfully, >> >> Chris Hoffman >> N6QR >> Amsat member # *54687432* >> >> (Please email me directly if you would like my cell phone number) >> >> >>> > On 08/09/2020 5:07 PM Jeff Johns via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> >>> wrote: >>> > >>> > >>> > > If AMSAT had regular board meetings, preferably monthly, then things >>> like this would be taken care of quickly and efficiently. >>> > > >>> > > We would all be reading detailed minutes about all the "boring >>> ordinary" stuff that should be going on - in the Journal. >>> > >>> > Exactly! A forensic audit may not be simple but I would hope that >>> someone within AMSAT could produce a list of physical assets which could be >>> checked to make sure they are still in AMSAT’s control and inventory. Does >>> a list of assets exist? >>> > >>> > It doesn’t matter who wins this election. The dark cloud over AMSAT >>> will remain until the members and donors are satisfied that their is no >>> malfeasance that has, or is, taking place within AMSAT. All the members and >>> donors can see the smoke and there’s no smoke unless there’s a fire. >>> > >>> > It saddens me that no legacy BoD member or Officer running against me >>> will step-up and join me in requesting that a third-party audit AMSAT. Like >>> I said, there wouldn’t be any smoke if there wasn’t a fire. This leads many >>> members to wonder what else is being hidden. There may well be nothing >>> being hidden but enough has been uncovered that a jury of average people >>> would not be convinced. There’s a simple way to make the bad thoughts that >>> members and donors have. Allow a full audit and inventory of AMSAT’s >>> finances and inventory. >>> > >>> > Jeff WE4B >>> > http://we4bravo.com >>> > >>> > _______________________________________________ >>> > Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available >>> > to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. >>> Opinions expressed >>> > are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views >>> of AMSAT-NA. >>> > Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite >>> program! >>> > Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available >>> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. >>> Opinions expressed >>> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of >>> AMSAT-NA. >>> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite >>> program! >>> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb >>> >>

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Trying AGAIN
by Gerald Payton 10 Aug '20

10 Aug '20

I've tried several times to post to the BB but nothing ever showed! I'll try again, please Mr. Moderator, whoever you are. I purchased and downloaded the "Getting Started" booklet but having problems printing the PDF. It successfully printed pages through Chapter 8 "Digital Modes" and quit. Regardless what I have tried, printing the remainder has been fruitless. As you know that eliminates the "Satellite Reference Guide" and "appendices" sections. I do not believe that this is a local printer problem as it works perfectly on any and all documents and PDFs that I try. Has anyone else experienced this problem? A fix? 73, Jerry AB5R

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Re: [amsat-bb] ME to HI for WAS--Possible at present?
by Stephan Greene 10 Aug '20

10 Aug '20

Wes: I'm at 49 states on satellite and I've looked into this from FM18 and sites within the 50 mile WAS radius, Take a look at satmatch.com, and try AO-7 and RS-44 with various combinations of grids on the Big Island, maybe eastern Oahu, etc., and locations within your 50 mile WAS circle (Mt W is too far, would still be cool!) that have EXCELLENT horizons to the west (I'm checking sites along Skyline Drive in VA as my best bet). For me, there are possibilities with passes at 1-2 deg, and I may have to wait until the orbital movement puts apogee in the right spot. There is an active ham on Oahu, but he has terrain blocking the way for working low elevations to the east. So I STRONGLY support GOLF as a return to higher orbits; it's probably cheaper than a GoFundMe to send someone with a 9700 to the Big Island for a week or 2. Definitely cheaper than a time machine to gell my younger self during the AO13 and 40 days to WORK SOMEONE IN HAWAII WHILE YOU CAN! :) 73 Steve KS1G On Mon, Aug 10, 2020 at 2:23 PM <badencapecod(a)gmail.com> wrote: > From: Wes Baden <badencapecod(a)gmail.com> > > Subject: [amsat-bb] ME to HI for WAS--Possible at present? > Any ideas about the following? My QTH is in Maine, FN54, 120 feet ASL. I'm > closing in on WAS, but the problem is going to be Hawaii. From my rough > calculations, I need a SAT that has a 4500+ mile footprint, meaning an > apogee of 1200+ miles, and even then any operating window will be pretty > short. Current MEO satellites do not seem to offer a window quite that > big, or am I missing something? In theory, I guess, I could go to Mt. > Washington, NH (fortunately only 90 miles away) and a KH6 could go up on a > volcanic peak there, to try to make use of over-the-horizon signal > bending. But I'm not sure if even that would work at the present time, and > in any case I can wait if a better MEO or an HEO bird is in the offing in > the next few years. Does anyone know if ME-HI will be possible in the > future, and if so when? WAS SAT is on my bucket list. Of course I envy > all of you to the west of me, who can contact HI, but on the other hand it > is nice to be only 3200 or so from London, 3800 miles from Berlin. We are > all prisoners of our locations, at least until another HEO satellite is in > orbit again. Thanks for feedback. And by the way, I'm always happy to > sked with anyone needing FN54, not the rarest grid in ME but a challenge > for many stations, especially out west or so they tell me. > > 73, Wes NA1ME >

