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May 1st - New Online AMSAT Member Management Portal
by Robert Bankston 19 Mar '20

19 Mar '20

I wanted to give AMSAT members a heads up that, on May 1st, we go live with AMSAT's new online member management portal. This will put you in charge of your membership account and allow you to make real-time updates. Full instructions on how to get signed up and logged in will appear in the March/April issue of The AMSAT Journal. We hope you are as excited as we are. 73, Robert Bankston, KE4AL Vice-President, User Services Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)

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SO-50 question
by Bob Hammond 19 Mar '20

19 Mar '20

I worked several operators last night on SO-50 at about 0115 UT and then......pffft. I couldn't get into the satellite at all after it passed overhead and to the SE. Does SO-50 shut down if there's too much use? I was hoping to work the young woman who kept calling me but she was having trouble or getting stepped on or whatever. She'd get out "W7O...." and then nothing. Just curious, Bob W7OTJ

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Rude Operator, part deux
by Bob Keating 19 Mar '20

19 Mar '20

I'm sure those of you that were on the SO-50 pass this morning at 16:38 utc heard that rude operator who repeatedly threw out his call sign and called "CQ satellite". He was stomping over everyone and apparently didn't hear those of us who responded to his call, myself and Doug N6UA had responded to him among others .My thought was this is a "newbie" that has never worked the birds before, so I figured I would look him up on QRZ and send him a friendly email offering some help and suggestions. Low and behold this guy's QRZ page is papered with scads of award certificates including, get this, a VUCC satellite award! You'd think he'd know better! I did kindly offer some suggestions and help including not calling "CQ satellite" and referred him to AMSAT's web site. In addition, he was keeping operators from a QSO with N6UA who is roving right now. I don't know if he was operating full duplex or maybe he didn't have his downlink frequency correct. Regardless, his signal was so strong and overpowering, i sincerely question if he was putting out just 5 watts. We had a much better pass on AO-91 at 19:07. 73, Bob N6REK

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Re: [amsat-bb] Rude Operator, part deux
by Michael Walker 19 Mar '20

19 Mar '20

Hi Bob I just want to say that if you want to share the store and solve it, then you really do need to share the entire story with all the facts. If you want to publicly shame an operator, then please do tell the entire story with the operators call sign. If you are not able to tell the entire story then it is not really worth mentioning it at all. I barely work the FM birds and it is clear that they are a waste of time and investment money, at least over North America. No different than 27.185Mhz. We have a repeater like that here in Toronto where there is no control. Hopefully, we have seen the last of the FM repeaters in the sky since this part of the hobby is partially out of control. I would like to know the callsign in case he shows up on the Linear birds and I know how to treat this operator. Also, if I knew the callsign, I have no issue listening for him on an FM bird and then emailing him privately to see what he has to say. Maybe there is a misunderstanding as there are 2 sides to every story. But, without the callsign, I won't waste my time. OK, rant over and I apologize for my rant. I would just like more of the facts and that is all I am saying -- with full respect of course. many 73 Mike va3mw On Wed, Mar 18, 2020 at 11:43 PM Bob Keating <bkeating1954(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Mike, > > Believe me, you will have no problem hearing him. In the interest of > privacy, I am not going to give his full call, but the prefix was XE2. > > 73, > > Bob N6REK > On 3/18/2020 7:05 PM, Michael Walker wrote: > > Hi Bob > > It does take all kinds. > > What was his callsign? That way none of us will work him when we hear him. > > Mike va3mw > > > > > On Wed, Mar 18, 2020 at 3:28 PM Bob Keating via AMSAT-BB < > amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > >> I'm sure those of you that were on the SO-50 pass this morning at 16:38 >> utc heard that rude operator who repeatedly threw out his call sign and >> called "CQ satellite". He was stomping over everyone and apparently >> didn't hear those of us who responded to his call, myself and Doug N6UA >> had responded to him among others .My thought was this is a "newbie" >> that has never worked the birds before, so I figured I would look him up >> on QRZ and send him a friendly email offering some help and suggestions. >> Low and behold this guy's QRZ page is papered with scads of award >> certificates including, get this, a VUCC satellite award! You'd think >> he'd know better! I did kindly offer some suggestions and help including >> not calling "CQ satellite" and referred him to AMSAT's web site. In >> addition, he was keeping operators from a QSO with N6UA who is roving >> right now. I don't know if he was operating full duplex or maybe he >> didn't have his downlink frequency correct. Regardless, his signal was >> so strong and overpowering, i sincerely question if he was putting out >> just 5 watts. >> >> We had a much better pass on AO-91 at 19:07. >> >> 73, >> >> Bob N6REK >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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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AISat1? and other APRS sats?
by Robert Bruninga 18 Mar '20

18 Mar '20

Also, what about the APRS Laban-Orari (AO86) (YBOX-1) also in a near equatorial orbit and usable throughout the low latitudes? I have not seen any users on the pcsat.findu.com live downlink page though its telemetry is there and numerous SATGATES are linking it to the FINDU pages. All APRS Sats: http://aprs.org/sats.html Bob, WB4APR -----Original Message----- From: AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb-bounces(a)amsat.org> On Behalf Of Scott via AMSAT-BB Sent: Wednesday, March 18, 2020 12:31 PM To: amsat-bb(a)amsat.org Subject: Re: [amsat-bb] AISat1? AISAT-1 has not been digipeating for a couple of days now, unfortunately. There was a downlink beacon from it on 3/16, but no digipeats on that pass. I haven't even heard beacons since that orbit. For those who are 9600 full-duplex capable and in range of the southerly orbit, don't forget that FalconSat-3 continues to do well both for APRS and the store-and-forward BBS. -Scott, K4KDR ====================== On Wed, Mar 18, 2020 at 12:18 PM Steve Kristoff via AMSAT-BB < amsat-bb(a)amsat.org> wrote: > > What happened to AISat? We have no more functioning APRS satellites? > Steve AI9IN > _______________________________________________ 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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Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-18 17:30 UTC
by aj9n＠aol.com 18 Mar '20

