AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-031
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(a)amsat.org
In this edition:
* 2010 OSCAR SKN "Best Fist" Winners
* ISS on SSTV This Week
* How's Satellite DX? Pretty Good, Thanks for Asking
* Sumbandila SO-67 Amateur Radio Operations Suspended
* Building the First US ARISSAT-1 Flight Unit Begins
* 8 New Cubesats in Development
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-031.01
2010 OSCAR SKN "Best Fist" Winners
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 031.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-031.01
Ray Soifer, W2RS has compiled the Best Fist votes from AMSAT's
Straight Key Night on OSCAR 2010 and reported the results this
week. Ray said, "We saw a great deal of activity throughout the
world, with 'Best Fist' nominations coming in from four contin-
ents." The following "Best Fist" winners, 23 in all, each received
at least one nomination from someone they worked:
AA5PK, JA6SZV, JH7UJI, JO2ASQ, JR0EFE, K0RJS, N3TE, N3TL, N4ZQ,
N5AFV, N7EQF, N9AMW, NR7Q, PV5AZ, PV8DX, PY2FFG, PY4ZBZ, WA5KBH,
WA6ARA, WC7V, WD9EWK, 9A2EY, 9A5YY.
As some will remember, at one time we used to award a "grand prize"
to the participant who got the most nominations. This was discontin-
ued a few years ago, for fear of making the event too "competitive."
However, we have to make an exception this year: Glenn Miller, AA5PK,
received a record six nominations. Well done!
Many thanks to all who participated, and congratulations to all of
our "Best Fist" winners.
See you next year!
[ANS thanks Ray Soifer, W2RS for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-031.02
ISS on SSTV This Week
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 031.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-031.02
This week the 145.800 MHz downlink from the International Space Station
was active with the Slow Scan Television (SSTV) signals from the MAI-75
experiment. On Wednesday, January 27 automated SSTV operations were con-
ducted using the VC-H1 system transmitting a Robot-36 formatted picture
once every 3 minutes worldwide between 0900 to 1400 UTC. SSTV operations
on Thursday, January 28, and Friday, January 29 were conducted using the
PD-160 transmission format using MMSSTV and were generally focused toward
ground stations in western Russia.
SSTV images received by Amateur Radio Operators worldwide this week have
been uploaded to the ARISS SSTV gallery at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/SSTV/
The SSTV downlink on 145.800 from the ISS is transmitted in FM mode.
You can receive and decode these images at your station using freeware
software. You will need to connect the audio output from your 145.800
MHz receiver to an input on your computer's soundcard. Depending on your
radio and computer an audio interface may be required. Plans for these
are available via internet searches. Others have reported success by
simply connecting a speaker or headphone jack to their soundcard input
and adjusting levels using the soundcard driver program's audio slider
controls.
One widely used SSTV software program is MMSSTV available at:
http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca/ (MMSSTV 1.11G or later is recommen-
ded).
The downlink signal from the ISS on 145.800 MHz is generally very strong
and a full OSCAR class tracking system is not needed. Many Amateur Radio
operators are successful using a 2 meter vertical on the house roof.
Tracking information for those who do not have a tracking program can
be viewed on-line at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/tools/predict/satloc.php (and select the
ISS as the object to be displayed).
[ANS thanks the ARISS team for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-031.03
How's Satellite DX? Pretty Good, Thanks for Asking
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 031.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-031.03
+ January 16 - WC7V had a contact with RN1NW via AO-7 Mode B over
a distance of 7659 KM. Kerry, WC7V said, "I have hoped to make this
contact for over 30 years. The satellite was ascending at my QTH
and was at about 3 degrees elevation at the end of our QSO."
+ January 18 - ZS6BB had a contact with EA6SA via AO-7 Mode B over
a distance of 7,766 KM. This contact was conducted via SSB.
+ January 23 - N3TL and KL7XJ had a contact on HO-68 in FM. Tim,
N3TL said, "At the time, the satellite was below 4.5 degrees and
descending for me. I'm thrilled to put state No. 49 in the log with
my handheld station."
+ January 24 - Piraja PS8RF had a contact with EA4CYQ in SSB via the
linear transponder through HO-68. This is believed to be the first
SSB contact between South America and Europe on this satellite over
a distance 7,477 KM. Juan Antonio, EA4CYQ wrote, "After that I worked
Canada VE2DWE and several USA stations KB1RVT, K3SZH and KC9ELU.
