AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-304
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:
* ARISSat-1 Passes NASA Safety Review - Ready For Trip to Russia
* Second Amateur Radio Station to be Activated on ISS
* ARISS Contact With George Observatory Successful
* FP/KV1J Miquelon Island DXpedition on Satellites Until November 2
* FUNcube User Group on Yahoo.com
* Finnish Student Satellite Aalto-1
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-304.01
ARISSat-1 Passes NASA Safety Review - Ready For Trip to Russia
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 304.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-304.01
The NASA safety review for ARISSat-1 was completed with the written
safety presentation and the written hazard report being approved with
only simple modifications required. The safety review meeting was a
two-day review running 6 hour sessions on October 13 & 14, 2010.
The ARISSat-1 Team expects to finalize shipping arrangements to
Russia in the coming weeks. The Russian Energia Space Agency is
handling the customs certifications to ship the satellite overseas.
When ARISSat-1 is shipped Lou McFadin W5DID and Mark Steiner K3MS
will travel to Russia to assist with final testing before the
satellite is forwarded to the launch site.
ARISSat-1 is scheduled to be sent to the ISS aboard Russian
Progress vehicle 41P in January 2011 and deployed during EVA R-28
in February 2011.
The ARRL web describes ARISSat-1's features this week at:
http://www.arrl.org/news/arissat-1-suits-up-for-february-2011-launch
A description of ARISSat-1's successful vibration testing can be
found on-line at: http://www.amsat.org
[ANS thanks the ARISSat-1 Team for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-304.02
Second Amateur Radio Station to be Activated on ISS
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 304.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-304.02
The original VHF and UHF Ericsson handheld radios in the Russian segment
of the ISS originally used for ARISS have been approved by NASA for use
in the US segment of the space station. When the Ericsson radios are in-
stalled in the Columbus module it will become the second Amateur Radio
station aboard the ISS. A new power cable for the Ericsson radios is
being delivered to the ISS.
ARISS members Kenneth Ransom and Steve Ponder met with Astronaut Paolo
Nespoli for a training session on how to install the hardware in the
Columbus module during Expedition 26. This launch is currently scheduled
for December 13.
Paolo is looking forward to doing the installation work and is
excited about using the equipment.
The second station is planned to initially use the same frequencies
currently used by the Kenwood D-700 amateur radio transceiver aboard
the ISS. Studies are underway to determine a compatible operating plan
which would allow both stations to operate simultaneously.
[ANS thanks the ARISS team for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-304.03
ARISS Contact With George Observatory Successful
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 304.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-304.03
On Saturday, October 16, an Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS) contact was held with scouts and astronomy
club members attending the Astronomy Day event at George Observa-
tory in Needville, Texas. This was a telebridge contact via station
WH6PN in Hawaii.
Approximately 150 people attended and listened as Doug Wheelock,
KF5BOC answered 12 questions about life in space posed to him by
the youth.
As part of the event, scout troops set up an amateur radio station
near the observatory to conduct their all-day Jamboree on the Air
(JOTA) radio contacts and also worked on Radio Merit Badges.
The Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club was on hand to assist with JOTA
activities and prepared for afternoon satellite contacts with an
Arrow hand-held antenna. Bruce, KK5DO and Allen, N5AFV, operated via
AO-27 from the George Observatory observation deck. Bruce reported
they had a bunch of adults waiting for the satellite. When they heard
it start up they were thrilled. It was more fun when they started
making contacts.
[ANS thanks the Southgate ARC site and Bruce, KK5DO for the above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-304.04
FP/KV1J Miquelon Island DXpedition on Satellites Until November 2
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 304.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-304.04
A few more days remain to catch Eric's FP/KV1J operation from the
island of Miquelon (Grid GN17) until November 2. This is a French
territory off the coast of Newfoundland.
Eric planned to mostly operate on the low bands but plans to take
breaks and work as many of the FM satellite passes that he can.
Look for him on AO-51, AO-27, SO-50, SO-67, and HO-68. His sat-
ellite gear includes an FT-817 and an Arrow 146/437-10 antenna.
Having operated from Miquelon previously in November, 2009 he is
preparing for rough weather off of the North Atlantic ocean. His
satellite operating will outdoors with the handheld Arrow. He will
favor the daylight passes because it is easier to operate in these
conditions.
Eric's web page at http://www.kv1j.com/fp/october10.html will be
updated with his status time permitting and also depending when
internet access is available.
[ANS thanks Eric, FP/KV1J for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-304.05
FUNcube User Group on Yahoo.com
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 304.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-304.05
AMSAT-UK's FUNcube is an educational single cubesat project with
the goal of enthusing and educating young people about radio, space,
physics and electronics.
The target audience consists of primary and secondary school pupils.
FUNcube will feature a 145 MHz telemetry beacon that will provide a
strong signal for the pupils to receive. A simple receiver board, the
FUNcube Dongle, is also being developed. It is intended that this will
be connected to the USB port of a laptop to display telemetry and
messages in an interesting way for the students.
FUNcube will carry a UHF to VHF linear transponder that will have
up to 1 watt and which can be used by Radio Amateurs worldwide for
SSB and CW communications. Measuring just 10 x 10 x 10 cm, and with
a mass of less than 1kg, it will be the smallest ever satellite to
carry a linear transponder and the choice of frequencies will enable
Radio Amateurs to use their existing VO-52, DO-64, HO68 and similar
stations.
Interested amateur satellite operators are invited to join the growing
user group to follow all the latest with the Funcube and the receiver
board, the FUNcube Dongle. Join the user group at:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/funcube/
A video tour of the AMSAT-UK FUNcube simulator is now available.
AMSAT-UK secretary Jim Heck, G3WGM shows the whole structure and the
various components of FUNcube. The video is available on the SouthGate
website at: http://tinyurl.com/28n424q
[ANS thanks Rob, M0TFO, AMSAT-UK, and SouthGate News Site for the
above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-304.06
Finnish Student Satellite Aalto-1
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 304.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-304.06
Aalto-1 is a student satellite project of Aalto University, Finland.