18 Mar '20

Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule as of 2020-03-18 17:30 UTC Quick list of scheduled contacts and events: Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey, telebridge via W5RRR The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Thu 2020-03-19 08:59:54 UTC 37 deg SPDW Voortrekker Movement, Oranjeville, South Africa, direct via ZS9SPD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Fri 2020-03-27 09:47:49 UTC 36 deg 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 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 2020-03-18 17:30 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 2020-03-13 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 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 138 Sergey RV3DR with 133 Gaston ON4WF with 123 **************************************************************************** The webpages listed below were all reviewed for accuracy. Out of date webpages were removed, and new ones have been added. If there are additional ARISS websites I need to know about, please let me know. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school events is 1386. Each school counts as 1 event. Total number of ARISS ISS to earth school contacts is 1319. 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. 60 on orbit 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] AO-92 D/L
by Roy Dean 18 Mar '20

18 Mar '20

> > Anyone else notice it? Just checked the recent AO-92 observation and it looked normal. Any chance this was local? --Roy K3RLD

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AO-92 D/L
by Jeff 18 Mar '20

18 Mar '20

Just tried to work the end of the AO-92 L/V pass and there was a very load signal covering up the d/l here. The noise seemed to be on the d/l signal itself. I never heard this before. I did manage to barely work WB8OTH, and NS3L as their signals where solid. Anyone else notice it? 73 Jeff kb2m

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Upcoming ARISS contact with Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey
by n4csitwo＠bellsouth.net 18 Mar '20

18 Mar '20

An International Space Station school contact has been planned with participants at Turkey Space Camp, Izmir, Turkey on 19 March. The event is scheduled to begin at approximately 08:59 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 NA1SS and W5RRR. The contact should be audible over the state of Texas and adjacent areas. U.S. Interested parties are invited to listen in on the 145.80 MHz downlink. The contact is expected to be conducted in English. As a space and science education center, Space Camp Turkey is primarily focused on motivating young people from around the world to pursue careers in science, math, and technology. Through interactive, space-related simulations, both youth and adults learn about communication, teamwork, and leadership in a dynamic, fun-filled environment. Programs at Space Camp Turkey focus on simulators to give participants the sensations of working and living in space. At Space Camp Turkey, we pack years of mission training into 2 to 6 day programs. Space Camp Turkey is one of only two Space Camps in the world. We are proud to have the only such facility in Turkey, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. It is located in the Aegean Free Zone, a high-tech industrial park in Izmir, operated by ESBAS. Izmir is a vibrant Aegean city on the western coast of Turkey with a population of over 4 million. Education and entertainment center Space Camp Turkey, which was opened on June 12, 2000 has been visited by more than 250 thousand young people and adults from over 60 countries. Our state-of-the-art facility offers an ideal environment where young people from different nations can come together to build long-term friendships and understand other cultures. Our counselor staff (Turkish and International) consists of college graduates and undergraduates. Some are education majors while others are pursuing masters and doctorate degrees in astronomy or have certificates in various education programs. All program staff members receive training in the following areas: space education, Space Camp Turkey activities, and safety for simulator operations. Participants will ask as many of the following questions as time allows: 1. What does a launch feel like? 2. How long did you have to train before you actually flew to space? 3. What changes did you feel in your body as a result of microgravity? 4. What do you do when you aren't on a space mission? 5. What is the coolest thing you have seen while on the space station? 6. How would sneezing be different in weightlessness? 7. Do we age faster in space? 8. What is the most interesting thing about the Artemis mission? 9. Does your appetite change in space? 10. When you were younger, did you think about becoming an astronaut in the future? 11. Can you hear any sound in space? 12. Do you ever feel like you are upside down in space? 13. Who controls the space station? 14. What does space smell like? 15. What are the three things that you miss back on Earth? 16. How do you grow vegetables and fruits in space? 17. How can I visit the planets? 18. How do you see stars from space? 19. What would you like to take with you from home for your space travel? I would take my plush kangaroo. 20. This year we are celebrating our 20th anniversary of Space Camp Turkey. We would love to hear your message to our campers listening to you right now. 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. SPDW Voortrekker Movement, Oranjeville, South Africa, direct via ZS9SPD The ISS callsign is presently scheduled to be NA1SS The scheduled astronaut is Drew Morgan KI5AAA Contact is go for: Fri 2020-03-27 09:47 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 --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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HuskySat telemetry
by Allen 17 Mar '20

17 Mar '20

I have been collecting telemetry since early Feb, and for the last week or so I notice that the leaderboard totals for my uploads are being received and incremented with each pass, only to have the totals reset to a lower number during the 15 hour period of inactivity. Example 14Mar begin/end totals 8618/8913; 15Mar 8497/8817; 16Mar 8347/8680; 17Mar 8258/. Same occurrence whether using Ver 1.08y, 1.08z3 or 1.08z5. Any ideas? Thanks, Allen KI7RM

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