AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-300
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:
* FUNCube Data Warehouse Ready for Demo * Satellite contact between Cuba and UK * New Satellite Segment in IARU Region 2 Bandplan * Astronaut Rick Mastracchio KC5ZTE to Geocache the ISS * FUNCube SDR Radio Telescope * NASA CubeSat Space Missions * ARISS Team Recognized by NW Indiana Society of Innovators * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over * All Things Symposium, a Chronology * AMSAT BoD Meet in Houston October 31 and November 1 * 2013 AMSAT Symposium Presentations * Symposium Banquet - 30 Years of Amateur Radio In Human Space Flight * AMSAT Symposium Sunday Battleship Texas Tour * AMSAT Symposium Monday NASA JSC Tour Monday 8:00 am - 2:30 pm CST
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-300.01 ANS-300 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 300.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
DATE October 27, 2013 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-300.01
FUNCube Data Warehouse Ready for Demo
AMSAT-UK & AMSAT-NL are pleased to announce a new version of the FUNcube Data Warehouse which will collect, collate, deduplicate and display data from FUNcube Dashboards running on user PCs (see section at end).
The URL is: https://warehouse.funcube.org.uk
The intention of the warehouse is to allow access to all the data received for the duration of the mission rather than from just one or a series of passes. This will enable educators and others to download mission telemetry for off-line analysis as part of our STEM outreach goal.
The warehouse will store information for the following satellites/devices:
- FUNcube Flight Model - UKube-1 - FUNcube module - FUNcube Engineering Model (which will be used for some demonstrations) - FUNcube Software Test Stack (which is still be used for development but may become another demonstration model later)
Please note, that we are still adding functionality and that some features may not be enabled but it will give a flavour of what will be there.
The warehouse DOES allow registration for upload of data from the FUNcube Dashboard (see below) and we would like feedback on the process. You can register now as a user of the Warehouse and then, later, apply the settings, that you will be emailed to you, to the Dashboard software when it is available.
There is a new forum at: http://forum.funcube.org.uk, whose purpose is to provide support for FUNcube satellite users. Registration on this forum is separate from the warehouse registration.
FUNcube Dashboard
A Windows PC application has been developed which will allow FUNcube Dongle (either model) users and those with other, SSB compatible, 2 metre radios to receive and display satellite telemetry in real time and upload the data to the FUNcube Data Warehouse. If using the FUNcube Dongle, the software will perform doppler tracking on the received signal.
As well as real-time processing, the software can replay binary, IQ and sound files captured on earlier passes.
The Dashboard software is undergoing final testing and will be made available in about two weeks time.
We are looking forward to a late November launch. News updates can be found here:
[ANS thanks Dave Johnson, G4DPZ on behalf of AMSAT-UK / AMSAT-NL for the above information]
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Satellite contact between Cuba and UK
Hector, CO6CBF, reported on the AMSAT-BB October 20, "I am pleased to report that yesterday I had my first contact on satellites with UK.
"Peter, G4DOL (IO80so) and I (EL92sd) completed a contact successfully on FO-29. It is the result of a long history which began six months ago.
"We tried several times but Peter never could hear below a degree toward my location. I have the same problem in my home station and I usually go to specific spots to try these kinds of contacts. So, I suggested him assemble a portable station to operate from a better spot. He did so and his first smoke test was on October 15th, we almost completed a contact but Peter could not hear my report; I couldn't reach a good spot due to the rain. Yesterday, I went to a very tall building, I got access to the building `s top and operated from there. Actually, it is a very good spot, it allowed me a great horizon visibility toward Europe; I was able to work FO-29 until -1.5 degrees.
"We had a very narrow window but there was enough time to exchange reports, grids and greetings. Our maximum elevation was 1.1 degrees. I believe it is the first contact between UK and Cuba on FO-29! It is a 7286 km contact, a new grid and new country for us!
