AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-262
The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including 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.
The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org.
In this edition:
* RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Prepped/Packed for Shock Test * IMPORTANT notice for AMSAT Symposium Cruise Attendees * KX9X Plans for NPOTA Satellite Operation * University Students Shown Amateur Radio * Plan Ahead for New Years AMSAT CW Activity Day on the Satellites * 2016 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Results * US ARISS Contacts -Call for Proposals Remains Open through Nov 1 * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-262.01 ANS-262 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 262.01
From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD.
September 18, 2016 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-262.01
RadFxSat (Fox-1B) Prepped/Packed for Shock Test
AMSAT VP of Engineering, Jerry Buxton N0JY, has posted a video of the final day of RadFxSat live testing, where the satellite gets one more time in the sun and on the air for data on power and temperatures.
In the video Jerry secures the solar panel covers, does a preflight initialization, and packes it up to send off to Tyvak in California for shock testing, which occurs September 22-30. after the shock test the satellite will come back to Fox Labs for post-shock testing to make sure nothing broke. Next she will be taken to Orlando for vibe and bakeout October 10-14. That will be the finish, and RadFxSat will then wait in Fox Labs for delivery/integration in January 2017 with a March 16, 2017 launch date.
Watch the 38 minute video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=vm-i_TvdOyU
[ANS thanks Jerry N0JY for the above information]
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IMPORTANT notice for AMSAT Symposium Cruise Attendees
PAYMENT DUE
If you are attending the 2016 AMSAT Symposium Carnival cruise, your final payment is likely due. The majority of our accounts were due September 12.
If your scheduled payment method fails, Carnival will attempt to contact you by phone or email.
Please take a moment to ensure your final payment has been made.
CARNIVAL ACCOUNT
If you have not registered on the Carnival website to supply your guest information, you should consider doing so by going to the link below and choosing "Create Account."
https://www.carnival.com/BookedGuest/guestmanagement/mycarnival/logon
Signing up on their website allows you to pre-enter required boarding information, schedule shore excursions for Cozumel, and set payment method for onboard purchases. Non-USA passengers, this is the best method to enter all your passport details.
Please reply directly to me off-BB if you have any questions. I am inundated with email at the moment so it may be 24-48 hours before I reply.
[ANS thanks Clayton W5PFG for the above information]
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KX9X Plans for NPOTA Satellite Operation
Sean Kutzko, KX9X, says he will be hitting the road 9/24-9/28 to put several NPOTA units in New York's Hudson Valley on the air. Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY and Sean will activate Martin van Buren (NS50), Thomas Cole (AA23), the FDR home (NS36), Eleanor Roosevelt (NS14) and Vanderbilt Mansion (NS74) on HF SSB/CW plus the following satellites: SO-50, FO-29, XW-2A/2C/2F, and will even try AO-7 and AO-73.
They won't know specific operating schedules until the night before; follow KX9X on Twitter for real-time info during these NPOTA activations. They will sign and log as KX9X/2 and W1BXY. Satellite gear will be two 817s, preamps, and an Arrow. Activations will be daytime-only. Sean likes hanging out below the center of the passband on the analog sats.
[ANS thanks Sean Kutzdo, KX9X, for the above information]
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University Students Shown Amateur Radio
AMSAT-India Regional Coordinator Rajesh Vagadia VU2EXP reports on the ‘Ham Radio – Practical Insight’ session given to 150 students at Parul University.
Wonderful hands on session on ‘Ham Radio – Practical Insight’ was conducted at prestigious Parul University – Baroda (Gujarat, India) on September 8, 2016. Around 150 Engineering (EC) student & faculties participated in the program & gain knowledge on the subject.
In-depth Presentation on Ham Radio, Interesting Ham Radio Events, Video Documentary & SSTV Live demo was carried out by Rajesh Vagadia VU2EXP. Students were excited to see line by line SSTV transmission on the projected screen. To learn with fun, students were allowed to make collective noise during transmission to observe their effect in the SSTV reception!!!
Number of technical & general queries satisfied in Q&A session. Sunny VU2PMU Shared his Ham Experience & Sardool VU2OPX Selected few student with small Quiz.
VHF Demo (Modulation test) was nicely carried out by GIAR team member Ankit VU3NMQ, Sardool VU2OPX, Sunny VU2PMU & myself. Student & faculties learnt the potential of Ham Radio hobby & enjoyed the event at the fullest.
I thank my fellow hams for their kind support and also thankful to Prof. Jay Patel & Prof. Niraj Tever from Parul University to nicely coordinate the event.
Wish this Ham event act as small SPARK (ignition) & in future some of the student may fly high in World of Amateur Radio!
AMSAT-India http://amsatindia.org/
[ANS thanks Rajesh P. Vagadia VUEXP via AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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Plan Ahead for New Years AMSAT CW Activity Day on the Satellites
Thanks to all who participated in AMSAT's Straight Key Night 2016, held in memory of Ben Stevenson, W2BXA. For 25 years, AMSAT has sponsored SKN on OSCAR, and it's been my pleasure to conduct this event.