+ January 25 - K3SZH with PY2OV on SSB via AO-7. The distance between
the two stations was 7738 KM. PS8RF recorded the contact and posted
a short video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS4Mdl-P6X4
+ Schedule update for VP8 South Shetland Islands AO-51 operation. The
DNXL Newsletter #1660 (Jan 27, 2010) reports that XR9JA will now be
active between February 1 - 28. This operation was originally planned
for January but has been re-scheduled. Their QTH will be the Chilean
naval base "Arturo Prat" on Greenwich Island belonging to the South
Shetland archipelago (AN-010). Their QSL manager is CE5JA (via bureau
or direct) and more information can be found on their website:
http://www.ce5ja.cl
+ FO-29 seems to be recovering well. On January 24 Rowland K4XD heard
strong signals while copying his own CW signal with no one else on
the satellite. On January 27 Mike, DK3WN reported strong signals
received from FO-29.
+ January 28 - ZS6WB in Pretoria, South Africa copied a double-hop
signal from I8CVS in Italy. Dom, I8CVS was uplinking to AO-7 on
432.158 MHz which translated out on 145.940 MHz on AO-7. The sig-
nal on 145.940 from AO-7 was received as an input on FO-29, and
translated to 435.840 MHz output on FO-29. Hal, ZS6WB said he
copied a good signal via 435.840 MHz for several minutes.
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-031.04
Sumbandila SO-67 Amateur Radio Operations Suspended
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 031.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-031.04
The Sumbandila Satellite Operations at SunSpace in South Africa
said this week that Amateur Radio Operations via SO-67 must be
suspended temporarily due to system commissioning requirements
of the main payload.
The message said after handover of operations of the commissioned
payloads the Satellite Applications Center plans return SO-67 back
to scheduled Amateur Radio operation in the middle-March to early-
April, 2010 timeframe.
[ANS thanks Jan-Albert Koekemoer for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-031.05
Building the First US ARISSAT-1 Flight Unit Begins
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 031.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-031.05
Gould Smith, WA4SXM writing on behalf of the ARISSAT-1 team said
construction of the flight unit begins next week when Tony Monteiro,
AA2TX begins electronic assembly of the first US flight unit for
ARISSat.
The ARISSAT-1 team has had prototypes working for months. The enclo-
sures have been painted by NASA and the cables prepared by Larry Brown,
N7LB. The flight boards were built by the Microchip ARISSat team and
Chuck Green, N0ADI, with Chuck checking all the flight units.
Lou McFadin, W5DID has nearly assembled a complete flight structure
designed by Bob Davis, KF4KSS. Lou expects to exhibit the structure
in the AMSAT Booth at the upcoming Orlando HamCation. The first two
flight TX/RX/Command receiver modules from Bill Ress, N6GHZ are due
to arrive next week.
We just found out that ARISSat will receive a new callsign and some
additional Russian greetings will be added. We will have more than
25 international greetings from around the world in twelve languages
broadcast on the FM downlink. In addition to the greetings will be
voice ID, voice telemetry values, SSTV images, CW signals, new 1k
BPSK signal by Phil Karn, KA9Q sending full telemetry and experiment
data and a 16 kHz wide transponder. Kurst State University in Russia
is providing the experiment and the Silver-Zinc battery for the
mission.
The ARISSAT-1 team will start system testing and Flight Safety reviews
soon and plans to ship two flight units to Russia in the spring.
[ANS thanks Gould Smith, WA4SXM and the ARISSAT-1 Team for the
above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-031.06
8 New Cubesats in Development
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 031.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-031.06
Four CubeSats from Japan are planned to launch on 20 May 2010 aboard
the JAXA PLANET-C mission to Venus.
UNITEC-1, NPO UNISEC (University Space Engineering Consortium) will
fly to Venus. This will provide Amateur Radio operators a deep space
beacon for experimentation on 5.8GHz. More information is at:
http://www.unisec.jp/unitec-1/en/top.html
Negai*", developed by Soka University will remain in low-earth orbit
with a 437.305 MHz CW, Packet 1200bps FSK AX.25 downlink. More infor-
mation is at: http://kuro.t.soka.ac.jp/main.html
WASEDA-SAT2, developed by Waseda University will remain in low-earth
orbit with a 437.485 MHz CW(FM), PCM-FSK(FM) 9600bps downlink. More
information is at:
http://www.miyashita.mmech.waseda.ac.jp/Waseda-Sat2/index.htm
KSAT, developed by Kagoshima University will remain in low-earth orbit
with an uplink: S-band (2GHz, 10kbps) and downlink: Ku-band(13.275GHz,
10kbps/1Mbps). More information is at:
http://www.sci.kagoshima-u.ac.jp/~nishio/download/Ukaren2008Nishio.pdf
NASA plans to launch 3 CubeSats with Amateur Radio payloads. The
satellites are manifested as an auxiliary payload on the Taurus XL
launch vehicle for NASA's Glory Climate Mission, planned for liftoff
in late November, 2010.