"Please, note that our success was on the 2301z pass, it was very late in the night for Peter. He had to load his car with antennas, radio, a battery and drive five miles from his home looking for a good spot in the windy and dark coast. He was running 50W into a 10 elements yagi and was using 19 elements yagi for the downlink; He mounted both antennas on a big tripod and had to manage with a "heavy weigh". Needless to say that Peter did the difficult part and a very good job!
"I was running a FT-817nd, a 50W homebrew power amplifier and ELK antenna. Everything was supplied by a 12V 7A Gel battery. I was operating Half-Duplex but we ran the frequency calculations based on the great feature implemented on SatPC32 V12.8b. So, it was very easy to find each other in the pass band. It was my 8th transatlantic contact with Europe on FO-29!
"Right Now, FO-29 has a big footprint. Please, if you are into the footprint and want to try a long distance contact, just drop me an email. I will try until complete a contact with you. Unfortunately, Cubans cannot operate on AO-7B; FO-29 is our only chance for DX contacts.
"Thanks very much to Peter for this exciting contact!"
[ANS thanks Hector, CO6CBF for the above information]
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New Satellite Segment in IARU Region 2 Bandplan
Following the IARU Region 2 (the Americas) meeting in September at Cancun, Mexico, the new Region 2 bandplans for all allocations from 137 kHz to 250 GHz have now been published.
There is a new allocation for the Amateur-Satellite Service from 144.000-144.025 MHz
There is also a reference to NSS – Near Space Stations in the definitions section. This is believed to be the first mention of High Altitude Balloons in any amateur radio band plan document. It says
NSS – Near Space Stations: Equipment located in temporary Near Space Stations (such as those carried by High Altitude Balloons) can transmit carefully on any frequency; exceptions are the segments with “exclusive” usage where “NSS” are not applied. NSS must follow the BW and mode restrictions of the segment and observe carefully the usual occupation of the band on the related region to avoid harmful interference. For longer missions and NSS crossing international and regional boundaries, extra care must be observed in harmonization of different allocations.
See the new IARU Region 2 bandplans at http://tinyurl.com/ANS300-IARU-Region-2-bandplans
Read the IARU Region 1 paper Increased Amateur Satellite Service 144 MHz Usage http://tinyurl.com/ANS300-IARU-Region-1-paper
[ANS thanks Trevor M5AKA and AMSAT-UK for the above information]
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Astronaut Rick Mastracchio KC5ZTE to Geocache the ISS
It’s the Travel Bug® that’s taking the global Geocaching community on a rocket ride to space. Whether you’re in Mexico or France, Australia or Korea you’re primed to join the geocaching community in celebrating the spirit of exploration. There are more than 800 Geocaching in Space events scheduled around the world. Those who attend Event Caches on either November 6 or November 7 earn the Geocaching in Space souvenir.
Join the adventure and watch the launch live as Astronaut Rick Mastracchio packs the Travel Bug along on his 6 month mission aboard the International Space Station. He’ll use the Travel Bug as a tool to teach students back on earth about geography and science. Geocaching HQ is offering a limited edition Geocaching in Space Mission Patch. Geocaching will donate proceeds from the patch to Donorschoose.org for use in funding projects that use geocaching as an educational tool.
Geocaching in Space Event Owners: Be on the lookout for an email from Geocaching HQ later this week. We’ll serve up details on how to watch the launch live, how to connect with the 800+ events around the world and how to celebrate afterwards (hint: geocaching). For more information on this event visit http://tinyurl.com/ANS300- GeocacheSapceEvent
While aboard the ISS Mastracchio is expected to recover a travel bug hidden by Richard Garriott W5KWQ on 10/14/2008. Visit http://tinyurl.com/ANS300-Geocach for more information on this geocache.
[ANS thanks Geocaching.com for the above information]
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FUNCube SDR Radio Telescope
Dr David Morgan has released a new paper 'Further Developments of an SDR Radio Telescope' using the FunCube Dongle Pro+ and SpectrumLab
"Further Developments of an SDR Radio Telescope" details the equipment configuration and software involved in setting to work a small 3m diameter amateur radio telescope using the FunCube Dongle Pro+ software defined radio receiver.