When launched, it would be the first Finnish satellite.
It is planned to operate at VHF-UHF and there will also be an S-band
transmitter. Up to 8 watts of power will be available from the Solar
panels.
The main payload of the satellite is a novel tiny Fabry-Perot imaging
spectrometer, developed by VTT, Finland. The primary scientific goal
of the mission is to demonstrate the feasibility of MEMS Fabry-Perot
spectrometers for space applications. This miniature technology can be
used in nanosatellites for large a variety of remote sensing applica-
tions in the future. High spectral resolution images can be used for
water quality monitoring and land use classification.
Aalto-1 was recently featured on Finnish TV and there is also a short
video showing a graphic of the 3U CubeSat. The video clips can viewed
on the South Gate ARC site at http://tinyurl.com/2dy4bqg
An Aalto-1 Discussion Forum in English can be found on-line at:
https://wiki.aalto.fi/display/SatForum/Aalto-1+Discussion+Forum
[ANS thanks the SouthGate ARC News Site for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-304.07
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 304.07
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 31, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-304.07
+ Congratulations to Bob, AJ5C for earning the ARRL Satellite
Worked All States #321.
+ If you are within FM Satellite range of the Indian Ocean listen
for possible operation by Matt, NM6W operating as S79RC between
31 Oct through 8 Nov from the Seychelles with an HT and Arrow
antenna.
+ Armando, N8IGJ reported hearing UO-11 back on, at 0303UTC
30 October over the central US. UO-11 is only active when in
sunlight. Its beacon operates on 145.826 MHz.
+ You can send your name to Mars via the NASA microchip project:
http://tinyurl.com/yhaphmg (Clint, K6LCS)
+ Mike DK3WN is spearheading a project that broadcasts audio streams
received by satellite operators around the world. Mike's most re-
cent addition is Tetsu san, JA0CAW. Links to the satellite audio
streams can be found on the DK3WN SatBlog:
http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?page_id=17689
+ The ARRL's report of the recent AMSAT Space Symposium can be found
on the ARRL web site at: http://tinyurl.com/2f3wfoa. ARISSat-1 is
featured in this report.
+ AMSAT has received the sad news that Dr. David Clark, G6XYA from
Manchester UK passed away.
+ Watch Patrick, WD9EWK/VA7EWK in action in this video clip shot by
Adrian, AA5UK working HO-68 in FM mode outside of the AMSAT Space
Symposium held earlier this month: http://tinyurl.com/29t7vov
+ Update your Keps for the ISS. The ISS orbit was boosted slightly on
October 26 to avoid space debris.
+ AMSAT-NA VP Operations Drew KO4MA has posted a video of ARISSAT-1
and the AMSAT-UK FUNcube dongle receiver demonstrated at the AMSAT
Space Symposium: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgNM290k7-w
+ An AMSAT Forum at the Fort Wayne, Indiana Hamfest will be on
Saturday, Nov. 13, at 1:15pm. For more info check the following:
http://www.fortwaynehamfest.com (KA8QCU)
+ An interesting weather satellite photo of the October 26 superstorm
that swept across North America can be viewed on the UniverseToday
web site at: http://tinyurl.com/2bhx75r
[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
please keep in mind the time when Arnold Scwarzenegger was offered a
role in a movie about the lives of classical music composers. Arnold
said, "I'll be Bach."
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-297
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:
* LightSail Backup Being Built
* ARISS Status - 18 October 2010
* FO-29 Eclipses
* Minutes of BOD meeting
* Call for Papers SE VHF Society
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-297.01
LightSail-1 Backup Being Built
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 297.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 24, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-297.01
Louis Friedman, program director for LightSail-1, has announced that a
back-up craft to LightSail-1 will be built,
instead of an investment in insurance for an estimated cost of $ 200,000.
As previously announced in July 2010 by AMSAT News Service (SB SAT @ AMSAT
$ANS-206.08)
LightSail-1 is planned to be launched in early 2011.
LightSail-1 is a three Cubesat spacecraft (size of shoebox and proposed
AMSAT Fox).
It will use UHF frequencies for tracking and command control stations.
California Polytechnic University is supplying the Cubesat bus, avionics and
launch vehicle P-POD interface;.
Georgia Tech University is leading the mission operations, Dave Spencer
serving as mission manager;
Stellar Exploration, Inc. led by Tomas Svitek is building LightSail-1;
Jim Cantrell of Strategic Space Systems is project manager; and
Louis D. Friedman is the LightSail-1 program director.
The LightSail-1 program will be featured this weekend in Washington D.C.
The USA Science & Engineering Festival
National Mall in Washington, D.C.
October 23 & 24, 1010
10am to 5:50pm
http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/space_information/usa_science_fes
tival_2010.html
For further information on this Planetary Society program:
http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/innovative_technologies/solar_sai
ling/
[ANS thanks Greg, W9GB, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-297.02
ARISS Status - 18 October 2010
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 297.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 24, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-297.02
1. School Contact in Australia
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact for
Carine Primary School in Perth, Western Australia, Australia was held on
Tuesday, October 19 at 07:06 UTC via telebridge station WH6PN in Hawaii. The
school has incorporated the contact into its science curriculum. Guest
speakers present included representatives from an amateur radio club and the
science center, Scitech. Students from Kindergarten through grade 7 have
been involved in research and other activities in preparation for this
event, using IT and online resources, including the NASA Web site.
2. George Observatory Contact Successful
On Saturday, October 16, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) contact was held with scouts and astronomy club members attending
the Astronomy Day event at George Observatory in Needville, Texas. This was
a telebridge contact via station WH6PN in Hawaii. Approximately 150 people
attended and listened as Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC answered 12 questions about
life in space posed to him by the youth. As part of the event, scout troops
set up an amateur radio station near the observatory to conduct their
all-day Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) radio contacts and also worked on Radio
Merit Badges. The Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club was on hand to assist
with JOTA activities and prepared for afternoon satellite contacts with an
Arrow hand-held antenna.