Montana State designated its satellite as Explorer 1 Prime, or E1P.
The name honors the launch and scientific discoveries of the Explorer-1
mission, which detected the Van Allen radiation belts more than 50 years
ago. E1P will carry a miniature Geiger tube to measure the intensity and
variability of the electrons in the Van Allen belts. This satellite will
use 437.505 MHz as its downlink. See:
http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/finished_detail.asp?serial=116
Colorado's satellite is named Hermes. Its mission is to improve CubeSat
communications through the on-orbit testing of a high data-rate communi-
cation system that will allow the downlink of large quantities of data.
The planned downlink frequency is 437.425 MHz. See:
http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/finished_detail.asp?serial=104
The Kentucky vehicle is called KySat-1. KySat, is believed to be the
first CubeSat to carry a 2m to 70cm FM repeater. It includes a camera
to support a scientific outreach program intended for, but not limited
to, Kentucky students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The satellite
also has a 2.4 gigahertz industrial, scientific and medical band radio,
which will be used to test high-bandwidth communications in the license
free portion of the S-band. KySat-1 plans to use 145.850 MHz FM uplink
and 436.975 MHz FM downlink. See:
http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/finished_detail.asp?serial=102
The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) in South Africa
F'SATI post graduate program in Satellite Engineering announced plans
for the development of an academic project which will develop and launch
a 3U cubesat. The payloads will include a camera, a parrot repeater and
a transponder. In partnership with the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory, a
HF beacon will be included to assist the HMO to calibrate their radar
systems in the Antarctic. A new type of magnetometer is also under con-
sideration. The project plans to have a flight ready display in October
2011 when the International Astronomy Conference is held in Cape Town.
[ANS thanks Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL; SouthGate Amateur Radio News 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
please keep in mind when the artist was questioned about his vehicle
being stalled by the side of the road his reply was, "I had no Monet to
buy Degas to make the Van Gogh."
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-010
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(a)amsat.org
In this edition:
* BoD Adopts Accepted Use Policy For AMSAT Mail Lists
* AO-51 Spacecraft Reorientation Planned in January
* AMSAT at the Cowtown Hamfest - 15 & 16 January 2010
* AMSAT Awards
* New Student Satellites Announced by India and University of Colorado
* How's Satellite DX?
* Final Call: Remember to Nominate SKN Best Fist
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-010.01
AMSAT Adopts Accepted Use Policy For AMSAT Mail Lists
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 010.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-010.01
The AMSAT Board of Directors unanimously adopted an Accepted Use
Policy for the AMSAT Public Mailing Lists on January 5, 2010. This
policy takes effect immediately and applies to all those using the
AMSAT mailing lists.
Following the October 2009 AMSAT Board meeting Gould Smith, WA4SXM
AMSAT VP of User Services appointed a committee to develop a use policy
for the mailing lists. The members of the committee did an outstanding
job of putting together a document that is acceptable to all the com-
mitte members and was passed without change by the BoD. Thank you to
the committee members: Stephen Belter, N9IP; Alan Biddle, WA4SCA;
Mark Hammond, N8MH; Samudra Haque, N3RDX; and Paul Williamson, KB5MU.
The policy has been added to the AMSAT Web site and will be included
as part of the process when applying to join any of the AMSAT mailing
lists. The link to the PDF file can be found at: http://www.amsat.org
Acceptable Use Policy for the AMSAT Public Mailing Lists
Approved by the AMSAT BoD 5 January 2010
The AMSAT Bulletin Board (AMSAT-BB) public mailing list carries
general AMSAT information and discussion. The purpose of this
mailing list is to provide a forum for general discussion of any
satellite-related topic.