It demonstrates how Spectrum Lab can provide digital filtering to observe up to 20 individual sub-bands to help overcome interference issues. David also provides details of gain and noise stability measurements for the FUNcube Dongle and observations of emissions from the quiet Sun and the Cygnus arm of the Milky Way.
This paper adds to the work that David has undertaken in the past and is interesting reading for anyone wanting to experiment with SDR solutions for amateur radio astronomy.
Paul Hyde G4CSD BAA RAG Coordinator
Download the paper from http://tinyurl.com/ANS300-SDRTelescope
BAA RAG website http://www.britastro.org/radio/
Join the BAA RAG Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/baa-rag
FUNcube Pro Plus Yahoo Group http://amsat-uk.org/funcube/funcube-dongle-sdr/
[ANS thanks Southgate ARN for the above information]
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NASA CubeSat Space Missions
NASA is now accepting proposals for the CubeSat Launch Initiative. Proposals must be submitted electronically by 4:30 p.m. EST Nov. 26, 2013.
From the submissions, NASA will select the best proposals by Feb. 7,
2014. Developers whose proposals are selected may have the opportunity to see their creations launched as an auxiliary payload on a mission between 2014 and 2017. NASA will not provide funding for the development of the small satellites and selection does not guarantee a launch opportunity.
CubeSats are a class of cube-shaped research spacecraft called nanosatellites. They are approximately 4 inches long, have a volume of about 1 quart and weigh less than 3 pounds.
CubeSat investigations should be consistent with NASA's strategic plan and educational vision and goals. The research should address specific aspects of science, exploration, technology development, education or operations.
From the first four rounds of the NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative, 89
payloads from 25 U.S. states made the short list for launch opportunities in 2011 through 2016. Of the selected CubeSats, 12 satellites have already launched. Twenty-one Cubesats are scheduled for launch later this year.
For additional information on NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative program, visit http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/home/CubeSats_initiative.html.
[ANS thanks NASA for the above information]
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ARISS Team Recognized by NW Indiana Society of Innovators
The ARISS team who supported and conducted the May 8, 2013 International Space Station school contact with participants at The Gary Literacy Coalition, Inc, Gary, Indiana have been recognized by the Northwest Indiana Society of Innovators with induction into their 2013-14 Class of Fellows. This recognition describes these trailblazers as among the most innovative "thinkers and doers" in Northwest Indiana.
The Gary Literacy Coalition, Inc. serves as the primary literacy collaborative in the City of Gary and neighboring communities. GLC supports, promotes, enhances, and coordinates the accessibility of literacy opportunities, thus making Gary "A Reading City."
GLC has maintained a close partnership with the Gary Community School Corporation (GCSC). The GLC/GCSC partnership allows the operation of the "Learning Partner" Mentoring Project. This mentoring initiative is a motivational endeavor offering an arm of support to 4th, 5th and 6th grade students enrolled in the GCSC gender academies; Dr. Bernard C. Watson Academy for Boys and Frankie Woods-McCullough Academy for Girls.
The GCSC is an urban public school district challenged to expand and enhance educational experiences for the approximately 10,000 students that it serves. A large percentage of these students reside in single-parent homes and/or low-income families. A collaboration of students from Lew Wallace STEM Academy, Bernard C. Watson Academy for Boys, Frankie Woods McCullough Academy for Girls and NU-Tech Academy will be program participants. These students ranged in grade levels 4 through 12.
A photo of the citation is posted at: http://tinyurl.com/facebook-ARISS-Award (facebook.com)
The Northwest Indiana Times newspaper article can be viewed at: http://tinyurl.com/NWTimes-ARISS (nwitimes.com)
[ANS thanks ARRL Illinois Section Manager Tom Ciciora, KA9QPN; ARISS, and the Northwest Indiana Times for the above information]
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ARISS News
+ A Successful contact was made between Comprensivo Camaiore 3 Camaiore and Astronaut Luca Parmitano KF5KDP using callsign IRØISS. The contact began 2013-10-19 15:54 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct and telebridged via IQ5VR. ARISS Mentor was IKØWGF.