3. ARRL Article on ARISS Contacts
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a story on recent ARISS contacts
including those with Windsor Central School District, Utah Scouts and IRSEA,
as well Doug Wheelock's many general contacts. The article, written by Rick
Lindquist, WW3DE may be found at:
http://www.arrl.org/news/iss-astronaut-creating-ham-radio-buzz-taking-scienc
e-to-students
4. Amateur Radio Newsline Covers ARISS
On October 15, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1731 included two ARISS
related stories. "Ham Radio in Space: ARISSat-1 Enroute to Russia"
announces ARISSat's arrival at JSC and its planned shipment to Russia.
"Challenger Learning Center Inaugurates Ham Station" is about the station
set up at the CLC in Oregon, Ohio to get students interested in STEM
studies. Both stories may be found at:
ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt
5. ARISSat-1 Safety Review Held
The Johnson Space Center Payload Safety Review Panel performed a Phase 2
flight safety review of ARISSat-1 on Wednesday and Thursday, October 13 and
14 in Houston. ARISSat passed the review with modifications to the hazard
reports. As soon as the updates requested are incorporated, the hazard
reports will be approved and then passed on for the next phase of the review
process.
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-297.03
FO-29 Eclipses
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 297.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 24, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-297.03
FO-29 Operating Schedule Affected by Eclipses
Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL reported that JARL has been making necessary
adjustments to the FO-29 satellite operating schedule as the sat-
ellite enters a period of eclipses. The eclipses have reduced the
power budget requiring frequent analysis of available power aboard
the satellite.
FO-29 will be enable when the power budget allows. JARL requests
that satellite operators access FO-29 with as little power as nec-
essary to maintain communication.
Mineo has posted calculations of the FO-29 eclipses at:
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/fo29ilum.htm
[ANS thanks Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-297.04
BOD Minutes of 5 January 2010
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 297.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 24, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-297.04
AMSAT BoD Telecon Meeting, 5 January 2010
Called to order by President Barry Baines, WD4ASW at 2005 EST.
Attending:
Directors
Barry Baines, WD4ASW
Tom Clark, K3IO
Gould Smith, WA4SXM
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA
Lou McFadin, W5DID
Bill Ress, N6GHZ
Alan Biddle, WA4SCA
Tony Monteiro, AA2TX (Alternate)
Others:
Martha Saragovitz, Officer Manager
Keith Baker, KB1SF, Treasurer Elect
Due to the resignation of AMSAT Treasurer Gunther Meisse, W8GSM, President
Baines appointed Keith Baker, KB1SF/ VA3KSF to fill this position on an
interim basis, pending formal approval by the BoD. Keith spoke briefly,
stating that the transition had gone smoothly, and that he would be
continuing with past practices. He did bring up the status of the AMSAT
logo registration status. Martha reported that it had recently been
renewed. Barry moved, and Tom seconded, that Keith be approved. This was
passed unanimously.
The final version of the AMSAT Bulletin Board Acceptable Use Policy (AUP,
attached) was brought up for discussion. Bill expressed concern that the
dissemination was not adequately addressed, particularly with respect to the
Bulletin Board itself. Both Tom and Gould mentioned that the implementation
was separate from the AUP, and Lou emphasized that it should be in any case
readily accessible. Gould assured the BoD that it would be widely
disseminated, including the Bulletin Board itself. With this clarification,
it was moved by Barry and seconded by Alan and Tom that the AUP be accepted.
This was passed unanimously.
The current working revision of the AMSAT budget was not approved at the
annual BoD meeting due to some information not being available. This
information is now reflected in version #8, though Lou emphasized that the
ARISSat-1 budgeting was still incomplete. It was moved by Barry and
seconded by Drew that this version be approved. This was passed
unanimously.
It was moved by Barry and seconded by Drew that the 3 November 2009 BoD
telecon meeting be approved as circulated and published in the Journal.
This was passed unanimously.
There being no additional formal business, it was moved by Barry and
seconded by Alan that the meeting be adjourned. This was passed
unanimously.
The Official Board meeting closed at 2027 EST.
[ANS thanks Alan Biddle, WA4SCA for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-297.05
Call for Papers SE VHF Society
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 297.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 24, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-297.05
Call for Papers: 15th Annual Southeastern VHF Society Conference
If you are looking for something to do during the long, cold winter
nights you may consider writing a paper in response to the Southeast-
ern VHF Society's call for papers and presentations for their 15th
annual conference to be held in Huntsville, Alabama on April 29th and
30th, 2011.
Papers and presentations are solicited on both the technical and oper-
ational aspects of VHF, UHF and Microwave weak signal amateur radio.
Full details of the Conference, requested paper and presentation
topics and submission details can be found on-line at:
http://www.svhfs.org
[ANS thanks Robin Midgett, K4IDC 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
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-283
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:
* ARISSat-1 Delivered to JSC Houston; Next Journey to Russia
* AMSAT Board of Directors Names Senior Officers for 2010-2011
* AMSAT's Educational Outreach Reaches New High
* AO-51 Repeater Mode to Support JOTA Operations
* AO-51 Revised Schedule for October
* Call for Volunteers AMSAT at the NASM, Washington DC October 16
* SA AMSAT Presentation at South African Space Congress
* KiwiSat Team Requires FPGA Chips
* AMSAT Awards
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.01
ARISSat-1 Delivered to JSC Houston; Next Journey to Russia
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-283.01
AMSAT ARISSat Project Manager, Gould Smith, WA4SXM reported,
ARISSat-1/RadioSkaf V, was shipped from Orlando, Florida to
the Johnson Space Center in Houston and has arrived. From
there it will be sent to Russia in early October. In Russia
it will have the Kursk experiment added to the spaceframe.