The Space Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) public mailing list con-
tains information and discussion pertaining to amateur radio opera-
tion on manned space missions, including the Space Shuttle, Mir
(formerly), and the International Space Station. The name is left
over from the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) aboard Space
Shuttle flights. It is now mainly concerned with ARISS operations
aboard the International Space Station.
There are also regional AMSAT public mailing lists (e.g., AMSAT-DC,
AMSAT-Florida, and AMSAT-NE) and numerous private mailing lists (e.g.,
Board of Directors, Officers, AO-51 operations, etc.).
Anyone can read the messages posted on any of the public mailing lists,
and many people from around the world do so. Our audience includes AMSAT
members, board members, and officers. At any given time, the readers may
also include amateur radio operators, shortwave listeners, minors, poten-
tial financial donors, potential launch providers, officials from other
amateur radio and satellite organizations, officials from international
space agencies, and equipment suppliers and manufacturers.
Since the archives of the public mailing lists are available on the
AMSAT website, the contents of individual messages are easily found
using common search engines. Because of this wide readership, AMSAT
insists that messages posted on its public mailing lists conform to
this Acceptable Use Policy (AUP).
Acceptable Content
We embrace diversity of opinions and values. In order to preserve a
constructive environment, we do insist that messages contain appro-
priate content and are respectful of the members and readers of the
list. All posts should include the author's first name and call sign,
or full name if not currently licensed.
In general, messages for the AMSAT mailing lists should be related to
amateur radio satellites. Examples of on-topic posts include:
+ Announcements of general interest, including but not limited to AMSAT
news, meetings, satellite availability, and DXpeditions.
+ Technical discussions, including the physics of space flight, modula-
tion techniques, satellite design, RF path loss calculations, noise
figure, etc.
+ Inquiries and suggestions about choosing equipment, learning operat-
ing techniques, and troubleshooting problems.
+ Discussion of AMSAT plans and policies in ways that foster better
understanding of the opportunities, trade-offs, and limitations that
AMSAT faces, and constructive suggestions for improvement.
+ Posting of amateur radio satellite-related equipment and software
available for sale.
Unacceptable Content
Strong disagreements on issues are inevitable, but the AMSAT mailing
lists are not the place for exchanges which become spiteful, unproduc-
tive exchanges. If you must have a heated exchange, it should be
conducted privately and not in public on a mailing list.
We define unacceptable content as anything that is:
+ Illegal
+ Insulting, abusive, harassing, or threatening
+ Knowingly false or misrepresentative
Enforcement of this AUP
Access to the AMSAT mailing lists is a privilege and not a right.
While these rules cover most common situations, they cannot anticipate
everything. Consequently AMSAT reserves the right to take any actions
it deems appropriate to ensure these forums are not disrupted or abused.
Violators of this policy may be subjected to manual moderation or have
their ability to post messages suspended. Violators may or may not be
warned prior to enforcement.
If you feel that you've been unfairly blocked from the list, you may
appeal your situation in writing to:
The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation
Attention: AMSAT-BB
850 Sligo Avenue, Suite 600
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Your letter of appeal will be forwarded to the VP of User Services and
the Director of Electronic Communications for consideration.
[ANS thanks the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-010.02
AO-51 Spacecraft Reorientation Planned in January
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 010.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-010.02
AMSAT-NA VP Operations, Drew KO4MA says AO-51 is back in to it's
normal configuration between January 4 - January 31:
FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM (570 mw)
9k6 BBS and Telemetry
Uplink: 1268.700 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM (450 mw)
Sometime in early January the AO-51 Operations Team plans to use
the reversible magnet to reorient the spacecraft to the normal
polarity favoring the northern hemisphere.
Toward the end of January 2010 the schedule may allow for L/U voice
configuration on the 435.150 downlink between telemetry collections.
The AO-51 schedule will be updated when this mode becomes available:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php
Please address all AO-51 inquiries to the Operations Committee via
ao51-modes(a)amsat.org.
[ANS thanks the AO-51 Operations Team for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-010.03
AMSAT at the Cowtown Hamfest - 15 & 16 January 2010
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 010.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-010.03
Keith, W5IU reports that AMSAT will have a strong presence at the
Cowtown Hamfest in Fort Worth, TX, on 15 and 16 January 2010. AMSAT
will maintain a booth both days of the event.
Also Douglas Quagliana, KA2UPW/5, will have two hours of forum time
on Saturday afternoon to present an "Introduction to Amateur Radio
Satellites" and monitoring the health of satellites by capturing and
decoding telemetry. Douglas is very knowledgeable in both of these
areas and is an excellent speaker.
