AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-226
***[Keep watch with ANS for any late breaking details of ARRISat-1]*** 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:
ans-editor@amsat.org
In this edition: * ARISSat-1/KEDR at +10 Days: ON-ORBIT and OPERATIONAL * BOD Ballot Reminder * Send For Your ARISSat-1/KEDR Certificates * 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium Call for Papers Continues & Satellite Shorts * 2011 AMSAT Symposium and Annual Meeting Registration Now Open * Reminder: The DARA Matching Gift Challenge Runs Until September 1 * ARISS Status - 8 August 2011 * AMSAT Contest * ARISSat-1 Battery is failing faster than expected
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-226.01 ARISSat-1/KEDR at +10 Days: ON-ORBIT and OPERATIONAL
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 226.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 14, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-226.01
Hundreds of reception reports have been received since ARISSat-1/KEDR was deployed from the ISS. Full operational capability of the satel- lite has been confirmed in the 10 days since the start of the mission on August 3.
The satellite's power system monitors the battery voltage and switches between High power mode (continuous transmission) when sunlight is charging the battery and Low power mode (40 seconds transmit/2 minutes idle) when in eclipse. Telemetry data shows that the ARISSat-1 Battery voltage is decreasing each eclipse period. It therefore is taking longer for the battery to charge up to 32.5V to allow the switch from Low Power to High Power when the satellite enters an illumination period.
Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO has plotted the battery min/max for the last 8 days. The data shows that the battery voltage is decreasing at a faster rate than expected. Kenneth's graph can be found on the arissat1.org site under FAQ: http://tinyurl.com/3e5c2y8 (arissat1.org)
The effect of this is that ARISSat-1/KEDR remains in Low power mode for a period of time after exiting eclipse. The team recommend that users take advantage of the High Power mode as much as possible over the next few days.
435 MHz - 145 MHz Linear Transponder - OPERATIONAL -------------------------------------------------- The linear transponder operates in Mode U/V (70 cm Up, 2m Down). It is an 16 KHz wide inverting passband. The convention is to TX LSB on the 435 MHz uplink and RX USB on the 145 MHz downlink. Several amateur
radio operators have been reporting successful contacts via the linear
transponder.
After the initial success with the linear transponder reported by KO4MA, K8YSE, KD8CAO, and JN1GKZ last week news of addition contacts have been received from amateur radio operators worldwide:
+ Henk, PA3GUO uplinked an SSTV signal to the linear transponder and received the picture on the downlink. He posted a copy of the rec- cecived image at: http://www.pa3guo.com/pa3guo_arissat1_sstv_9aug2011_0258utc.jpg His station configuration was: Uplink HW: TS2000X, 435MHz, 5W RF power + 12 elements beam Uplink SW: MMSSTV + HRD (doppler control) Downlink HW: FunCubeDongle (SDR) + SP-2000 preamp + 2x6 elements beam Downlink SW: MMSSTV + DK3WN Satcontrol (doppler/freq control) + HDSDR
+ Andre, ZS2BK reported a successful two-way CW contact with Pierre, ZS6A on August 5.
+ Alex, VK5ALX reported a contact with Geoff, VK2ZAZ on August 6.
+ Bruce, VE9QRP was able to access the linear transponder with 40 watts into a Lindenblad on TX and another omni on receive. Bruce commented, "It's an amazing thrill to work our AMSAT SDX for the first time, and my sense is that any VO-52 class station should be able to hear its downlink."
+ Luciano, PY5LF had a contact with Roland, PY4ZBZ and recorded it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ2Gujm2vtc
145.950 MHz FM Downlink - OPERATIONAL
145.919 MHz CW Beacons - OPERATIONAL ------------------------------------ The CW transmissions include the satellite callsign ID RS01S, select telemetry, and callsigns of people actively involved with the ARISS program.
145.920 MHz SSB BPSK-1000 Telemetry - OPERATIONAL ------------------------------------------------- AMSAT needs your telemetry from ARISSat-1/KEDR. Since there are no "Whole Orbit Data" storage mechanisms onboard ARISSat-1/KEDR, your submissions are the only way for AMSAT to collect the spacecraft telemetry and KURSK experiment results.
+ Recorded file ARISSat-1/KEDR and Kursk telemetry CSV files (in the ARISSatTLM folder) can be sent as an e-mail attachment to: telemetry@arissattlm.org
+ If you are running ARISSatTLM and receiving the signal "live" from ARISSat-1/KEDR, please enable the telemetry forwarding option.
+ The latest telemetry can be seen LIVE on your computer or cell phone at: http://www.arissattlm.org/mobile
Peter Miller, W1AMJ, the Hartford Hobby Radio writer published a story about the deployment of ARISSat-1 in the Hartford Examiner newspaper and at: http://tinyurl.com/4yo3l2m (Examiner.com)
NASA Education Office is getting the word out on ARISSat-1 in their article, "Hammin' It Up": http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/hammin-it-up_prt.htm
Also, the extensive list of ARISSat-1/KEDR media links in this week's ARISS Status Report, in a bulletin below.