The next milestone, the NASA Phase 2 Safety Review, is scheduled
for October 13 - 14, 2010. The ARISSat-1 team says that actually
two satellites (flight and backup) were ready for the trip to
Russia.
A new Russian Orlan suit battery will be shipped to the ISS sep-
arately to be installed into the satellite (called the Amateur
Radio Experiment) onboard the ISS. ARISSat-1 is scheduled to be
sent to the ISS aboard Russian Progress vehicle 41P in January
2011 and deployed during EVA R-28 in February 2011.
[ANS thanks whomever for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.02
AMSAT Board of Directors Names Senior Officers for 2010-2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-283.02
Election of AMSAT's Senior Officers was one of the first orders of
business to be settled once the AMSAT Board of Directors meeting
opened on October 7, prior to the start of the 2010 AMSAT Space
Symposium held near Chicago, IL.
The following positions were voted upon and filled:
President Barry Baines, WD4ASW
Vice-President Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA
Vice President User Services Gould Smith, WA4SXM
Vice-President Engineering Tony Monteiro, AA2TX
Secretary Alan Biddle, WA4SCA
Treasurer Keith Baker, KB1SF/VA3KSF
Manager Martha Saragovitz
The following Senior Officer positions remained open at this time
awaiting appointments:
Executive Vice President
Vice-President Human Spaceflight
Vice-President Marketing
The AMSAT Board of Directors elected on September 15 include:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW
Dr. Thomas A. Clark, K3IO
Lou McFadin, W5DID
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA
Gould Smith, WA4SXM
Alan Biddle, WA4SCA
Tony Monteiro, AA2TX
The First Alternate member on the Board of Directors remains
open at this time due to the resignation of Board Member Bill
Ress, N6GHZ. First Alternate Board Member Tony Monteiro, AA2TX
assumed Bill's seat on the Board according to AMSAT's Bylaws.
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.03
AMSAT's Educational Outreach Reaches New High
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-283.03
AMSAT President, Barry Baines, WD4ASW announced at the 2010 Symposium
that the Board of Directors voted to approve the Memorandum of Under-
standing between AMSAT and the University of Florida, Gainesville to
embark upon an educational outreach program.
Discussion with University of Florida's Dr. Norman Fitz-Coy, who leads
a graduate Cubesat development program, has revealed several opportuni-
ties for AMSAT members to mentor the students on electronics and system
engineering issues including on-orbit satellite management learned from
operating AMSAT's fleet of spacecraft. AMSAT will also offer assistance
with ground station development and operation.
The AMSAT Board of Directors also voted to continue with the educational
outreach project between AMSAT, Binghamton University - SUNY, and IBM's
Heritage Corridor Center for Advanced Studies. The NextGen Satellite
Program is lead by Alex Harvilchuck, N3NP. During the first year of this
cooperative effort the NextGen student team characterized supercapacitor
performance in vacuum and developed an engineering model of deployable
solar cells on a 3U cubesat.
AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering Tony Monteiro, AA2TX discussed
plans for development of AMSAT's Project Fox cubesat. One goal for pro-
ject Fox is to establish development of "standardized" cubesat com-
ponents including reliable software-defined transponders, telemetry
downlink, and spacecraft power management. A stable, well-documented,
standardized "cubesat bus" can be made available to university cubesat
development teams, freeing them to concentrate on the science of their
research programs. This will have the net effect of having an amateur
transponder flying in many cubesats in the future.
The NextGen partnership with AMSAT-SUNY-IBM will perform the system
engineering leveraging on AMSAT's pioneering Project Fox Cubesat.
AMSAT's educational outreach program provides several advantages to
ensure the continued growth of amateur radio in space by training the
next generation of space engineers:
+ AMSAT establishes a presence on major universities with state-of-the-
art facilities and satellite development teams.
+ Potential for student projects focused on AMSAT needs.
+ Broadening of AMSAT's presence in the wider university community.
+ Increased potential for involvement with research/development grant-
funded opportunities for AMSAT and AMSAT members.
+ Establishing a program that offers significant traction for further
education outreach.
This is developing news with ongoing details to be reported in future
news bulletins, the AMSAT web, and the AMSAT Journal magazine.
[ANS thanks the AMSAT Board of Directors for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.04
AO-51 Repeater Mode to Support JOTA Operations
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-283.04
AO-51 Command Station Mark Hammond N8MH, said that the AO-51
Operations Team will configure the satellite to support the
Jamboree-On-The-Air (JOTA) for Scouting October, 16 - 17:
AO-51 FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM (no PL tone)
Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM
No transmitter power or antenna restrictions usually associated
with the QRP mode of AO-51 operation on this repeater apply to
JOTA stations. Use good amateur practice during your operations.
Non-scouting users are asked to use 10 watts or less, and omni-
directional or handheld antennas on this repeater. Last minute
schedule changes may be required due to the power budget aboard
AO-51. Also non-scouting stations please give way to JOTA stations
or QSOs with JOTA stations
The 2010 Jamboree-on-the-Air, or JOTA, will begin on Saturday,
October 16, 2010, at 00:00 hours local time, and end on Sunday,
October, 17, 2010, at 23:59 hours local time.
This is an annual Scouting and amateur radio event sponsored by
the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout
Movement. Thousands of amateur radio stations around the world
participate.
In the United States, Cub Scout dens and Boy Scout patrols visit
a local amateur's ham shack during JOTA. Amateurs set up stations
giving Scouts and leaders a chance to exchange greetings with Scouts
from other areas. The exchanges typically include information such
as Name, QTH, Scout rank, Hobbies, and Age. Full details from the
World Scout Bureau can be found on-line at:
http://www.scouting.org/filestore/intl/pdf/130-218.pdf
Scouts and Amateur Radio operators may also find the ARBONET III
high altitude balloon launch for JOTA interesting. ARBONET has
published full details of their mission on-line at:
http://www.arbonet.net/ARBONET%20FLIGHTS.html
Launch Date: Saturday, Oct 17, 2009 9:30 AM CDT, Clarksville, Texas
Launch Net: K5FRC - 3.910MHz +/-, Starting at 9:00AM CST
Payloads: 2M Voice Beacon: ID: K5ARB - 144.390 MHz FM
2M APRS: ID: K5ARB-1. 144.390 MHz.