+ A Successful contact was made between Istituto Comprensivo Marzocchino Di Seravezza, Italy and Astronaut Luca Parmitano KF5KDP using callsign IRØISS. The contact began 2013-10-19 15:54 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. direct and telebridged via IQ5VR. ARISS Mentor was IKØWGF.
+ A Successful contact was made between IPSSEOA, Castellana Grotte and Liceo Classico e Linguistico C. Sylos, Bitonto, Italy and Astronaut Luca Parmitano KF5KDP using callsign IRØISS. The contact began Wed 2013-10-23 12:43:08 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via IZ7RTN. ARISS Mentor was IKØWGF.
+ A Successful contact was made between Liceo Classico e Linguistico C. Sylos, Bitonto Bari, Italy and Astronaut Luca Parmitano KF5KDP using callsign IRØISS. The contact began Wed. 2013-10-23 12:43 and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was direct via IZ7RTN ARISS Mentor was IKØWGF.
Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
Kopernik Observatory & Science Center (KOSC), Vestal, NY, direct via K2ZRO Contact is a go for: Wed 2013-10-30 16:32:51 UTC
Wallingford STEM Academy/Town of Wallingford, Wallingford, CT, direct via K1SEZ Contact is a go for: Thu 2013-10-31 15:45:11 UTC
[ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information]
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Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ VE's requested for Symposium Testing At this year's AMSAT symposium, one of our foreign visitors will be taking his FCC amateur radio license exams. If you are an ARRL or W5YI VE and would like to support this effort of international goodwill, please contact W5PFG at arrl dot net. Clayton will be coordinating the session to be held either Friday morning before the Symposium kick-off or Saturday morning before breakfast. Source, Clayton W5PFG
+ See Bdale Garbee's KB0G talking about AMSAT's Fox-1 CubeSat at last year's ARRL and TAPR DCC. It was recorded by HamRadioNow on September 21, 2012, but somehow was overlooked it when they produced the rest of the talks. It was produce October 23, 2013 as Episode 105 AMSAT Fox-1 CubeSat (The Missing Episode from the 2012 DCC) http://arvideonews.com/hrn/HRN_Episode_0105.html Source HamRadioNow
+ View an animated assembly of the International Space Station http://i.usatoday.net/tech/graphics/iss_timeline/flash.htm Source Kenneth N5VHO
+ SSTV Handbook Martin Bruchanov, OK2MNM, has written a Free e-book for ham radio operators and radio listeners interested in special communication modes for image transmission – SSTV, radio facsimile (WEFAX) and digital SSTV (HamDRM). You can download the entire book or view on line... http://www.sstv-handbook.com/ Source Southgate ARN
+ FUNcube-1 is presently at Yasny and is being prepared for launch. All the latest news can be seen at www.funcube.org.uk and the latest post includes a link to the launch blog from our launch service providers. Source Graham G3VZV
+ The tiny PocketQube satellite WREN, just 5x5x5 cm and weighing 250 grams, aims to transmit amateur radio Slow Scan TV (SSTV) pictures using the Martin-1 format. http://amsat-uk.org/2013/10/24/wren-a-ham-radio-sstv-pocketqube/ Source Trevor M5AKA and AMSAT-UK
[ANS thanks the Sources listed for the above information]
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All Things Symposium, a Chronology
+ Please visit http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=1555 for the most current information.
Please visit http://ww2.amsat.org/?page_id=1555 for the most current information.
Thursday 31 October.
08:00-12:00 AMSAT BOD Meeting (Pasadena). 12:00-13:00 AMSAT BOD Lunch Break (Spirits Private Dining Room) 13:00-18:45 AMSAT BOD Meeting (Pasadena). 18:45-19:45 AMSAT BOD Dinner Break (Spirits Private Dining Room) 19:45-21:00 AMSAT BOD Meeting (Pasadena). 19:00-21:00 Symposium Registration (Outside Corpus Christi/South Padre)
Friday 1 November
Ongoing VUCC/WAS Card Checking, Bruce Paige, KK5DO, AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, will be at the symposium Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Sunday is the trip to the USS Texas so not much time) and available to check cards for VUCC satellite or WAS satellite.