[ANS thanks the ARISSat-1/KEDR Team for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-226.02 BOD Ballot Reminder
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 226.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 14, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-226.02
Ballots for the AMSAT-North America 2011 Board of Directors election have been mailed to all members. To have your vote count you must return your ballot by mail to:
AMSAT-NA 850 Sligo Ave #600 Silver Spring, MD, 20910
Ballots must arrive at the AMSAT Office by the close of business, September 15, 2011.
Four director's terms expire this year:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW Alan Biddle, WA4SCA Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Tony Monteiro, AA2TX
Seven nominations have been received for the open seats. Listed alphabetically they are:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW Alan Biddle, WA4SCA Steve Coy, K8UD Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Mark Hammond, N8MH Tony Monteiro, AA2TX Patrick E. Stoddard, WD9EWK
Select no more than four candidates on your ballot. The four candi- dates receiving the highest number of votes will be seated as full Board members for two year terms. The two candidates receiving the next highest number of votes will be seated as alternate Board mem- bers for one year terms.
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Office the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-226.03 Send For Your ARISSat-1/KEDR Certificates
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 226.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 14, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-226.03
Send For Your ARISSat-1/KEDR Certificates
When you receive the downlink signal from ARISSat-1/KEDR you are invited to send your report to the following e-mail boxes. You will receive a PDF certificate by return e-mail.
Students and school groups are especially welcome! We look forward to your report!
Your report must contain the following information:
1) The signal you received: a) the secret word*, b) an SSTV image, or, c) telemetry data
2) Your name or group name
3) The date/time of reception
4) Your e-mail address of where to send your certificate. You will receive a PDF certificate via email.
Here are the e-mail boxes to send your reports:
Secret word* contest to: secretword@arissat1.org SSTV image to: sstvreport@arissat1.org Telemetry data to: tlmreport@arissat1.org (either digital or voice report of the data you received)
Received BPSK telemetry and .CSV files should continue to be sent to: telemetry@arissattlm.org.
* Those who do hear the secret word or call sign please do not put it out to the world. That would ruin the contest for those still waiting for their station to be in range.
You can find the details of the ARISSat-1/KEDR radio frequencies, links to telemetry decoding software and mission details on-line at: + http://www.amsat.org + http://arissat1.org
[ANS thanks the ARISSat-1/KEDR Team for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-226.04 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium Call for Papers Continues & Satellite Shorts
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 226.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 14, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-226.04
The call for papers continues for the 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium to be held Friday, November 4th through Sunday, November 6th at the Wyndham San Jose Hotel, San Jose, California.
Proposals for papers, symposium presentations and poster presenta- tions are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community.
We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible,
with final copy submitted by October 1, 2011 for inclusion in the printed proceedings.
Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV, at: n8fgv@amsat.org. ******************************************************** Local AMSAT Net in New York The next2 dates for the "HV Satcom net is august 18 & September 1; & the time for the net is 8PM local and 0000UTC Found on Echo link node of "N2EYH-L"! More info: www.hvsatcom.org
[ANS thanks Dan Schultz, N8FGV & Stu Balanger, WA2BSS, for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-226.05 2011 AMSAT Symposium and Annual Meeting Registration Now Open
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 226.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 14, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-226.05
AMSAT announces the 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held on Friday,
November 4th through Sunday, November 6th in San Jose, CA. Our annual gathering will feature:
+ Space Symposium with Amateur Satellite Presentations + Operating Techniques, News, & Plans from the Amateur Satellite World + Board of Directors Meeting open to AMSAT members (Nov. 3-4) + Meet Board Members and Officers + Annual General Membership Meeting + Annual Banquet-Keynote Speaker and Door Prizes
The 2011 Symposium hotel and registration web pages are now available on the AMSAT web site. You may register for the Symposium and Annual Banquet at the AMSAT Store: http://www.amsat-na.com/store/SymposiumReg.php
Visit the Symposium and Annual General Meeting web page for details and the latest information: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2011/index.php
Symposium Registration including a copy of the Proceedings is: + $45 per person until September 19, 2011 + $50 per person starting September 20, 2011 + $55 per person at the door
The Saturday evening banquet is $45 per person. The Sunday morning Area Coordinator's Breakfast is $15 per person.
The hotel selected is the Wyndham San Jose, close to the airport. The AMSAT discount rate is $79.00+taxes per night. The reservation block code when calling the hotel directly is "AMSAT". The hotel telephone number is 408-453-6200. If you are making reservations on-line use 1031FSJAM for the group code. The direct link to the hotel web page is: http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/SJCAP/main.wnt
If you are planning to book a room on dates other than November 2, 3, 4, 5, you will have to call the hotel directly and ask for *in- house reservations*. You can get the $79 rate 3 days before and 3 days after the above dates but you cannot book the room on their website. Any problems, give Martha a call at the AMSAT Office: 301-589-6062.
[ANS thanks the 2011 Symposium Committee for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-226.06 Reminder: The DARA Matching Gift Challenge Runs Until September 1
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 226.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 14, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-226.06
Donate to AMSAT and DARA will contribute matching funds. The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) fund raising challenge for AMSAT continues until September 1, 2011. DARA will match $1.00 for every $3.00 donated up to $5,000.00.