2M CW Homing Beacon ID: K5ARB. Comprised of FM carrier
with CW tone at 147.475 MHz
2M APRS: K5ARB-2 144.390 MHz.
70CM / 2M FM Cross-Band Repeater: K5ARB -
445.800 MHz UP, 145.560MHz Down
20M CW Homing Beacon ID: K5RWK - 14.058 MHz
A DX-cluster for spotting JOTA activity can be accessed via telnet
at pi4raz.nl port 7300. This cluster will be available for scouting
purposes all year round, not just for JOTA.
[ANS thanks Mark N8MH, World Scouting, and ARBONET for the above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.05
AO-51 Revised Schedule for October
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-283.05
The AO-51 Command Team and Operations Group has released this revised
schedule for October, 2010:
October 3 (late UTC)
--------------------
FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM (no PL tone)
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM
9k6 Baud PBBS Operations, L/U
Uplink: 1268.708 MHz FM at 9600 baud
Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM at 9600 baud
October 10 (late UTC)
---------------------
FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM (no PL tone)
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM
QRP (Oct. 10-15) and JOTA (Oct. 16-17) Only FM Repeater, V/U
Please give way to JOTA stations or QSOs with JOTA stations
Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM (no PL tone)
Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM
October 18 (late UTC)
---------------------
FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM (no PL tone)
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM
9k6 Baud PBBS Operations, L/U
Uplink: 1268.708 MHz FM at 9600 baud
Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM at 9600 baud
Monitor http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php for the
latest Command Team and Operations Group AO-51 News.
[ANS thanks Mark Hammond N8MH for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.06
Call for Volunteers AMSAT at the NASM, Washington DC October 16
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-283.06
Samudra Haque, N3RDX is leading the AMSAT outreach activity at the
Hispanic Heritage Month Family Day - Argentina in Air and Space which
will held be at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.
The event will take place between 10 AM - 3 PM. Details can be found
at: http://www.nasm.si.edu/
Samudra says he needs help with the AMSAT display and if you can vol-
unteer any exhibition/display resources including pictures, posters.
AMSAT members would set-up tables with equipment, posters, and other
items of interest to visitors. These tables would be staffed throughout
the day by AMSAT members. You are welcome to volunteer for a couple of
hours or the whole day. Free parking will be provided to all, and lunch
will be provided for people who volunteer the whole day.
Contact Samudra via e-mail (samudra.haque(a)gmail.com) if you need more
information or can help out.
[ANS thanks Samudra Haque, N3RDX for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.07
SA AMSAT Presentation at South African Space Congress
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.07
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-283.07
Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS6AKV representing SA AMSAT presented a
paper at the First Annual South African Space Congress in Cape Town
at the SA Astronomical Observatory on 7 and 8 October 2010.
The paper entitled 'Amateur Radio's significant contribution to
satellite communication' will trace the many facets of Amateur
Radio's involvement in space.
ZS6AKV reviewed the major contributions made by Amateur Radio to
satellite communication and focused on some of the current projects
both world-wide and in South Africa. His paper will also touched on
other space related activities such as SETI and Radio Telescopes.
SA AMSAT stated a copy of the paper will be available for download
from http://www.amsatsa.org after the event.
[ANS thanks SA AMSAT and SouthGateARC site for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.08
KiwiSat Team Requires FPGA Chips
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.08
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-283.08
Terry Carrell, ZL3QL sent a request on behalf of the AMSAT-ZL KiwiSAT
team. They require four (4) Cypress CY7C383A-0JC or QuickLogic
QL12x16-2PL68C FPGA chips, used & un-programmed.
To date the team had 2 lots of 4 from two different sources but all
proved to have been compromised and could not be programmed. Terry
wrote, "We had a small stock but they have all been used during our
development work and while we can purchase new units, the source
requires us to buy a significant number more than our requirement
which is proving to be very expensive. We are happy to pay for good
units once we have confirmed they are clean. These chips will fly so
it is important we have perfect units."
If you help in any way, please let Terry, ZL3QL know. Terry can be
contacted via e-mail: tcarrell(a)xtra.co.nz
[ANS thanks Terry, ZL3QL and AMSAT-ZL for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.09
AMSAT Awards
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.09
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-283.09
AMSAT Director Contests and Awards Bruce Paige, KK5DO says congratul-
ations are in order for the awards that he processed over the last
month.
The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for
making their first satellite QSO:
Jay Kendall, N2JK
Darek Dabek, SP9TTX
Marisuz Kocot, SQ9MES
The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement Award:
Bob Herrell, AJ5C #517
Jim Adams, K0BAM #518
Leo Hucin, OK2UUJ #519
Jay Kendall, N2JK #520
The following have earned the South Africa AMSAT Communications
Achievement Award:
Jim Adams, K0BAM #US149
Jay Kendall, N2JK #US150
Marisuz Kocot, SQ9MES #US151
The following have earned the AMSAT Century Club Award:
John Papay, K8YSE #39
The following have earned the W4AMI Satellite Communications
Achievement award:
Bob Herrell, AJ5C, #64
Zachary Beougher, KD8KSN #65
Mariusz Kocot, SQ9MES, #66 (plus 1 endorsement)
Darek Dabek, SP9TTX, #67 (plus 3 endorsements)
The following have earned the W4AMI 5000 Satellite Communications
Achievement award:
Darek Dabek, SP9TTX #24
To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Bruce KK5DO for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-283.10
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 283.10
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 10, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-283.10
+ Congratulations to Sebastian, W4AS for attaining Satellite VUCC
Award #200!