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ME to HI for WAS--Possible at present?
by Stephen DeVience 10 Aug '20

10 Aug '20

Google maps shows that Bangor ME to the coast of Hawaii is about 8200 km. Based on the QSO distance records, you're within range for AO-7 and RS-44. *RS-44 – 8,357 km.* W5CBF in EM30jf35qi <> DL4EA in JN48ko94cw. 26-May-2020 at 23:07 UTC. (Source: W5CBF) *AO-7 (B) – 8,204.592 km. *F4DXV in JN14CH76<> KE9AJ in DM79IQ58. 10-Aug-2020 at 17:49 UTC. (Source: F4DXV) I know there's some software out there that can tell you what passes to use given the two locations. -Stephen, N8URE

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Let's Talk Sats
by Brad Smith 10 Aug '20

10 Aug '20

In a message dated 8/10/2020 1:43:51 PM Central Standard Time, amsat-bb-request(a)amsat.org writes: <1) We need a separate mailing list for campaign issues in campaign season.> If there was a separate mailing list for campaign issues, very few people would see or read them. Sadly, there are enough of the uninterested and uninformed now. This organization has to be more than just pointing an antenna into the sky and forgetting that anything else exists, or sooner or later there will be nothing to point to. Brad KC9UQR

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-08-10 18:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 10 Aug '20

10 Aug '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-08-10 18:00 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: Fri 2020-08-21 18:23:40 UTC 29 deg SpaceX-Demo2 back on earth Congrats guys on a job well done! Bob Behnken KE5GGX Doug Hurley ######################################################################################################################################## 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 2020-08-10 18:00 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2020-07-31 02:30 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Proposal Window of February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 has now closed. For future proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. ******************************************************************************** ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, go to: https://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) https://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ ****************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. ******************************************************************************* All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 138 Sergey RV3DR with 134 Gaston ON4WF with 123 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed, and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1393. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1326. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 62 now on orbit Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner SpaceX-Demo2 back on earth (***) Congrats guys on a job well done! (***) Bob Behnken KE5GGX Doug Hurley **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Re: [amsat-bb] Another call for forensic accounting and an inventory
by Jeff Johns 10 Aug '20

10 Aug '20

> If AMSAT had regular board meetings, preferably monthly, then things like this would be taken care of quickly and efficiently. > > We would all be reading detailed minutes about all the "boring ordinary" stuff that should be going on - in the Journal. Exactly! A forensic audit may not be simple but I would hope that someone within AMSAT could produce a list of physical assets which could be checked to make sure they are still in AMSAT’s control and inventory. Does a list of assets exist? It doesn’t matter who wins this election. The dark cloud over AMSAT will remain until the members and donors are satisfied that their is no malfeasance that has, or is, taking place within AMSAT. All the members and donors can see the smoke and there’s no smoke unless there’s a fire. It saddens me that no legacy BoD member or Officer running against me will step-up and join me in requesting that a third-party audit AMSAT. Like I said, there wouldn’t be any smoke if there wasn’t a fire. This leads many members to wonder what else is being hidden. There may well be nothing being hidden but enough has been uncovered that a jury of average people would not be convinced. There’s a simple way to make the bad thoughts that members and donors have. Allow a full audit and inventory of AMSAT’s finances and inventory. Jeff WE4B http://we4bravo.com