AMSAT kicked off the fundraising campaign at the Hamvention, where donations began count for the challenge. Please consider making a donation to AMSAT and have your effort multiplied. We appreciate DARA's support for AMSAT!
Your donation will support our "Getting AMSAT Back Into Space" campaign by providing needed funds for AMSAT Project Fox Cubesat which will provide a 2M to 70cm FM transponder matching the per- formance of AO-51.
+ On-line at the AMSAT Store: http://www.amsat-na.com/store/donation.php
+ You may click on the donation widget on our http://www.amsat.org web page.
+ You may call Martha at the AMSAT Office: From the US call toll free at: (888) 322-6728 From all other locations call: (301) 589-6062 and you can send a fax to: (301) 608-3410
+ You can send donations by postal mail to: AMSAT-NA 850 Sligo Ave #600 Silver Spring, MD, 20910
[ANS thanks AMSAT Headquarters for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-226.07 ARISS Status - 8 August 2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 226.07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 14, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-226.07
1. Scouts Experience Successful ARISS Contact
Scouts attending Space Jam 5 held at the Octave Chanute Air Museum in Rantoul, Illinois participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Saturday, August 6. This was a telebridge contact via station WH6PN in Hawaii. Scouts put 18 questions about life in space to on-orbit astronaut Mike Fossum, KF5AQG. Over 250 Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts as well as 100 scout leaders attended the event. Besides the several merit badge workshops covering electronics, computers and others, activities included a balloon launch (with an on-board repeater) and a ham radio station, complete with satellite antennas.
2. ARISSat-1 Deployed
ARISSat-1, an educational satellite that was developed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) in cooperation with the NASA Office of Education ISS National Lab, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) and RSC-Energia, was deployed on Wednesday, August 3 during Russian EVA-29. The satellite contains an experiment developed by Kursk State Technical University students in Russia. Students and others may listen to ARISSat-1 to hear the 24 greetings in 15 languages (secret words included), to receive and decode spacecraft and experiment telemetry and to capture Slow Scan Television (SSTV) images. (Certificates are available to those who report receiving signals from the satellite. Visit the ARISSat Web site for more information.) ARISSat activities provide an excellent opportunity to pique children's interest in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
ARISSat-1 Web site: http://www.arissat1.org/v3/
To view SSTV images: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/SSTV/
NASA article, "Hammin' It Up" http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/hammin-it-up_prt.htm
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-226.08 AMSAT Contest
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 226.08 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 14, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-226.08
AMSAT is happy to announce the ARISSat-1 Chicken Little Contest. This is your opportunity to calculate, or guess, when ARISSat-1 falls out of orbit. This is defined as the time it crosses an altitude of 78 kilometers, which is considered to be the point of no return. While not part of the contest, the actual reentry may be visible depending on location. Reports are encouraged.
As in the past, we will have three divisions:
+ Student category for Kindergarten through grade 8 + Student category for High School, grades 9 through 12 + All others will be in the adult category.
In addition to individual students, we encourage classes or organ- izations such as science clubs to make group submissions. Submissions are limited to one per person or group. Members of a group making a submission may not submit a second, individual entry.
+ Adults and individual students should include their name and amateur callsign if they have one.
+ Individual students should also give their grade in school.
+ Student groups should include the name of their group or class, school, and which category they represent.
+ Please give the UTC date in the format of day, month, year, hours, minutes, and seconds.
+ Finally, we would like to know your city, state, province or region, and your country.
+ Submissions will close on 15 September 2011 at 23:59:00 UTC.
The closest predictions in each category will be recognized for their achievement. Send your submissions to CHICKENLITTLE@ARISSAT1.ORG. Good luck!
[ANS thanks ARISSat-1/KEDR team for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-226.09 ARISSat-1 Battery is failing faster than expected
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 226.09 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. August 14, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-226.09
ARISSat-1 Battery is Failing Faster than Expected
The ARISSat-1 battery performed as expected during the first week of operation. Lower voltages during eclipse began to show up in the telemetry on 10 Aug 2011. The voltages during eclipse have continued to decline causing the satellite to reset and go into Emergency Power Mode on 12 Aug. After reset, the satellite MET (Mission Elapsed Timer) goes to 000, waits during the 15 minute TX delay, the power management software checks the current voltage and power values and determines what power mode to operate the satellite. The power mode is re-determined at fixed intervals, especially during illuminated periods to provide the most transmitted signals while protecting the battery.
Additional information and explanation about the workings of the ARISSat-1/RadioSkaf-V power system can be found on the arissat1.org web site under the FAQ section.
The ARISSat-1 team is closely monitoring the situation and is pleased with how well the power management software is controlling the battery usage to prolong the lifetime of the battery and the satellite as much as possible.
[ANS Thanks Gould Smith, WA4SXM for the ARISSat-1 team]
/EX
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office.
73, This week's ANS Editor, Dee Interdonato, NB2F Nb2f at amsat dot org