+ A humorous overview of the review process for the upcoming MAVEN
(Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission to Mars has been
posted by NASA. NASA gave the mission a green light to continue
development which will investigate the mystery of how Mars lost
much of its atmosphere:
http://www.universetoday.com/75011/so-you-want-to-build-a-satellite/
Additional information about the MAVEN mission can be found at the
MarsDaily.com web site: http://tinyurl.com/27zvovx
+ A good overview of HO-68 Operating has been posted by Henk, PA3GUO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6oDgUTHCwg
+ A short video introduces the Firefly mission, a CubeSat built by
undergraduate students with the partnership of Goddard Space Flight
Center and the National Science Foundation.
http://tinyurl.com/22tm3z5 (SoutGateARC site)
+ For those interested in building your own satellite antennas check
out this article by Derek Hilleard, G4CQM considering three different
state-of-the-art 7 element yagi designs for 144MHz.
http://g4cqm.www.idnet.com/2M%20YAGI/ (via SouthGate)
+ This is not satellite related but you guys are going to like this
one anyway. Watch this helmet-mounted camera video as our two heroes
make a stomach-churning climb to the top of this 1,768 foot mast just
to change a Xenon flasher: http://tinyurl.com/2c3nmul (SouthGate)
+ ARISS Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF invites you to view the photos
and listen to a a mp3 recording of the successful ARISS (Amateur Radio
on the International Space Station) school contact with Norwegian
Museum of Science, Technology and Medicine:
http://www.ariss-eu.org/2010_09_25.htm
+ The next Hudson Valley Satcom Group net is Thursday Oct. 14, starting
at 8PM EDT (UTC - 4) on the 146.970 MHz repeater (Down 600 & Pl. 100)
and an Echo link node of: N2EYH-L. More info: http://www.hvsatcom.org
(via Stu, WA2BSS)
+ Videos of the 2010 annual meeting of AMSAT-Italy held at Esrin south
of Rome are available on the ESA website.
http://download.esa.int/flv/amsat-i_2010_part1.flv (ISS)
http://download.esa.int/flv/amsat-i_2010_part7.flvhttp://download.esa.int/flv/amsat-i_2010_part4.flv (ISS Digital ATV)
http://www.esa-spaceweather.net/sda/ionosfera/amateur_radio.html
+ Paul 2E1EUB says starting this weekend and for the next 14 days he
will be active at his 2M1EUB location in Scotland for the first 7 days.
He will operate the last 7 days from the north west coast of Scotland.
[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,
please keep this advice in mind for your next antenna project, working
together, two men can do the work of three. The trick is convincing
those two other suckers to work together.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-281.01
ANS-281 Special Bulletin - 2010 AMSAT Symposium Streaming via Echolink
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 281.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 8, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-281.01
The 2010 AMSAT Space Symposium will make audio streaming of the
presentations and the Annual General Meeting available via the
AMSAT Node on Echolink.
The full Symposium Schedule is available on-line at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2010/SymposiumSchedule.php
A summary of the planned presentations follows below. The times listed
are US Central Daylight Time (UTC - 5).
Friday, October 8
1300 - 1315 Symposium Opening Remarks and Introductions
1315 - 1345 Mark Hammond N8MH, AO-51 Battery Capacity & Spin Trends
1345 - 1415 Paul Wiedemeier KE5LKY, GEO-Eagle Data Multicast
1415 - 1445 Keith Pugh W5IU, Amateur Radio on the ISS
1445 - 1500 Break
1500 - 1520 Keith Pugh W5IU, Successful Hamfest Satellite Demos
1520 - 1540 Tony Monteiro AA2TX, AMSAT-FOX Preview
1540 - 1600 Nick Pugh K5QXJ, Univ. of Louisiana Satellite Program
1600 - 1620 Tom Clark K3IO, ElmerSat - A Modest Proposal
1620 - 1640 Bob Bruninga WB4APR/Douglas Quagliana KA2UPW, Psat/APRS
1640 - 1710 Alex Harvilchuck N3NP, NextGen Satellite
1710 - 1715 Closing Remarks
Saturday, October 9
0745 - 0800 Opening Remarks/ Tony Monteiro AA2TX,
ARISSat-1 Team Introduction
0800 - 0830 Gould Smith WA4SXM, ARISSat-1 Overview
0830 - 0900 Tony Monteiro AA2TX, ARISSat-1 Software Radio Technology
0900 - 0930 Phil Karn KA9Q, BPSK-1000 format for ARISSat-1
0930 - 1000 Douglas Quagliana KA2UPW, ARISSatTLM Software
1000 - 1010 Break
1010 - 1030 Robert Davis KF4KSS, Calculating Available Power
1030 - 1050 Tony Monteiro AA2TX, ARISSat-1 Power System
1050 - 1120 Gould Smith WA4SXM, Assembling ARISSat-1
1120 - 1150 Robert Davis KF4KSS, ARISSat-1 Vibration Testing
1150 - 1200 ARISSat-1 Wrap up
1200 - 1300 Lunch Break
Saturday, October 9
1300 - 1330 Awards Presentations
1330 - 1400 Barry Baines WD4ASW, AMSAT and ITAR: Lessons Learned
1400 - 1420 Bruce Perens K6BP, Codec2 Alpha V0.1/LGPL license
1420 - 1440 Mike Stipick KC4RI, Computerized Satellite Tracking
1440 - 1500 Bob McGwier N4HY, Flex Radio V/U Module
1500 - 1520 Stephen Turner K3HPA, 100 Watt VHF/UHF Amplifier
1520 - 1530 Break
1530 - 1700 Annual General Meeting
[ANS thanks the 2010 Symposium Committee for the above information]
/EX
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-276
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.