Live demonstrations of communications through the current satellites,
including the new ones, will take place on both days.
This Hamfest is sponsored by the Lockheed Martin Amateur Radio Club.
Additional details are available at: http://www.cowtownhamfest.com/
[ANS thanks Keith, W5IU for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-010.04
AMSAT Awards
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 010.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-010.04
AMSAT Director Contests and Awards, Bruce KK5DO says congratulations
are in order for these satellite operators earning awards this month:
The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for
making their first satellite QSO:
Luis Benvenutty, WP4NYY
Anotnio Barbieri, I0JOW
The following have earned the South Africa Communications Achievement
Award:
Neven Nrdljas, 9A5YY #US140
Kent Frazier, K5KNT #US141
The following have earned the W4AMI Achievement Award (for 1000
contacts):
David Webb, KB1PVH #59
To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-010.05
New Student Satellites Announced by India and University of Colorado
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 010.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-010.05
A new Amateur Radio Satellite from India, named StudSat (STUDent
SATellite) is slated for a March 2010 launch and will carry a
camera capable of 90 metre resolution which will be used to perform
the function of a remote sensing satellite and take images of earth's
surface.
The satellite resembles a small cube of size (10 cm x 10 cm x 13.5 cm),
weighing about 850 gm and has a volume of 1.1 litres. The satellite is
intended to be launched in 700 km Sun-synchronous orbit on an Indian
launcher. StudSat plans to use a 10mW CW beacon on UHF and also a half
duplex 9k6 or 4k8bps FSK TC/TLM link with 1 watt output also on UHF.
This satellite has been coordinated by the IARU but the only frequency
information available at this time states that 437 MHz will be used.
Further information on StudSat can be found at
http://www.teamstudsat.com/
The University of Colorado at Boulder has been awarded $840,000 from
the National Science Foundation for students to build a tiny spacecraft
to observe energetic particles in space that should give scientists a
better understanding of solar flares and their interaction with Earth's
atmosphere.
Scheduled for launch in 2012, the three-year grant to CU-Boulder's Labor-
atory for Atmospheric and Space Physics and the aerospace engineering
sciences department involves the development of a 5-pound, loaf of bread-
sized spacecraft carrying a miniature instrument package to observe ener-
getic particles tied to "space weather" in the near-Earth environment.
This satellite has been coordinated by the IARU but no specific frequency
information is available at this time.
[ANS thanks SouthGate Amateur Radio News for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-010.06
How's Satellite DX?
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 010.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-010.06
On January 8, 2010 Piraja, PS8RF worked Andre, ZS2BK via AO-7 (Mode B)
in a footprint limit 34 second time window. The distance between the
stations was 7694 Km. See the sound/video in youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNFmHERisWQ
On AO-51 Piraja reports additional satellite DX with several contacts
with Hugo, EA8HB on Las Palmas Island with strong signals. On January 6
Piraja heard the N1EL calling him, which is 5579 Km from him.
On January 4 Bob, W7LRD copied 2E1EUB and MM5AJW on an AO-7 pass. Bob
said it was the first time I heard anything other that Mika, OH8MBN.
He invites European stations help him to stretch the AO-7 footprint.
Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL reported FO-29 should come out of the eclipse soon.
JARL continues to test the satellite and an operating schedule may be
announced soon.
Dave, KB1PVH noted this week that Perry, WB8OTH has now reached 6000 QSOs
on the satellites. Nice job!
SA-AMSAT says SumbandilaSat has reduced its power level to 2.5 watts to
conserve power for other operations related to the primary mission.
Initial reports from stations in Australia indicate that the reduction
was hardly noticeable and that the signals remain stronger than most
other amateur radio satellites. The SO-67 schedule is published on-line
at http://www.amsatsa.org.za.
The DX Newsletter DXNL 1657 - Jan 6, 2010 reported that XR9JA will be
the callsign of Luis, XQ5CIE, Carlos, CE6UFF, Didier, F6DXE, and Dago-
berto, CE5COX, from Jan 10-24 for their DXpedition to the Chilean
naval base "Arturo Prat" on Greenwich Island belonging to the South
Shetland Islands (AN-010). Operation will take place in CW, SSB, PSK31
on 160m-6m and via satellite on AO-51. Their QSL manager is CE5JA (direct
or via bureau) and more information is available online at:
http://www.ce5ja.cl
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-010.07
Final Call: Remember to Nominate SKN Best Fist
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 010.07
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-010.07
Many thanks to all who participated in Straight Key Night on
OSCAR 2010. If you have not already done so, please take a
moment to nominate someone you worked for Best Fist. Your nom-
inee need not have the best fist of those you heard, but only
of those you worked.