Morning 08:00-17:15 Symposium Registration (Outside Corpus Christi/South Padre) 08:00-12:00 AMSAT BOD Meeting (Pasadena). 09:00-12:00 Display Area Open (Port Lavaca)
Afternoon 13:00 13:15 Symposium Opening Remarks and Introductions, President's Welcome (Corpus Christi/SouthPadre) 13:10-17:20 Presentation of papers (Corpus Christi/SouthPadre) 13:10-17:30 Display Area Open (Port Lavaca)
Evening 17:20-19:30 Informal Dinner on your own 19:30-21:00 AMSAT Reception (Bluez) Cash Bar Available
Saturday November 2, 2013
Ongoing VUCC/WAS Card Checking,
Morning 07:30-12:00 Symposium Registration 08:00-12:00 Display Area Open (Port Lavaca) 08:00 08:10 Opening remarks (Corpus Christi/SouthPadre) 08:00-11:50 More Symposium papers (Corpus Christi/SouthPadre)
Afternoon 11:50-13:00 Lunch break 13:00-15:30 More presentations (Corpus Christi/SouthPadre) 13:00-15:45 Display Area (Port Lavaca) 15:30-15:45 Break/Setup for Annual Meeting 15:45-17:15 AMSAT Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony (Corpus Christi/SouthPadre) Echolink Simulcast Connect to the *AMSAT* conference server, node number 101377 Note the * before and after AMSAT are part of the Node name and are important.
Saturday Evening 18:00-19:00 Attitude Adjustment (Pasadena) 18:00-22:00 Cash Bar 19:00 -21:00 Banquet and Keynote Presentation (Pasadena) Presentation: "30th Anniversary of Amateur Radio and Human Space Flight" Multi-Media Presentation plus Panel Moderated by AMSAT VP- Space Flight Frank Bauer, KA3HDO (Including Owen Garriott, W5LFL) 21:00-22:00 Door prize drawing (Pasadena)
Sunday November 3, 2013 (Note: Change from CDT to CST-"Fall back 1 hour")
Ongoing VUCC/WAS Card Checking, Do it before the tour.
Morning 07:30-09:00 Area Coordinators Meeting and breakfast. (Pt. Aransas) (Breakfast only for those with reservations/All interested are invited to join the discussion) 08:45-09:45 IARU Satellite Advisor Forum (Port Lavaca) 09:45 Gather for transportation to Special Sunday tour 10:00 Leave for special tour of the Battleship Texas (BB-35) 10:30 Arrive USS Texas 11:00 Begin Tour
Afternoon 14:00 End Battleship Tour/ Group 1 departs for Restaurant/Group 2 for hotel/airport (Group 2 arrive hotel at 1430 after airport drop-off) 14:15 Group 1 arrives restaurant 15:45 Group 1 departs restaurant/split group for airport or hotel 16:00 Group 1 returns to Hotel from tour or arrives at airport
19:00 Informal gather for dinner (Those who are staying for the Monday JSC tour) TBD place.
Monday November 4, 2013
Morning 07:45 Gather for the Special JSC Tour 08:00 Special tour of JSC & Lunch (Neutral Buoyancy Lab, Building 30 Mission Control, Building 9 ISS Mockup, JSC Amateur Radio Club Station W5RRR)
Afternoon 12:00 Lunch at Space Center, Houston 14:15 Dropoff at Airport 14:30 Bus returns to hotel
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information]
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AMSAT Board of Directors Meet in Houston October 31 and November 1
The AMSAT Board of Directors will meet October 31 and November 1 prior to the AMSAT Symposium in Houston, Texas. The meeting will be held at the Houston Marriott South at Hobby Airport.
The meetings will begin Thursday October 31, 8am through about 9pm, and then resume Friday Novemeber 1, 8am through 12 noon. The meeting will be open to the general membership to the maximum extent possible.
