AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-107

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:

* Come See AMSAT at Dayton Hamvention 2011 * Satellite Grid Opportunities From Mexico * UK Marconi Day Special Events Station Plans Satellite Operation * AO-51 Operational Again After Short Glitch * Reminder: AMSAT at National Air and Space Museum's Space Day * AMSAT France Disbands * Satellite Shorts From All Over

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-107.01 Come See AMSAT at Dayton Hamvention 2011

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 107.01

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

April 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-107.01

The 2011 Dayton Hamvention will be held this year May 20-22. AMSAT will have new hats, golf shirts and tee shirts. Also featured will be a free "gift" with every new or renewing membership.

This year featured AMSAT attractions include:

+ Operational ARISSat-1 Prototype + Astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC, will be attending as a special guest of the ARRL and AMSAT. Doug will visit the AMSAT booth on both Friday and Saturday. + AMSAT theme for 2011 is "Providing Education Through Amateur Satellites"

Check out AMSAT's Hamvention posted at ... http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/hamvention/2011/Dayton.php for the latest events:

+ AMSAT theme for 2011 is "Providing Education Through Amateur Satellites"

+ ARISSat-1

+ AMSAT Thursday Night Get-together

+ AMSAT Forum

+ AMSAT/TAPR Banquet

This is the 60th year of the Dayton Hamvention, sponsored by DARA (Dayton Amateur Radio Association). As has been the case for the many years the Hamvention will be at the Hara Arena Complex on the north side of Dayton. Further information on Hamvention 2011, including advance ticket sales and motel accommodations, can be found at http://www.hamvention.org.

AMSAT will occupy the same booths (444-449) in Ball Arena, right across from the ARRL area and just inside the door from the Satel- lite Demonstration area. Plan to visit all of the AMSAT activities!

AMSAT/TAPR Banquet ------------------ The fifth annual AMSAT/TAPR Banquet will be Friday night May 20 at the Kohler Presidental Banquet Center. The Banquet speaker will be David Rowe, VK5DGR talking on The Village Telco. Additional infor- mation about the talk can be found on the AMSAT Web site, 2011 Ham- vention, Banquet page.

Seating is limited and reservations are required. Go to the Dayton Banquet 2011 link: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/hamvention/2011/Banquet.php to find information about reservations and additional information.

AMSAT Hotel ----------- The AMSAT block of rooms at the Fairborn Country Inn & Suites are now closed. Please make your own accommdations for Hamvention 2011.

[ANS thanks Gould Smith, WA4SXM for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-107.02 Satellite Grid Opportunities From Mexico

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 107.02

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

April 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-107.02

David XE3DX recently posted that he will be operating from EK08, EK09, EK18 and EK19 from April 17th to the 30th. These are grids that you don't hear very often so if you are chasing grids, be on the lookout and please give David some room. Also heard on AO-51 from EK18 was XE1SOV.

David uses LOTW, so if you make a contact you'll be able to get confirmation without sending for a card. If he doesn't get your call right, there will be no match in LOTW.

[ANS thanks David XE3DX and John K8YSE for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-107.03 UK Marconi Day Special Events Station Plans Satellite Operation

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 107.03

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

April 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-107.03

On Saturday, April 30, 2011 two members of the Barry Amateur Radio Society, South Wales, UK will be activating a Marconi Day Internation- al Special Event Station from Flatholm Island located in the Bristol Channel. They plan to operate on many of the HF bands and amateur satel- lites when access is possible. They will be using the club callsign GB4MBC. Operation from Flatholm Island is subject to weather for landing. Additional information will be posted at QRZ.com.

[ANS thanks Ken Eaton, GW1FKY for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-107.04 AO-51 Operational Again After Short Glitch

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 107.04

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

April 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-107.04

This week the AO-51 Command Team received reports that AO-51 was down. Mark N8MH, AO-51 Command Station noted, "Eclipses are still getting longer, and the sun angle is getting worse too. It probably has experienced a low battery trip." The AO-51 Command Team requests that users post their oper- ational information on the OSCAR Status Page: http://oscar.dcarr.org/

The good news was that AO-51 resumed operation in time for Steve, KJ4FEL to make his first satellite contact. Steve wrote, "AO-51 was working fine for the 2158Z, 4-13-2011 pass over my QTH (EM95md) during which I made my FIRST successful satellite QSO ever with K8YSE. Thank You K8YSE!!"