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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-08-10 16:00 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 10 Aug '20

10 Aug '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-08-10 16:00 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: Fri 2020-08-21 18:23:40 UTC 29 deg (***) SpaceX-Demo2 back on earth (***) Congrats guys on a job well done! (***) Bob Behnken KE5GGX Doug Hurley ######################################################################################################################################## 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 2020-08-10 16:00 UTC. (***) Here you will find a listing of all scheduled school contacts, and questions, other ISS related websites, IRLP and Echolink websites, and instructions for any contact that may be streamed live. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.txt The successful school list has been updated as of 2020-07-31 02:30 UTC. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/Successful_ARISS_schools.rtf The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. The main page for Applying to Host a Scheduled Contact may be found at https://www.ariss.org/apply-to-host-an-ariss-contact.html ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The ARISS webpage is at https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. Message to US Educators ARISS Contact Applications (United States) The Proposal Window of February 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 has now closed. For future proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Webinars, go to www.ariss.org. Please direct any questions to ariss.us.education(a)gmail.com. About ARISS: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a cooperative venture of international amateur radio societies and the space agencies that support the International Space Station (ISS). In the United States, sponsors are the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT), the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the ISS National Lab and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary goal of ARISS is to promote exploration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEAM) topics by organizing scheduled contacts via amateur radio between crew members aboard the ISS and students in classrooms or public forms. Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org. ******************************************************************************** ARISS Contact Applications (Europe, Africa and the Middle East) Schools and Youth organizations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East interested in setting up an ARISS radio contact with an astronaut on board the International Space Station are invited to submit an application from September to October and from February to April. Please refer to details and the application form at www.ariss-eu.org/school-contacts. Applications should be addressed by email to: school.selection.manager(a)ariss-eu.org ARISS Contact Applications (Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Australia and Russia) Organizations outside the United States can apply for an ARISS contact by filling out an application. Please direct questions to the appropriate regional representative listed below. If your country is not specifically listed, send your questions to the nearest ARISS Region listed. If you are unsure which address to use, please send your question to the ARISS-Canada representative; they will forward your question to the appropriate coordinator. For the application, go to: https://www.ariss.org/ariss-application.html. ARISS-Canada and the Americas, except USA: Steve McFarlane, VE3TBD email to: ve3tbd(a)gmail.com ARISS-Japan, Asia, Pacific and Australia: Satoshi Yasuda, 7M3TJZ email to: ariss(a)iaru-r3.org, Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) https://www.jarl.org/ ARISS-Russia: Soyuz Radioljubitelei Rossii (SRR) https://srr.ru/ ****************************************************************************** ARISS is always glad to receive listener reports for the above contacts. ARISS thanks everyone in advance for their assistance. Feel free to send your reports to aj9n(a)amsat.org or aj9n(a)aol.com. Listen for the ISS on the downlink of 145.8Ø MHz. ******************************************************************************* All ARISS contacts are made via the Kenwood radio unless otherwise noted. ******************************************************************************* Several of you have sent me emails asking about the RAC ARISS website and not being able to get in. That has now been changed to https://www.ariss.org/ Note that there are links to other ARISS websites from this site. **************************************************************************** Looking for something new to do? How about receiving DATV from the ISS? Please note that the HamTV system has been brought back to earth for troubleshooting. Please monitor ARISS-EU or ARISS-ON for the very latest news on the troubleshooting efforts. If interested, then please go to the ARISS-EU website for complete details. Look for the buttons indicating Ham Video. http://www.ariss-eu.org/ If you need some assistance, ARISS mentor Kerry N6IZW, might be able to provide some insight. Contact Kerry at kbanke(a)sbcglobal.net The HamTV webpage: https://www.amsat-on.be/hamtv-summary/ **************************************************************************** ARISS congratulations the following mentors who have now mentored over 100 schools: Francesco IKØWGF with 140 Satoshi 7M3TJZ with 138 Sergey RV3DR with 134 Gaston ON4WF with 123 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed, and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1393. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1326. Each contact may have multiple schools sharing the same time slot. Total number of ARISS supported terrestrial contacts is 48. A complete year by year breakdown of the contacts may be found in the file. https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/arissnews.rtf Please feel free to contact me if more detailed statistics are needed. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The following US states and entities have never had an ARISS contact: South Dakota, Wyoming, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Marianas Islands, and the Virgin Islands. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ QSL information may be found at: https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html ISS callsigns: DPØISS, IRØISS, NA1SS, OR4ISS, RSØISS **************************************************************************** Frequency chart for packet, voice, and crossband repeater modes showing Doppler correction as of 2005-07-29 04:00 UTC https://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/news/ISS_frequencies_and_Doppler_correcti… Check out the Zoho reports of the ARISS contacts https://reports.zoho.com/ZDBDataSheetView.cc?DBID=412218000000020415 **************************************************************************** Exp. 62 now on orbit Chris Cassidy KF5KDR Anatoli Ivanishin Ivan Vagner SpaceX-Demo2 back on earth (***) Congrats guys on a job well done! (***) Bob Behnken KE5GGX Doug Hurley **************************************************************************** 73, Charlie Sufana AJ9N One of the ARISS operation team mentors