The Board will meet in the Pasadena Room
Current Agenda Thursday, October 30th (All times are CDT)
Opening Issues 08:00 Welcome and Facilities Barry Baines, WD4ASW 08:05 Agenda review Barry Baines, WD4ASW
Election of Officers Barry Baines, WD4ASW 08:10 President, Executive Vice President, Vice-President Operations, Vice-President Engineering, VP of User Services, Secretary, Treasurer, and Manager 08:20 President's Report for 2013 Barry Baines, WD4ASW 08:40 Secretary: Alan Biddle, WA4SCA -Approval of prior minutes -Report for 2013 08:50 Treasurer's Report for 2013 Keith Baker, KB1SF -Accept the 2012 Review -Appoint a review firm for 2014 -Report on Overall Finances 09:30 Regulatory Issues Barry Baines, WD4ASW -ITAR 10:00 "15 minute" coffee break 10:15 Manager's Report for 2013 Martha Saragovitz 10:30 Operations Team Report Drew Glasbrenner KO4MA -IARU Region 1 Proposal 10:50 AMSAT Lab Update/Storage Lou McFadin, W5DID 11:05 User Services Team Report -AMSAT Journal Joanne Maenpaa, K9JKM -AMSAT News Service Joanne Maenpaa for Lee, KU4OS -Weekly Satellite Report Barry Baines, WD4ASW -Field Operations Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK -Dayton Hamvention Alan Biddle, WA4SCA for Steve Belter, N9IP 12:00 Lunch Break (1 hour) Martha Saragovitz
Tactical - Executive Team Reports (Continued)
13:00 Education Outreach E.Mike McCardel, KC8YLD 13:20 ARRL 2014 Centennial Convention Barry Baines, WD4ASW 13:35 ARISS-US Frank Bauer, KA3HDO 14:15 ARISS International Report David Taylor, W8AAS 14:30 HamTV on ISS Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, Lou McFadin, W5DID 15:00 "15 minute" coffee break 15:15 AMSAT Symposium Planning Barry Baines, WD4ASW 15:30 AMSAT Logo Alan Biddle, WA4SCA 15:40 AMSAT Store Alan Biddle, WA4SCA, Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P 16:00 AMSAT's Website Alan Biddle, WA4SCA & Electronic Services Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P 16:45 "15 minute" coffee break
AMSAT Engineering and Discussion Topics
17:00 Project Fox Engineering Tony Monteiro, AA2TX 18:45 Break for Dinner-Room TBD Martha Saragovitz
Finance and Budget (CLOSED SESSION)
19:45 AMSAT's Financial Trends Keith Baker, KB1SF -Performance Review
Open Session
20:15 Initial 2014 Budget (First Cut) Keith Baker, KB1SF 21:00 Adjourn for the day
Friday, November 1st
CLOSED SESSIONS BOD Members and Invited Guests ONLY -
08:00 Employee Evaluation/Compensation Review Barry Baines, WD4ASW 09:15 Future Launch Opportunities Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
OPEN SESSIONS
09:45 IARU Satellite Coordination Hans Van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV 10:50 "10 minute" coffee break
Additional Items
11:00 Finalize Budget Keith Baker, KB1SF 11:45 Atta-boys and Girls Tom Clark, K3IO 12:00 Adjourn-Lunch for Board Members and Senior Officers
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information]
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2013 AMSAT Symposium Presentations (Corpus Christi/SouthPadre rooms)
Friday, 1 November 2013 (All times are CDT)
1:00 PM Introduction and Welcome 1:10-1:35 PM "AMSAT Education and You" E. Michael McCardel, KC8YLD 1:35-2:05 PM "Upcoming Amateur Radio Cubesats: The Flood has Arrived" Bryan Klofas, KF6ZEO 2:05-2:25 PM "W5PFG/P: Observations from a Roving Operator" Clayton Coleman, W5PFG 2:25-2:45 PM "Operating on Satellites from Cruise Ships-Lessons Learned" Allen Mattis, N5AFV 2:45-3:05 PM "If JFK Was A Ham" Nick Pugh, K5QXJ 3:05-3:20 PM Break 3:20-3:40 PM "The Montgomery College Satellite Radio Rotator Project" David Bern, W2LNX 3:40-4:05 PM "AMSAT's Internet Presence" Joe Fitzgerald, KM1P 4:05-4:30 PM "Overcrowding of the Two Metre Satellite Band" Hans van de Groenendall, ZS6AKV 4:30-4:55 PM "Using Amateur Radio Satellites in Education" Rafael Haag, PY23FF 4:55-5:20 PM "WRAPS Portable Satellite Antenna Rotor" Mark Spencer, WA8SME
