Hi! Do we want to hold an AMSAT-DC meeting this spring?

At the meeting last year, I announced that perhaps the time is ripe to hold a workshop. Are we still game for this? What fun!

My suggestion is that we use the workshop to host three simultaneous groups (or three types of individuals working solo, if prefered, picking any one of the three to emphasize).

GROUP ONE One group or set of individuals will build a PICetSat II flight module from a kit of electronic parts on a small printed circuit board (hopefully under $100 each kit). We would need a soldering iron and "optics" at each station even though no tiny SMT parts are planned to be used.

See an example of the original PICetSat module at http://patkilroy.com/simsat/3/

GROUP TWO and GROUP THREE Others would set up a simple ground station each, with a choice to work with the radio hardware (bring in radio, antenna and feedline) OR work on setting up the software (bring in a PC or laptop running Windows XPP) to decode the telemetry and to analyze it according to a set of instructions.

Frequency: 433.920 MHz SSB.

All instructions will be provided in advance to enhance preparation. The event would be either one full day or two half days.

At the end, we "launch" a module and copy the telemetry. Perfect for beginners and advanced satellite users alike, all ultimately working together.

The donation per individual will be the cost of kit (if desired) plus expenses (divided among participants) plus no more than $10 to the AMSAT-DC "sustenance" fund.

I will be very busy finalizing the PICetSat II design and fabricating the PCBs over the next two months. So, I will need more help than ever before in organizing such an event.

o Can you help, as a worker? In preparation of the workshop or during the workshop?

o Would you attend, as an experimenter? Which group, one, two or three? (Group One: Fabricating/testing/calibrating a flight unit; Two: setting up Ground station hardware; or Three: Ground station software.)

Please RSVP e-mail to me if you would like to participate in a telecon one evening to ask questions and start planning for our meeting/ workshop!

Until the more productive telecon, I will entertain basic discussion and basic QnA on this e-mail list.

Thoughts?

Thank you,

Pat N8PK AMSAT Area Coordinator Maryland-DC Area

----------------------------------------- Mr. Patrick L. Kilroy Flight Systems Integration and Test (I&T) Building 5, Mail Code 568 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 Phone: 301-286-1984 E-mail: Patrick.L.Kilroy@nasa.gov -------------------------------------------    LRO Project http://lro.gsfc.nasa.gov

"Your writing skills are evidence of your ability to think clearly."    - Constance Newman, Director, OPM

Outreach: http://patkilroy.com/simsat/