Please send your nomination to Ray at w2rs(a)amsat.org. A list
of those nominated will be published in an ANS bulletin in early
February, and in The AMSAT Journal.
[ANS thanks Ray, W2RS 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, for those of
you going to Cowtown, please keep in mind that when NASA puts a bunch of
Holsteins into low earth orbit it will be the herd shot around the world.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-003
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. Speaking for the ANS team, I wish all of you a
Happy New Year. Please keep us in mind for any articles and/or
announcements that include information for AMSAT members worlwide.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor(a)amsat.org
In this edition:
* AMSAT Treasurer Change
* HO-68 SSTV Report
* Remember to Nominate SKN Best Fist
* New Satellite RS38 satellite beacon heard
* ARISS Status - 28 December 2009
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-003.01
AMSAT Treasurer Change
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 003.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 3, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-003.01
LONG-SERVING AMSAT-NA TREASURER STEPS DOWN
In a mid-December, 2009 letter to the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors,
AMSAT-NA's long-serving Treasurer, Gunther Meisse, W8GSM, announced his
intent to step aside from that position effective December 31st, 2009. In
his letter to the Board, Gunther cited personal business pressures and his
wish to spend more time with family as reasons for his decision.
"It is with regret that I find it appropriate to tender my resignation from
the position of Treasurer of AMSAT, effective December 31, 2009", Gunther
said. "I have enjoyed the my involvement with the largest brain trust in
amateur radio. The people I have had the opportunity to work with have truly
given me much more than I have contributed. Together, we have moved AMSAT
through some difficult and exciting times and I am sure the present
leadership team and Board of Directors will continue on a positive path over
the coming years," he concluded.
AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, accepted Gunther's resignation with
deep regret. In an official statement, Barry noted that, "Guenther's work
has been an invaluable asset to our organization. His "unseen hand" has
left a very positive mark on all of our financial operations. During his
time as an AMSAT board member (2003-2009), his strategic vision and focus on
bringing greater financial management to AMSAT and improving the
organization's fund raising were extremely valuable. As Treasurer
(2004-2009), Gunther took the lead on having AMSAT recognized by the federal
government's Combined Federal Campaign, instituted the voluntary reporting
system to document the value of AMSAT volunteer hours, established a
published Annual Report to be shared with potential large donors, converted
AMSAT to QuickBooks for maintaining our accounts, and revised how AMSAT
values its in-orbit assets. He will be sorely missed and we wish him all
the best in his future endeavors," Barry said.
The AMSAT by-laws state that, "In event of the resignation, death or
incapacity of any Officer, the President shall appoint a temporary Officer
to fill the vacancy until the next meeting of the Board, at which time the
Board shall elect a successor."
In keeping with that directive, Barry has asked former AMSAT President Keith
Baker, KB1SF, to fill the position of AMSAT Treasurer until the Board can
name a permanent replacement. Many may remember that Keith served AMSAT
throughout the 1990s and early 2000s both as a BOD member as well as
Executive Vice President before taking a turn as President from 1998 until
2000. It is expected that the Board will meet in early January via
teleconference to formally elect Keith to fulfill the current term that
expires in October 2010.
Prior to his work with AMSAT, Keith was a USAF comptroller officer until his
retirement from the service in 1993. Among his many assignments during his
Air Force career included tours on the comptroller staff of the (then)
Strategic Air Command (SAC) as well as Base Comptroller for Aviano Air Base
in northern Italy. Much of the rest of his Air Force career was spent at
the Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, where he
successfully implemented a number of emerging automated project management
concepts into a wide variety of ongoing USAF aircraft development and
modification efforts worth several billion dollars. Following his
retirement, Keith established a management consulting firm, working with
clients in both government and industry dealing with project and personnel
management.
"Needless to say, I'm honored to once again be asked to serve AMSAT in a
official capacity, and I will do my very best to carry on Gunther's
excellent work," Keith said. "Gunther has very clearly left the fiscal
processes and records of AMSAT in fine shape and I look forward to building
on the firm fiscal foundation he has now created for our organization," he
concluded.