Saturday, 2 November 2013
8:00 AM Introduction and Welcome 8:15-8:40 AM "Cubesats in HEO-A Challenging Mission for AMSAT" Daniel Schultz, N8FGV 8:40-9:30 AM "Fox Satellite Program Overview" Tony Monteiro, AA2TX 9:30-10:00 AM "Coding and Modulation Design for AMSAT Fox-1", Phil Karn, KA9Q 10:00-10:15 AM Break 10:15-10:35 AM "Virginia Tech Cubesat Camera for Fox-1" Zach Leffke, KJ4QLP 10:35-10:55 AM "The Fox-1 IHU and Telemetry Simulator or Making Good Use of Cheap Evaluation Boards" Burns Fisher, W2BFJ 10:55-11:20 AM "Fox Experiments: Attitude Determination" Mark Spencer, WA8SME 11:20-11:50 AM "Distributed Ground Station Network Receive Node Design" Zach Leffke, KJ4QLP 11:50-1:00 PM Lunch 1:00-1:20 PM "SA AMSAT Turns to Innovation for its Cubesat" Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV 1:20-1:45 PM "FUNcube Dongle and SDR-Radio Console for Schools Support" Hector L. Martinez, CO6CBF 1:45-2:05 PM "Fox Experiments-Exploring the Fox-2 Maximum Power Point Tracking System" Mark Spencer, WA8SME 2:05-2:25 PM "A Brief Overview of the ARISS Program" Dave Jordan, AA4KN 2:25-2:45 PM "Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS)-Interesting Times" Dave Taylor, W8AAS 2:45-3:30 PM "Amateur Radio on Human Spaceflight Missions-30 Years" Frank Bauer, KA3HDO 3:30-3:45 Break 3:45-5:15 PM AMSAT Annual Meeting broadcast over Echolink AMSAT Server and AMSAT Recognition.
To hear the Echolink transmission, connect to the *AMSAT* conference server, node number 101377. Note that the * before and after AMSAT are important.
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information]
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Symposium Banquet - 30 Years of Amateur Radio In Human Space Flight
In addition to good food and company, the banquet always features an interesting speaker on a topic related to the space program. A special highlight of this year's Symposium is the celebration of the 30th anniversary of amateur radio involvement in human space flight and the evolution of amateur radio into a successful program on board the International Space Station. ARISS (Amateur Radio on the ISS) is an international program that supports educational outreach as well as provides an opportunity for informal contacts between astronauts/cosmonauts and amateur radio operators around the world. The recent delivery of "Ham TV" equipment to the Columbus module by the European Space Agency is a reflection of the continued support that amateur radio holds for communicating with students.
Astronaut Owen Garriott, W5LFL on STS-9 in November 1983 was the first astronaut to utilize amateur radio to communicate with personnel on the ground, allowing the general public to speak with US astronauts from space, outside the communication channels of NASA's Mission Control. In recognition of the 30th anniversary of this historic event, a multi-media panel featuring Owen and other key individuals who initiated this amazing program will take place on Saturday evening as part of the banquet, moderated by AMSAT VP-Human Space Flight Frank Bauer, KA3HDO. The presentation includes not only remarks by Owen and others in response to Frank's questions, but video highlights of amateur radio participation in STS-9 and other Shuttle flights will be shown. Having such a celebration take place in Houston makes it more special as it allows us to have non-AMSAT personnel involved with placing amateur radio on the Shuttle and ISS participate in our special program.
