AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-163
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: [email protected]
In this edition:
* ARISSat-1 Reception Challenge * Call for Papers * AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Due by June 15th * New Items in AMSAT Store * Grid Trip to Slovakia * Satellite Shorts From All Over * 2011 AMSAT Field Day Competition * ARISS Report * AMSAT Server Upgrade
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.01 ARISSat-1 Reception Challenge
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.01
ARISSat-1 Reception Challenge
ARISSat-1 is scheduled for deployment from the ISS in July. It has a composite VHF downlink that will easily fit into the FUNcube Dongle receive spectrum. The telemetry is 1000 bps BPSK and can, of course, also be received with a normal SSB 2 metre receiver.
The expected signal levels from ARISSat should be similar to those we expect from FUNcube itself (and also eventually from UKube) and the team are keen to discover what will be the minimum and best type of antennas for schools to use with a FCD. Therefore user experience with the ARISSat signals will be very valuable in making this determination.
To encourage everyone to receive ARISSat signals we are offering a FUN reward for listeners!
There are a number of categories for this challenge including:
1. The first FCD user, from each continent, who can post a spectrum recording of the received signal together with evidence of decoding the data using the ARISSat software and of sending it to the ARISSat data warehouse.
2. The first non-FCD user, from each continent, who can provide evidence of having decoded the signals and of sending it to the ARISSat data warehouse.
3. The listener, using a FCD or not, who can demonstrate satisfactory reception of the telemetry in the same ways as described above, using the "smallest" possible receive antenna. The actual closing date for this part of the challenge will be announced later.
4. All other entrants who can demonstrate that they have been having FUN!
Please submit your "entries", including your location, station details (including FCD serial number where applicable), postal address and reports to g0auk<at>amsat.org.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK and the Southgate ARC News Site for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.02 Call for papers
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.02
Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 30th Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference to be held September 16-18, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland. These papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings (you do NOT need to attend the conference to have your paper included in the Proceedings). The submission deadline is July 31, 2011. Please send papers to:
Maty Weinberg ARRL 225 Main St Newington, CT 06111
Or... you can make your submission via e-mail to: [email protected]
Papers will be published exactly as submitted and authors will retain all rights.
73 . . . Steve, WB8IMY ARRL
[ANS thanks Steve, WB8IMY, for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.03 AMSAT-NA Board of Directors Nominations Due by June 15th
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.03
It is time to submit nominations for the upcoming open seats on the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors. The deadline is June 15th. A valid nomination requires either one Member Society, or five current individual members in good standing, to nominate an AMSAT member for the position.
Four director's terms expire this year:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW Alan Biddle, WA4SCA Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Tony Monteiro, AA2TX
The four candidates 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 members for one year terms.
Beginning this year, in addition to traditional submissions of written nominations which remains unchanged and is the preferred method, initial nominations may be made by electronic means.=A0 These include e-mail, FAX, or electronic image of a petition. Electronic petitions should be sent to [email protected] or faxed to 301-608-3410. Written nominations, consisting of names, calls, and individual signatures, should be mailed to:
AMSAT-NA 850 Sligo Ave #600 Silver Spring, MD, 20910
No matter what method is used, petitions MUST arrive no later than June 15th at the AMSAT-NA office. If the nomination is a traditional written nomination, no other action is required. If it is other than this, i.e. electronic, a verifying traditional written petition MUST be received at the AMSAT-NA office at the above address within 7 days following the close of nominations on June 15th. ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS WITHOUT THIS SECOND, WRITTEN VERIFICATION ARE NOT VALID UNDER THE EXIST- ING AMSAT-NA BYLAWS.
Alan Biddle WA4SCA AMSAT Corporate Secretary
[ANS thanks Alan, WA4SCA, for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.04 New Items in AMSAT Store
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.04
Hot off the presses, you don't want to miss out on these new additions to the AMSAT online store for 2011.
The latest from Gould, WA4SXM, Getting Started With Amateur Satellites - 2011. Excellent for the beginner to learn the ins and outs of the most popular satellites. Also contains information on ARISSat-1, P3 Express and AMSAT Fox.
There is a new 2011 Frequency chart, updated May, 2011 by Mike, N1JEZ.
Catch a fly ball or keep the sun off your head with the new 2011 Baseball Cap
Show off your support for ARISSat-1 with a handsome red Polo Shirt or gray T-Shirt
Visit the AMSAT online store and see pictures and pricing to your door. http://www.amsat.org click on link in left margin.
73...bruce (AMSAT online store manager)
[ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.05 Grid Trip to Slovakia
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.05
OM3BD Looking for North America Satellite Contacts
Bill, NZ5N says he is heading for his annual 7-week trip to Slovakia, grid locator JN88mf. He has been issued a new Slovak callsign OM3BD.
Bill wrote, "I will be active on the satellites. North American stations, please contact me for OSCAR 7 mode B skeds, if we will have any mutual footprints. Time permitting, there's also a possibility of some portable operations to different grids, and/or satellite expeditions to Austria and Hungary Both are less than 20 miles from my Slovakian QTH."
Bill said last year he was able contact Ohio and Virginia via AO-7 from this location.