While Morse as a license qualification has gone the way of the spark gap, I am pleased to see that amateur CW activity is as popular as ever. Straight keys and "bugs", however, have found a niche primarily with the boat anchor crowd, and AMSAT's insistence on their use in OSCAR SKN has held down participation. Similar considerations have led ARRL to broaden its annual HF event to include all forms of CW, even computer-generated. The idea is to encourage everyone to enjoy CW operation, no matter how they choose to do it. We agree 100%.
So, in with the new: AMSAT CW Activity Day.
As with the old SKN, it will be a fun event, not a contest, and will run for 24 hours on January 1, 2017 (UTC). All forms of CW are welcome. Since it is not a contest, there is no required exchange. A QSO is a QSO. Working the same station on more than one satellite is permitted.
Instead of submitting Best Fist nominations, all participants are asked to post their results, including "Soapbox" comments, to AMSAT- BB. Please include the satellites you used, and the number of CW QSOs you had on each. While it is not necessary to post your full log, you may do so if you wish.
CU on CW!
[ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS, for the above information]
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2016 AMSAT Board of Directors Election Results
As a result of the 2016 Board of Directors Election, Tom Clark, K3IO; Mark Hammond, N8MH; and Bruce Paige, KK5DO; will serve on the board for two years.
The First Alternate is Paul Stoetzer, N8HM and the Second Alternate is Clayton Coleman, W5PFG. Both will serve for a term of one year.
The results of the voting with 697 ballots cast are as follows:
Tom Clark, K3IO..................547 Mark Hammond, N8MH...............504 Bruce Paige, KK5DO...............396 Paul Stoetzer, N8HM..............362 Clayton Coleman, W5PFG...........200
Submitted by: Martha Saragovitz, Manager Paul Stoetzer, Secretary
[ANS thanks Martha Saragovitz, and Paul Stoetzer, N8HM for the above information]
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US ARISS Contacts -Call for Proposals Remains Open through Nov 1
Message to US Educators Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Contact Opportunity
Call for Proposals Proposal Window September 1 - November 1, 2016
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 anticipates that the contact would be held between July 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017. 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 deadline to submit a proposal is November 1, 2016. Proposal information and documents can be found at www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact.
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, NASA, and space agencies in Russia, Canada, Japan and Europe sponsor this educational opportunity by providing the equipment and operational support to enable direct communication between crew on the ISS and students around the world via Amateur Radio. In the US, the program is managed by AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARRL (American Radio Relay League) in partnership with NASA and CASIS (Center for the Advancement of Science in Space).
More Information Interested parties can find more information about the program at www.ariss.org and www.arrl.org/ARISS.
For proposal information and more details such as expectations, proposal guidelines and proposal form, and dates and times of Information Sessions go to http://www.arrl.org/hosting-an-ariss-contact. Please direct any questions to ariss at arrl dot org.
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 Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) 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 informal education venues. With the help of experienced amateur radio volunteers, ISS crews speak directly with large audiences in a variety of public forums. Before and during these radio contacts, students, teachers, parents, and communities learn about space, space technologies, and amateur radio. For more information, see www.ariss.org, www.amsat.org, and www.arrl.org.
Also, join us on Facebook: Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) / Follow us on Twitter: ARISS_status
[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]
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ARISS News
+ A Successful contact was made between C.E.PR. Almadén, Jaén, Spain and Astronaut Kate Rubins KG5FYJ using Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began Thu 2016-09-15 08:14:19 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via EA7URJ. ARISS Mentor was Francesco IKØWGF.
School Information: Primary Education State School. This school year (2013/2014) there are 420 students from 6 to 12 years old. C.E.PR. Almadén is a Multilingual School with Français as L2 and English as L3.
[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information]
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Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ NPOTA Activation Video Posted
John Brier KG4AKV announced that he has posted a video of his SO-50 satellite activation from August 29th 2016 at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. The NPS unit is NM29 and the grid square is FM26.
The video can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/C0qLC03jDTA
[ANS thanks John KG4AKV for the above information]
+ September issues of SatMagazine and MilSatMagazine are available for download.
http://www.satmagazine.com/ http://www.milsatmagazine.com/
[ANS thanks Satnews for the above information]
+ Measuring Sky Angles With Your Hand
Have you ever worked portable and wondered just how close you were holding your antenna in reference to the necessary altitude and azimuth to be on target with your satellite?
You can use your hands to measure degrees of the sky. There is a method common in astronomy for measuring sky angles. Here’s how they describe it on One Minute Astronomer:
"Your hands and fingers are a remarkably accurate (and convenient) measuring tool. When you hold your hand at arm’s length, you can estimate angles like this:
Stretch your thumb and little finger as far from each other as you can. The span from tip to tip is about 25 degrees.
Do the same with your index finger and little finger. The span is 15 degrees.
Clench your fist at arms length, and hold it with the back of your hand facing you. The width is 10 degrees.
Hold your three middle fingers together; they span about 5 degrees
The width of your little finger at arm’s length is 1 degree."
http://oneminuteastronomer.com/860/measuring-sky/
See also http://makezine.com/2016/09/16/measuring-tip-ruler/
[ANS thanks oneminuteastronomer.com and make zone.com for the above information.]
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/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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office.
Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information.
73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, AA8EM aa8em at amsat dot org