Dinner Menu
Salad with choice of dressing Chicken or beef sirloin entree Mashed potatoes Seasonal vegetables Desert Ice tea or coffee
A cash bar will be available 6-10pm CDT for beer, wine, and mixed drinks
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Office for the above information]
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AMSAT Symposium Sunday Battleship Texas Tour
Tour of Battleship Texas, Sunday 11 am - 2 pm CST
The Battleship Texas BB-35 is the only surviving Navy warship that served in both World Wars. It is currently opened to the public while undergoing extensive restoration to ready her for the 100th anniversary of her commissioning in 2014. A special tour has been arranged for AMSAT Symposium participants. The tour will be conducted in small groups by experienced docents and will include areas of the ship included on general public tours, as well as areas not generally open to the public. The tour will also feature special emphasis on the radio room and if restoration activity permits, the transmitter room which contains the original transmitter equipment and has never been open to the public. Transportation will be by organized carpool provided by a combination of those participants with rental cars, and local hams from the Clear Lake Amateur Radio Club (CLARC) and the Johnson Space Center Amateur Radio Club (JSCARC). A late lunch is planned at a popular local restaurant on the return trip to the Marriott for those who wish to participate. Symposium participants with rental cars who plan to attend this tour are requested to contact Lou McFadin if you are willing to be part of the carpool.
Tour itinerary: (all Times are CST)
09:45 Gather for transportation to Special Sunday tour 10:00 Leave for special tour of the Battleship Texas (BB-35) 10:30 Arrive USS Texas 11:00 Begin Tour 14:00 End Battleship Tour/ Group 1 departs for Restaurant/Group 2 for hotel/airport (Group 2 arrive hotel at 1430 after airport drop-off) 14:15 Group 1 arrives restaurant 15:45 Group 1 departs restaurant/split group for airport or hotel 16:00 Group 1 returns to Hotel from tour or arrives at airport
Participants needing to return to the Marriott or Hobby Airport immediately after the tour is concluded at 2 PM will be accommodated (arranged with a driver volunteer) or they may bring their own private vehicles.
Sorry, registration for this event has closed.
[ANS thanks the AMSAt Office for the above information]
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AMSAT Symposium Monday NASA JSC Tour Monday 8:00 am - 2:30 pm CST
A special tour of JSC has been arranged for AMSAT Symposium participants. The tour will include the Sonny Carter Neutral Buoyancy Lab and the Building 9 Training facility containing high fidelity full scale mockups of the International Space Station modules as well as the Soyuz spacecraft. The ISS tour will include special emphasis of the amateur radio stations on the ISS. The tour will also include the Building 30 historic mission control room as well as the current International Space Station control room. After departing the JSC campus, a short tour of the JSCARC station, W5RRR will be conducted by members of the JSCARC. Participants will then have the opportunity to eat lunch at Space Center Houston and visit the official souvenir shop before the bus returns to the Marriott and Houston Hobby airport. Please register for the tour early since charter bus seating capacity is limited. Participants planning to bring their personal or rental vehicles to leave the tour early to catch return flights should notify Lou McFadin via email at [email protected].
Tour itinerary: (All Times are CST)
07:45 Gather for the Special JSC Tour 8:00 am Bus departs Marriott South Hobby Airport 8:30 am Arrive at JSC visitor control for JSC tour 11:15 am Depart JSC for JSCARC Station W5RRR 11:20 am Arrive at JSCARC Station W5RRR 11:40 am Depart JSCARC Station W5RRR for Space Center Houston 11:50 am Arrive at Space Center Houston (Lunch and souvenir shop) 1:45 pm Depart Space Center Houston for Houston Hobby Airport 2:15 pm Arrive at Houston Hobby Airport 2:30 pm Arrive at Marriott South Hobby Airport
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Office 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, KC8YLD kc8yld at amsat dot org