[ANS thanks Bill, NZ5N for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.06 Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.06
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.06
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ NASA has released photos of Endeavour docked at the International Space Station (ISS). These are the first ever images taken of a space shuttle while still attached to the orbiting lab complex from the perspective of a crewed Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The photos were captured by Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli from the Soyuz TMA-20 vehicle as he and two crewmates were departing the ISS for their return trip to Earth. See: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/multimedia/e27depart.html
+ NASA's Spirit rover on Mars stopped transmitting in March 2010 when it went silent at the onset of the cold and dark Martian winter. Assembled by Dr. Ken Kremer and Marco Di Lorenzo from publicly-avail able NASA imagery, these mosaics show Spirit's final resting place: http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1106/05spirit/
+ NASA Science News posted "A Salute to Spirit" at: http://tinyurl.com/3ce4zp2 (science.nasa.gov)
+ Video of the June 7 Soyuz launch with NASA astronaut Mike Fossum, Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Satoshi Furukawa can be viewed at the UniverseToday web site: http://tinyurl.com/6c2gews
+ A new yahoo group dedicated to Digital Amateur Television has been created. The purpose of the group is to share knowledge & experiences using & developing DATV technology for amateur use. You can join the group at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalATV/ (Mark, WB9QZB)
+ Copenhagen Suborbital, a group of amateur rocketeers successfully launched the world's first amateur-built rocket made for human space travel. Two videos of the launch can be found at:
http://www.universetoday.com/86306/copenhagen-suborbitals-launch-videos/
+ Send an audio report of your SumbandilaSat contact and you may be one of 3 lucky winners drawn to receive a first day postal cover of the SumbandilaSat. Closing date is 30 June 2011. E-Mail to: [email protected] (http://www.amsatsa.org.za/)
+ Martha at AMSAT Headquarters says she now has 7 Elk Antennas in stock. The cost is $125 plus shipping. She also has the bag which is $25. If you are interested, please call the AMSAT Office at 301-589-6062. A portion of your purchase price benefits AMSAT.
+ Andy, VK3ASI hopes to operate the FM satellites Oscar 50 and 51 from Spitsbergen next week. Some of the operation may be maritime mobile.
+ The Central States VHF Conference will convene in Irving, TX on July 29 - 30. Most attendees traveling from a good distance will arrive on July 28th and checkout on July 31st. Information will be posted at: http://www.csvhfs.org/
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.07 Reminder-2011 AMSAT Field Day Competition
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.07
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.07
Field Day is June 25 & 26. Annual readiness excersize is a great way to demo Satellite Operations.
AMSAT Director of Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO says, "It's that time of year again: Summer and Field Day!"
Each year the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field Day as an emergency preparedness exercise. The event takes place during a 24-hour period on the fourth weekend of June. For 2011 the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on Saturday June 25, 2011 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 26, 2011. Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 25 can operate only 24 hours.
The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own version of Field Day for operation via the amateur satellites, held concurrently with the ARRL event.
Bruce advises, "If you are considering ONLY the FM voice satellites like AMRAD-OSCAR-27, SaudiSat-Oscar-50, or AMSAT-OSCAR-51 for your AMSAT Field Day focus. Don't, unless you are simply hoping to make one contact for the ARRL rules bonus points."
The congestion on FM LEO satellites was so intense in prior years that we must continue to limit their use to one-QSO-per-FM-satellite. This includes the International Space Station. You will be allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating Voice. You will also be allowed one digital QSO with the ISS or any other digital, non- store-and-forward, packet satellite (if operational).
Please refer to these links for the full document of the AMSAT Field Day rules: http://www.amsat.org/ (link on AMSAT.org front page to PDF file) And, an alternative site is: http://www.amsatnet.com/2011fd.doc (MS-Word Doc File) http://www.amsatnet.com/2011fd.pdf (PDF File)
These documents also cover the message exchange format, scoring requirements, reporting requirements, station classes, etc.
[ANS thanks AMSAT Director of Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.08 ARISS Report
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.08
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.08
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report June 6, 2011
1. Amateur Radio Newsline on ARISS
On June 3, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1764 included a story on the new ARISS proposal process for U.S. schools. “Ham Radio in Space: New US Only Selection Process Announced for ARISS Contacts” may be found at: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt
2. Astronaut Training Status
An ARISS simulated contact is planned with Kevin Ford, KF5GPP on June 13. Ford is scheduled to fly with Expedition 33 in September 2012.
Don Pettit, KD5MDT and André Kuipers, PI9ISS are scheduled for an ARISS preflight session on June 22. The two astronauts are part of Expedition 30 which will launch in November 2011.
3. ARISS Presentations at Ham-Com 2011
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) National Convention will be held at the Ham-Com 2011 in Plano, Texas on Friday and Saturday, June 10 - 11. Several ARISS presentations will be given during the event:
ARISSat-1 a Satellite for STEM Education and Fun Presented by Keith Pugh, W5IU
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station Presented by Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO
Introduction to Amateur Radio Satellites Presented by Douglas Quagliana, KA2UPW
For more information, see: http://www.hamcom.org
[ANS thanks Carol Jackson, KB3KLI, for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-163.09 AMSAT Server Upgrade
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 163.09
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 12, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-163.09
AMSAT Server Upgrade News
AMSAT's network manager Paul Williamson, KB5MU reminded users of the http://www.amsat.org features and news that, "The AMSAT.ORG computer has been upgraded and moved to a new location. Although it still re- mains on the UCSD campus, the new location required that a new IP ad- dress be assigned. The transition should theoretically be seamless, but some users may have trouble until their network's DNS servers take notice of the update."
Unless your network admin has done something unusual, any problems should clear up by themselves within a few days at most.
Please report any ongoing problems to Paul via [email protected] or [email protected] if the problem prevents email from getting through to amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Paul Williamson, KB5MU for the above information]
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73, This week's ANS Editor, Dee Interdonato, NB2F nb2f at amsat dot org nb2f at amsat dot org