AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-198
ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
In this edition: * ARISSat-1/KEDR Activation Planned; Deployment Update * DARA Fund Challenge Reminder * Special Event Station: Celebrating the Flight of Liberty Bell 7 * Terrestrial APRS Golden Packet Test 24 July 2011 * 2011 AMSAT Symposium and Annual Meeting * Free Sample Edition of OSCAR News * Satellite Shorts From All Over * ARISS Status - 11 July 2011
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-198.01 ARISSat-1/KEDR Activation Planned; Deployment Update
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 198.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-198.01
ARISSat-1/KEDR Project Manager Gould Smith, WA4SXM said this week the latest status, discussed during the International ARISS teleconference Sergey Samburov, RV3DR announced the ARISSat battery will be charged late July and a test of the system will be conducted on the ISS from 1915 UTC 30 July to about 1200-1400 UTC 31 July.
During the test ARISSat-1 will be in LOW power mode, this means that it will transmit about 40 seconds and then shut down for 2 minutes and then transmit for 40 seconds, etc. The standard ARISSat-1/KEDR 2m downlink band plan should be transmitted. Additionally, the FM signal also downlinked on 437.55 MHz.
As to the date of deployment, Gould summarized, "The deployment date for ARISSat is still subject to change. As of July 14 we are looking at a 3 Aug 2011 date for EVA 29 and the ARISSat-1/KEDR deployment. The ARISSat/KEDR deployment is the first task of the EVA, so it will occur fairly soon after the EVA begins. We will let everyone know more as we know more."
145.950 MHz FM Downlink: ------------------------ FM transmissions will cycle between a voice ID as RS01S, select tele- metry values, 24 international greeting messages in 15 languages and SSTV images. One of the messages will be a conversation between Yuri Gagarin and ground control. See the next news item for pointers to get your station ready to receive the SSTV images.
435 MHz - 145 MHz Linear Transponder: ------------------------------------- The linear transponder will operate in Mode U/V (70 cm Up, 2m Down). It is an 16 KHz wide inverting passband and the convention will be to TX LSB on the 435 MHz uplink and RX USB on the 145 MHz downlink. This mode is designed to work with low power transmitters and omni antenna.
145.919 MHz/145.939 MHz CW Beacon: ---------------------------------- The CW transmissions will be callsign ID RS01S, select telemetry, and callsigns of people actively involved with the ARISS program.
145.920 MHz SSB BPSK-1000 Telemetry: ------------------------------------ The BPSK transmissions will feature a new 1kBPSK protocol developed by Phil Karn, KA9Q to be readable in low signal level conditions. The BPSK data will transmit satellite telemetry.
The ARISSat-1/KEDR BPSK-1000 downlink is transmitted in SSB mode on 145.920 MHz. When the CW2 beacon on 145.919 MHz is active this indicates that the BPSK-1000 format is being transmitted. If the CW1 beacon on 145.939 MHz is active this indicates the backup of BPSK-400 format is being transmitted.
Transmitting at 100 mW, both BPSK rates include Forward Error Correction (FEC) and it is expected that modest quarter-wave antennas with low-loss coaxial cable will provide sufficient signal strength for decoding and display by the ARISSatTLM software.
Download the Windows ARISSatTLM free ground station soundcard demodulator and display software: http://www.arissattlm.org/download/ARISSatTLM_050_Setup.exe
Download the Mac ARISSatTLM software: http://www.arissattlm.org/download/ARISSATTLM.zip
The ARISSatTLM software user guide is available: http://tinyurl.com/42uhtyf (amsat.org)
Get your color ARISSat-1/KEDR Frequency Guide: http://tinyurl.com/4t497t2 (amsat.org)
ARISSat-1/KEDR Presentation Slides (~1MB) http://tinyurl.com/4n4pzkm (amsat.org)
ARISSat-1/KEDR Dayton Presentation Slides http://tinyurl.com/6zrfmzv (amsat.org)
Follow ARISSat-1/RadioSkaf-V on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/arissat1 In USA you can also text 'follow Arissat1' to 40404 with your cell phone. (leave off the quotes).
[ANS thanks ARISSat-1/KEDR Project Manager Gould Smith, WA4SXM for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-198.02 DARA Fund Challenge Reminder
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 198.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-198.02
The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) fund raising challenge for AMSAT continues whereby they will match on a 1:3 basis up to $5,000.00 for donations made in 2011. That is, for every $3.00 that AMSAT raises, DARA will provide $1.00 up to a maximum of $5,000 donated by DARA.
AMSAT kicked off the fundraising campaign at the Hamvention, where donations began count against this goal. Please consider making a donation to AMSAT at Hamvention or anytime this Spring as we strive to meet this goal.
We appreciate DARA's support for AMSAT and see this as an opportunity for donors to increase the impact of their donations by taking advan- tage of this matching program.
[ANS thanks AMSAT Headquarters for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-198.03 Special Event Station: Celebrating the Flight of Liberty Bell 7
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 198.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-198.03
The 50th Anniversary of the Flight of the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft by astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom will be celebrated by the Hoosier Hills Ham Club. This, by activating special event station W9GUS on Saturday, 23 July 2011.
The station will be located in Spring Mill State Park at the Grissom Memorial near Mitchell Indiana. Operation will be 10 am to 4 pm Central U-S Daylight Savings Time with stations on 40, 20 and possibly 6 meters.