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Hack-a-Sat finals this weekend - AMSAT volunteers represented!
by Michelle Thompson 10 Aug '20

10 Aug '20

Greetings all, There's a major event happening this weekend with a very large amateur radio satellite component. It's DEFCON. This year it's virtual and free to attend! https://www.defcon.org/ DEFCON draws 30,000 people interested in improving technology and themselves. In the past, amateur radio and AMSAT have been well represented, presented, and promoted at WiFi Village, Ham Radio Village, and Hardware Hacking Village. It's been a real pleasure to present amateur satellite work at DEFCON because the audience is receptive, educated, interested, and supportive. Every time we have a booth or talk, the feedback is overwhelmingly positive. The largest US amateur radio licensing session on record happened at DEFCON a couple of years ago. Amateur radio is alive and well. This year, a number of AMSAT members have participated in another aspect of DEFCON: The competitions! There are a lot of competitions at DEFCON. They range from silly to extremely difficult multi-day technical ordeals. This year, the Air Force sponsored a high-end competition called Hack-a-Sat. For the qualifying event, amateur radio satellite service enthusiasts were recruited. Our practical knowledge and interdisciplinary can-do spirit was something that I thought would provide a unique advantage in a competition ordinarily dominated by networking and computing information security professionals. This strategy worked. An interdisciplinary team finished 20th out of over 1500. You can find reports about it in the -BB archive. Unfortunately, while 20th place is a remarkable achievement, that meant that team missed out on the finals, as only the top 10 moved on. However, I have some news! A number of us hams were recruited by teams that finished in the finals. There will be several AMSAT engineering volunteers participating in the final event this weekend. I'm on ADDVulcan along with several others. We are very excited to represent amateur radio in an event put on by the Air Force to explore current and pressing security issues with satellite technology. For the finals, the teams each received a flatsat. The challenges in the competition are both "virtual", meaning code only, and also "real", meaning having to do with the flatsat hardware. If you want to follow along, there will be coverage and content at https://www.hackasat.com/ Some inside baseball: The team that won the semifinals is a famous engineering competition team called PPP. They have withdrawn from the finals because they also have a team in the "main" computing CTF at DEFCON, and could not field both teams at once. ADDVulcan finished 4th, and has strengthened their position through recruiting and practice. So, I think it's fair to say that amateur radio satellite service people have a chance to contribute to a possible win at an international elite competition. Everyone here should be very proud of what our license and hobby enables. Some of the things we've had to learn with respect to tools are Core Flight System (NASA open source) and COSMOS, from Ball Aerospace. We've also been given an opportunity to see what the Air Force believes are the 1) current capabilities of the technical community and 2) what the threat models might be. I look forward to sharing what we learn and how we do with all of you. These are the sorts of things I think AMSAT should be supporting and sponsoring. It's well within our capabilities as a community to host competitions like this one, where the goal of the challenges is to produce quality open source work that solves particular problems. If you are interested in doing something like this, then I'm here to help make it happen. Get in touch and let's see what we can come up with! -Michelle W5NYV

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