******SYMPOSIUM WEEK IN CHICAGO*******
*************************************************************************
* Still looking for additional ANS editors- If you feel you can assist *
* Please see Gould Smith, WA4SXM, during the Symposium and discuss this.*
*************************************************************************
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor(a)amsat.org
In this edition:
* Congratulations to the ARISSat-1 Team!
* Symposium links for updates
* AMSAT Symposium
* ARISS ham radio contact planned with IRSEA Institute, Italy
* OSCAR-11 Signals Heard
* AO-51 Resumes Operation
* ARISS Status - 27 September 2010
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-276.01
Congratulations to the ARISSat-1 Team!
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 276.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 3, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-276.01
Congratulations to the ARISSat-1 Team!
ARISSat-1 will be the presented in detail during the Saturday morning
sessions at the AMSAT 2010 Space Symposium and Annual Meeting which
will be held on Friday, October 8 through Sunday, October 10.
AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering Tony Montiero, AA2TX and ARISSat
Project Manager Gould Smith, WA4SXM along with ARISSat team members
will host the Saturday ARRISat-1 sessions including:
+ ARISSat-1 Overview
+ Software Radio Technology
+ BPSK-1000 format for ARISSat-1
+ ARISSatTLM - Software Demodulator and Telemetry Program Calculating
+ Available Power (Examples: ARISSat & Fox) Power System Assembling
+ ARISSat-1
+ ARISSat-1 Vibration Testing
The team plans to have a working ARISSat-1 prototype attending the
Symposium.
ARISSat-1 design and operations are discussed in detail in these papers
published in the 2010 Symposium Proceedings book:
ARISSat-1 Overview
Tony Monteiro AA2TX
ARISSat-1 Power System
Tony Monteiro AA2TX
Software Radio Technology on ARISSat-1
Tony Montiero AA2TX
ARISSatTLM - A Software Demodulator and Telemetry Display
Program for the ARISSat-1 Satellite
Douglas Quagliana KA2UPW
BPSK-1000 format for ARISSat-1
Phil Karn KA9Q
An additional feature presentation and paper will introduce you to AMSAT's
next satellite ... AMSAT-FOX Preview by Tony Monteiro, AA2TX
The AMSAT 2010 Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting will be held at
the Chicago/Elk Grove Holiday Inn which is near O'Hare Airport.
On-line registration for the Symposium continues on-line at the AMSAT Store
site: http://www.amsat-na.com/store/SymposiumReg.php The registration fee
is $45.00 from now through 5 October. Online registration closes 5 October
at Midnight. Registration at the door will be $50.00.
[ANS thanks JoAnne, K9JKM, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-276.02
Symposium links for updates
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 276.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 3, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-276.02
2010 AMSAT Symposium Home Page
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2010/index.php
Symposium Schedule
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2010/SymposiumSchedule.php
List of Presentations
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2010/Presentations.php
Hotel Information
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2010/Hotel.php
Food and Drink information
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2010/FoodandDrink.php
Banquet Speaker
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2010/BanquetSpeaker.php
Board of Directors Agenda
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2010/BoardofDirectorsAgenda.php
--
73 de JoAnne K9JKM
[ANS thanks the 2010 Symposium Committee for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-276.03
AMSAT Symposium
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 276.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 3, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-276.03
Of course we all know that this week the AMSAT Symposium will be held in
Chicago.
You will be able to find all the latest details at the AMSAT Website
www.AMSAT.org.
Information on when certain talks will be presented and full proceedings
will be
there for the asking. Details for all events, including a tour of the Fermi
Lab
are there for all to decide on what they would like to see and hear. Take
this
as an opportunity to get together with your elected officials and discuss
with
them what is important to you. The full schedule will be updated as they
are
finalized.
The 2010 Symposium Schedule is posted on the amsat.org web at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2010/SymposiumSchedule.php
A few minor tweaks may be necessary over the next 7 days. The final version
will be available on-site at the Symposium next week. Authors and presenters
will be e-mailed any schedule change affecting the talks.
[ANS thanks JoAnne, K9JKM for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-276.04
ARISS ham radio contact planned with IRSEA Institute, Italy
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 276.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 3, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-276.04
ARISS ham radio contact planned with IRSEA Institute, Italy
An ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) radio
contact is planned with IRSEA, a non-profit Institute for Research
and Education, located in southern Italy.
IRSEA's mission is to provide a bridge between university research
and trade unions and corporations in the fields of education, devel-
opment and innovative research.
The ARISS contact is scheduled Tuesday 5 October 2010 at 15:28 UTC.
The contact will be a telebridge, operated by ARISS ground station
K6DUE, located in Goddard Space Flight Center, Maryland. Stations
in North America may be able to directly hear the ISS downlink on
145.800 MHz.
The contact will be available on EchoLink AMSAT conference server
and IRLP Discovery Reflector 9010. The contact will be webcast on:
http://www.cittadellamediterraneadellascienza.it/
ARISS is an international educational outreach program partnering
the participating space agencies, NASA, Russian Space Agency, ESA,
CNES, JAXA, and CSA, with the AMSAT and IARU organizations from
participating countries.
ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement
of Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers onboard the
International Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see,
first hand, how Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize
youngsters' interest in science, technology and learning.
[ANS thanks ARISS Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF and the SouthGate
ARC news for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-276.05
OSCAR-11 Signals Heard
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 276.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 3, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-276.05
OSCAR-11 Signals Heard
Clive G3CWV reported that OSCAR-11 was heard by JA0CAW on August 29
after being silent since March 30, 2010. Since August 29 it contin-
ued to be heard until September 8 and then again September 18-29.
Excellent signals have been reported from stations located around
the world, and good copy obtained from decoded telemetry frames.
There has been a significant change since the previous
period of activity which ended in March 2010. The on-board
clock is now very stable. It's gained only three seconds in
30 days. This is comparable with its accuracy when the
satellite was fully operational. During its first 21 years
it gained approximately one minute per year. However, there
is still an accumulated loss of 309 days, which has occurred
during eclipses of the last few years!