Gus Grissom was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts and a United States Air Force pilot. He was the second American to fly in space and the first astronaut to fly in space twice. Grissom along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger Chaffee died during a pre-launch test for the Apollo 1 mission at Cape Canaveral on 27 January 1967 when a spontaneous fire broke out in their command module.
[ANS thanks Amateur Radio NewslineT Report 1770 - July 15 2011 for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-198.04 Terrestrial APRS Golden Packet Test 24 July 2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 198.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-198.04
Bob Bruninga, WB4APR invites you to join in the terrestrial annual APRS Golden Packet attempt on Sunday 24 July Noon to 1600 local time. During this test Bob needs you and your D700 to drive/hike to the top of some of the highest mountains in the USA and set up as a portable APRS digipeater to see if we can link a Golden Packet across thousands of miles.
There is an attempt along the Appalachian Trail from Alabama to Maine and along the Pacific Crest trail from San Diego to Seattle. Good portable stations are needed on many mountain tops!
See these web pages for the details: EAST COAST: http://www.aprs.org/at-golden-packet.html WEST COAST: http://aprs.org/pct-golden-packet.html
[ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-198.05 2011 AMSAT Symposium and Annual Meeting
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 198.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-198.05
The 2011 Symposium hotel and registration web pages are now available on the AMSAT web site. The Symposium will be held in San Jose, CA November 4-6. The hotel selected is the Wyndham San Jose, close to the airport. Additional information about the 2011 AMSAT Symposium will be posted on the web site as it becomes available.
[ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM, for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-198.06 Free Sample Edition of OSCAR News
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 198.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-198.06
AMSAT-UK have made available a free PDF of the Spring 2011 edition of their newletter OSCAR News.
It contains reports on four UK CubeSat projects currently being devel- oped. News of new South African CubeSats and details of the telemetry on ARISsat-1/KEDR currently scheduled to be deployed from the Inter- national Space Station in August.
A printed copy of OSCAR News is posted to members each quarter.
Membership of AMSAT-UK is open to anyone who has an interest in Amateur Radio satellites/space activities, including the ISS. You do not have to have an amateur radio licence to join, many of our members are inter- ested in listening to satellites and decoding the telemetry.
Read the OSCAR News PDF at http://www.uk.amsat.org/on_193_final.pdf
Join AMSAT-UK at http://tinyurl.com/JoinAMSAT-UK/
AMSAT-UK Colloquium July 30-31 Guildford http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium-2011/
AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/
[ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-198.07 Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 198.07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-198.07
+ SO-67 has returned to operation after recovery from a cosmic ray upset. Operation over Australia, New Zealand, Japan is planned for July 18-31. The latest details are posted at: http://www.amsatsa.org.za/
+ Listen for Eric W4OTN, Amanda KI4IWS, Robin WA4WPD, Bill KG4CXY on July 29 to August 1 as they activate N4I from Core Banks Barrier Island (IOTA NA-067, USi NC033S, WLOTA 0596), Pamlico County, North Carolina. They will participate in the RSGB IOTA Contest. Outside of the contest they plan to be active 80-10m CW and SSB. Operation on 6m and satellites is being planned as well. QSL W4OTN via the bureau or direct at the address on QRZ.com. (rsgbiota.org)
+ The next date for the July Hudson Valley Satcom net is July 21 at 8:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (UTC - 4). You can tune in via the 146.970 MHz Mt. Beacon repeater, PL 100.0 or via EchoLink on the N2EYH-L node. More info is available at: www.hvsatcom.org (Stu, WA2BSS)
+ Heads up this August 5-7: Be sure to look for W1AW/5 operating on all available satellites from Taos, New Mexico during the 2011 ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention. http://www.2011convention.org. More information can also be found on Ollie's AB1JO QRZ page: http://www.qrz.com/db/aj1o/
+ A new free sample edition of RadCom is now available to read on-line or download from the RSGB website. The sample RadCom is available in digital magazine format for reading on-line (Flash plug-in required). For those who would like to save the magazine to their computer, a 24MB PDF version is available: http://www.rsgb.org/sampleRadCom/
+ Dave, KB5WIA plans a grid-expedition to the rare grid squares in California's Lost Coast. If all goes well, he plans to be active from the grid intersection of CM79, CM89, CN70, and CN80 on Sunday August 7th and Monday August 8th. His plans include operating via as many linear and FM bird passes as available. Dave will post more information in his blog at: http://tinyurl.com/6z5xpjx
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-198.08 ARISS Status - 11 July 2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 198.08 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-198.08
1. Japanese Contact Successful
On Friday, July 8, students from the Matsumoto School for the Visually Impaired, Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with on-orbit astronaut Satoshi Furukawa KE5DAW. An audience of approximately 40 people listened as eight students got in one question each before the ISS went over the horizon. Media coverage included 5 newspapers.
The school, founded in 1912, currently has an enrollment of 29 students of all ages, that all have one or more disabilities. By participating in this NASA educational program, students have become more interested in space and international communication.
2. Status of ARISS U.S. Proposal Process
ARISS has received 100 inquiries about the U.S. proposal process for contacts that will be scheduled during the January July 2012 time frame. Proposals have started to come in and may be submitted until the deadline of July 15, 2011. Another window of opportunity for U.S. schools and organizations to submit proposals will open later in the year.
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]
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In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office.
73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org