Heard from Mark, N8MH, "People like you are the reason that Drew KO4MA and I dropped what we were doing to run home from work early today to turn AO-51

back on. We're happy to hear about your first QSO! Congrats."

Keep up with the latest AO-51 Control Team News on-line at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php

[ANS thanks Mark, N8MH for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-107.05 Reminder: AMSAT at National Air and Space Museum's Space Day

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 107.05

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

April 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-107.05

Dave Taylor, W8AAS says that, "The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum has invited AMSAT to organize displays and activities at Space Day to be held on Saturday, 7 May from 10:30 to 3:00 at the Air & Space Museum on the National Mall."

Dave would like to hear from anyone who has space-related amateur radio artifacts, posters, activities or anything else they'd like to display. Also needed volunteers who can staff our tables (either all day or any part), help with setup and tear down, and various other tasks.

There are always lots of interesting exhibits to visit and visitors to talk with, so attending is fun and it helps promote ham radio.

ARISS will have various flight-type hardware on hand and also expects a radio contact with ISS.

To sign up contact Dave via e-mail: w8aas@amsat.org

[ANS thanks Dave Taylor, W8AAS for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-107.06 AMSAT France Disbands

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 107.06

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

April 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-107.06

Reports have been received that AMSAT France appears to have disbanded. According to a notice published in France URC News on Monday April 11th, 21 leaders present at an Extraordinary General Assembly of AMSAT France voted over the weekend of April 9th to dissolve the organization.

The actual vote is reported as 11 votes in favor of going out of business and 10 in favor of continuing. A short news release gave no reason for this decision. The original press release, in French is on line at: http://tinyurl.com/3spvx6l.

[ANS thanks the URC News Site for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-107.07 Satellite Shorts From All Over

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 107.07

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

April 17, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-107.07

+ William Shatner narrates a look back at how the idea for the space shuttle was born; it also details what needs to happen for a space shuttle mission to take place. Watch the video at: http://www.universetoday.com/84875/captain-kirk-and-the-space-shuttle/

+ NASA has a downloadable poster showing Fun Facts About the Space Shuttle Orbiters posted at: http://tinyurl.com/6kblwea

+ 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 pub- lished in the Conference Proceedings (you do NOT need to attend the conference to have your paper included in the Proceedings). The sub- mission deadline is July 31, 2011. Please send papers to: Maty Weinberg, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. You can make your submission via e-mail to: maty@arrl.org

+ Luis, LU6QI continues to report stretching the AO-7 footprint with a DX contact with Bob, N3LL in SSB Mode B on April 5, 2011, covering a distance of 6914.6 km. Luis also contacted Adrian ZF8/ZF2AE a few days before, covering more than 6000 km. Luis wrote, "I am QRV for other stations who would like to attempt a QSO either in SSB or CW. My grid locator is FF66TQ. My mail is lu6quintas@gmail.com".

+ Hams like science so you will be interested in learning some quick facts about NASA's next-generation space telescope. NASA has created a short video to show you just how literally "cool" the James Webb Space Telescope really is. In a 4 minute video produced at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., astrophysicist Amber Straughn takes you on a quick journey of facts and images to explain what the Webb will tell us about the cosmos. Watch the video at: http://tinyurl.com/3ze2ulq (Spacedaily.com)

+ The 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting will be held Novem- ber 4-6 at the Wyndham San Jose in San Jose, California. The AMSAT Board meeting will be at the same hotel on Thursday and Friday Novem- ber 3 - 4. A special hotel rate for attendees has been negotiated that includes free WiFi, parking and airport shuttle.

[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]

/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. And with that keep in mind the ham who was the drummer in an orchestra. When he missed a beat the conductor commented that players who cannot follow notes have their instrument taken away and are given two sticks so they can be the drummer. The drummer was heard mentioning that when you cannot play the drums they take away one of the sticks and make you the conductor.

73, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM K9JKM at amsat dot org