The other change is that it's now transmitting during
eclipses, although signals are weaker at those times. This
indicates that there is still some capacity remaining in the
battery.
These two changes suggest that some part of the system may
have recently failed 'open circuit' thus reducing the
overall power drain of the system, and allowing more power
to be available during eclipses. There was an unexplained
current drain observed when analogue telemetry was last
transmitted. This fault might have cleared. Interestingly,
the status telemetry shows that the Digital Store & Readout
experiment has switched off, since the satellite was
previously heard in February.
The satellite appears to be operating for ten days on,
followed by ten days off, so it should start transmitting
again around October 9, 2010.
Listen for OSCAR-11's VHF AFSK FM ASCII Telemetry beacon
on 145.826 MHz.
Reception reports have been received from Bernard FY1LE,
Roland DG1EBR, Mike DK3WN, Tetsu JA0CAW, Adam SQ8MFC,
MM0DNX, Tony VK3KKP/G8HIM, Martin DC1MAR, John M0BIC,
Etienne F1GRR and Carlos KD6GRF. Many thanks to everyone.
Many reports have also been added to the live satellite
status page, on the website set up by David KD5QGR and Bob
WB4APR. This is a very convenient and easy to use facility,
which shows the current status of all the amateur satellites.
Strongly recommended for future reports! The URL is
http://oscar.dcarr.org/index.php
For the benefit of new listeners, here is a short history
of OSCAR-11. It was lauched in 1984, providing telemetry
and other digital services for amateur radio and educational
users. During its many years of operation it survived long
periods of eclipses and continuous full sunlight.
In 2002 the satellite reverted to its default mode of
operation, controlled by the watchdog timer. In 2005 all the
analogue telemetry channels failed. Solar eclipses also
started to cause the watchdog timer cycle to reset, which
switched off the satellite for approximately 15 days.
In 2008 solar eclipses became a permanent feature of every
orbit, causing the satellite to switch off for about 15
days, probably after only one orbit of transmission. Thus
the satellite was not expected to be heard again for any
continuous period until 2019, when there will be some
eclipse free periods. However, the satellite started
transmissions unexpectedly in November 2008. These continued
until March, when it was followed by silence until until the
recent period of activity.
Clive's webpage at www.g3cwv.co.uk contains sound files of
the satellite's beacon, archived news and telemetry, and
information about using soundcard and hardware demodulators
for data capture. There is also software for capturing data,
and decoding ASCII telemetry.
[ANS thanks Clive G3CWV for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-276.06
AO-51 Resumes Operation
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 276.06
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 3, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-276.06
AO-51 Resumes Operation
After a software crash on September 26 aboard AO-51 took the satellite
off the air Ground Station Mark Hammond, N8MH reported that as of
September 29, "The reloading of AO-51 is essentially complete; the bird
is in good order."
The AO-51 Command Team configured the satellite for simultaneous opera-
tion of both the S-band and U-band transmitters. The tradeoff is that
U-band will be low in power-around 250 mW or so. Also, please notice
the use of the 145.880 MHz uplink!
September 29
FM Repeater, V/S-U
Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM (no PL tone)
Downlinks: 2401.200 MHz FM *and* 435.300 MHz FM (at low power!)
Mark said, "This is a great time to work on improving the sensitivity
of your receiver setups! The 250 mW will challenge some of you for sure.
PLEASE be sure to follow the "if you can't hear it, don't try to uplink"
basic rule of satellite operation."
If the satellite supports the dual downlink mode OK, controllers may
extend the V/S-U mode a few days past the original mode schedule in
order to give mode S operators a fair shake at some operations and
testing--while at the same time allowing some low power mode V/U
operations.
Check the Command Team and Operations Group AO-51 News web page for the
latest September 2010 AO-51 Schedule:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php
[ANS thanks Mark Hammond N8MH for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-276.07
ARISS Status - 27 September 2010
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 276.07
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
October 3, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-276.07
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report
September 27, 2010
1. School Contact
English Estates Elementary School in Fern Park, Florida had a scheduled
contact on Thursday, September 30 at 18:00 UTC. Through hands on activities,
students will learn about space satellite tracking. The school has an
established liaison with the Lake Monroe Amateur Radio Club and an on-campus
ham radio emergency operations station.
2. Astronaut Doug Wheelock Chats with New York Students
On Wednesday, September 22, students from Windsor Central and
Owego-Apalachin
School Districts in New York participated in an Amateur Radio on the
International
Space Station (ARISS) contact with astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC.
Wheelock,
a graduate of Windsor Central High School, fielded 16 questions put to him
by
the youth during the ISS pass. The school districts collaborated with the
area's
Kopernik Observatory and Science Center to put together an education program
for the students which included topics on space, radio communication,
satellites
and rocketry. The final outcome of this project will be the purchase of
amateur radio equipment for each school and the formation of amateur radio
clubs for the youth.
3. ARISS International Team Meeting Held
The monthly ARISS-International team meeting was held on Tuesday, September
21.
Topics of discussion included the recent ARISS elections, Columbus Module
equipment
and a status on ARISSat-1. Minutes have been posted.
See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2010-09-21.htm
4. MAI-75 Experiment to be Activated
The Russian ISS crew members will activate the MAI-75 (Moscow Aviation
Institute)
experiment on September 27 - 29. The activity is planned for 2 runs per day
over
Western Russian between approximately 07:00 - 11:00 UTC.
5. Amateur Radio Newsline Covers ARISS Activities
On September 24, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1728 included two ARISS
related
stories. "Ham Radio in Space: ISS ATV Activated Briefly on September 14th"
is about the recently held MAI-75 Slow Scan Television session. The second
item,
"Ham Radio in Space: ARISSAT 1 Near Completion" covers the final
preparations of
ARISSat-1 prior to shipping to Russia. Both stories may be found
at: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt
[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
See you in Chicago