Barry offered his personal thanks to Keith for accepting the position until
the Board of Directors confirms a permanent successor. "I am very pleased
Keith is both willing and able to once again donate his time and many unique
talents to AMSAT. Keith's ability to provide solid financial oversight and
counsel to the Board on financial matters based upon both his professional
experience and knowledge of AMSAT are welcome, and I am looking forward
working with him as a senior member of our management team", Barry said.
[ANS thanks Barry, WD4ASW, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-003.02
HO-68 SSTV Report
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 003.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 3, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-003.02
HO-68 SSTV Report
=================
Dec 30th, 17:53 UTC 20 deg pass
During a low elevation pass, Mike DK3WN and Henk PA3GUO made the very first
SSTV contact via the HO-68 - linear transponder.
A few images were transmitted between the two radio stations in Germany and
The Netherlands. Signals were transmitted via HO-68, which was 1200km above
earth and about 8000km distant from both radio amateur stations.
See the images here: http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=10478
73, Mike & Henk
Video of HO-68 operational modes
Henk PA3GUO has produced a video showing all the modes available on the
Amateur Radio satellite Xi Wang 1 (HO-68). This 2 minute video features the
launch of the satellite and shows its various modes of operation - Beacon,
FM, AX.25 Packet and SSB/CW linear transponder. Callsigns heard during the
video include M3PQQ, N1AIA, KC9ELU, VA3FM, WA3CZY and I6IBE. You can find
the video at http://tinyurl.com/ycjp4dg
NZ3M has put a video on YouTube of SSB contacts via the new Amateur Radio
satellite HO-68. This video can be viewed at http://tinyurl.com/ya2uyzs
Piraja, PS8RF reported that a contact between Dean, ZD8DC on Ascension
Island and Michel, F6HTJ in France was completed via HO-68.
[ANS thanks Mike and Henk, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-003.03
Remember to Nominate SKN Best Fist
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 003.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 3, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-003.03
Remember to Nominate SKN Best Fist
Many thanks to all who participated in Straight Key Night on OSCAR 2010. If
you have not already done so, please take a moment to nominate someone you
worked for Best Fist. Your nominee need not have the best fist of those you
heard, but only of those you worked.
Please send your nomination to Ray at w2rs(a)amsat.org. A list of those
nominated will be published in an ANS bulletin in early February, and in The
AMSAT Journal.
[ANS thanks Ray, W2RS for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-003.04
New Satellite RS38 satellite beacon heard
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 003.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 3, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-003.04
New Satellite RS38 satellite beacon heard
Mike Rupprecht DK3WN reports on the hearing a new CW satellite beacon RS38
on 435.490 MHz. In an email on the AMSAT Bulletin Board he indicates that it
is coming from the Russian UGATUSat. He writes:
UGATUSat is RS-38
09:48 UTC strong CW beacon on 435.490 MHz
rs38 ubs189 uab176 [DATA]
rs38 ubs188 uab177 ibs17 iab110 isp0 tab156 tsep146 tuf0 tbi167 tspa134
tspb255 mcon69 sma115 smb111 mra11 mrb14
rs38 ubs189 uab177 ibs17 iab130 isp22 tab156 tsep146
An audio file of a complete beacon record (4 min) can be heard at
http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?p=10401
UGATUSat Real Time Tracking
http://www.n2yo.com/satellite/?s=35869
[ANS thanks Mike, DK3WN and SouthGate Amateur Radio News for the above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-003.05
ARISS Status - 28 December 2009
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 003.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
January 3, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-003.05
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report
December 28, 2009
1. Upcoming School Contact Status
There are no Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contacts planned at this time. The ARISS team expects scheduling to resume
the first week of the New Year.
2. Canadian Web Site Promotes ARISS
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Canadian
delegate has been working to promote the ARISS program. In doing so, a new
Web page has been developed by the Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club which
provides information on amateur radio and the ARISS program. To view the
site, go to: http://www.ovmrc.on.ca and select "ARISS" at the bottom of the
left hand side menu.
3. ARRL QST Covers ARISS News
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) published an ARISS (Amateur Radio on
the International Space Station) news item in its January 2010 issue of QST.
The column "This Just In" contains a small item about the Columbus antennas
having been delivered to, and installed on, the ISS. The ARRL monthly
journal has a circulation of 150,000.
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, 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.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Dee Interdonato, NB2F
Nb2f at amsat dot org