AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-115
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
********************************************************************
* The AMSAT team is preparing for the 2010 Dayton Hamvention AMSAT *
* Booth and activities. For the latest information go to: *
* http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/hamvention/2010/Dayton.php *
* *
* Please be advised that tickets for the AMSAT-TAPR banquet at *
* Dayton will not be sold at the booth. *
* All tickets must be purchased at the AMSAT store *
* http://www.amsat-na.com/store/item.php?id=100158 *
********************************************************************
In this edition:
* Reminder: AMSAT Board of Directors Nominations Now Open
* The Dayton $5000 Challenge Extended to September 1
* CubeSat Workshop Videos Can Be Viewed On-line
* Swiss Amateur Radio Cubesat TIsat-1 Ready for Launch
* Operations Team Requests Feedback on VO-52's 5th Anniversary
* SA AMSAT Space Symposium Announces Cubesat Development
* Arecibo EME Wrap Up
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-115.01
Reminder: AMSAT Board of Directors Nominations Now Open
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 115.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 25, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-115.01
It is time to submit nominations for the upcoming open seats on the
AMSAT--NA Board of Directors. A nomination requires either one Member
Society or five current individual members to nominate an AMSAT member
for the position. Three director's terms expire this year: Tom Clark,
K3IO, Lou McFadin, W5DID and Gould Smith, WA4SXM. Nominations must be
in writing and mailed to: AMSAT, 850 Sligo Ave #600, Silver Spring MD
20910. They can arrive no later than June 15th
[ANS thanks Martha for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-115.02
The Dayton $5000 Challenge Extended to September 1
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 115.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 25, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-115.02
The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) will match one-for-one
any donations made to AMSAT between now and September 1, 2010 up
to a maximum of $5,000. Please support "Getting AMSAT Back into
Space" and help us raise the funds needed for our next satellite
project.
AMSAT's Project "Fox" is a cubesat that will provide a 2 meter-70
Centimeter FM transponder that will match the ground performance of
AO-51. You can send your donation to: AMSAT, 850 Sligo Ave #600,
Silver Spring MD 20910. If you prefer, you can call Martha at the
AMSAT office (US call toll free at 888-322-6728 or 301-589-6062)
and contribute with a credit card.
We will be accepting 'Getting AMSAT Back into Space' donations
at various hamfests where AMSAT has a presence, including the
Hamvention.
You can also make contributions online in the AMSAT Store:
http://www.amsat-na.com/store/donation.php
[ANS thanks Martha for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-115.03
CubeSat Workshop Videos Can Be Viewed On-line
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 115.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 25, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-115.03
This week's CubeSat Workshop at Cal Poly has posted many videos of
the presentations. At press time videos from the first 2 days are
available now: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/CubeSatWorkshop/v3
Among the many presentations available are:
+ NSF Comms Project Update - Bryan Klofas KF6ZEO - SRI International
+ Extending 1U Communications - Kevin Brown - AstroDev
+ Development Approaches for CubeSats - Ehson Mosleh & David Klumpar
Montana State University
+ The Spectrum of Space Projects for Student Education - Robert Twiggs
KE6QMD - Morehead State University
+ Implementation of Deployable Solar Panels on a 1U CubeSat - Abhishek
Bajpayee - University of Louisiana
These videos can be seen at
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/CubeSatWorkshop/v3
Check the website for video of later presentations covering a D-STAR
cubesat OUFTI-1, GENSO and Lunar Lander/Orbiter CubeSats which are
expected to be added at the conclusion of the Cubesat Workshop.
[ANS thanks Bryan Klofas, KF6ZEO and SouthGate News for the above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-115.04
Swiss Amateur Radio Cubesat TIsat-1 Ready for Launch
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 115.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 25, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-115.04
The Swiss Amateur Radio CubeSat TIsat-1 built by students in Ticino
is ready for launch from India later this spring. TIsat-1 is to be
launched on the PSLV-C15 launcher from the Sriharikota Space Center
(SHAR) in India. It will go into a 670 km sun synchronous orbit with
an inclination of 98.5 degrees.
The radio communications system is based on the Alinco DJC-6 dual
band hand held transceiver. Downlink power will be 400mW on 437.305
MHz. An uplink will be at 145.980 MHz. TIsat-1 will send its call
sign HB9DE in CW and transmit AFSK telemetry from its on-board
experiments.
Experiments are planned for:
+ Monitoring of the durability of exposed thin bonding wires, PCB
tracks and lines (Atomic Oxygen effects).
+ Verification of the system fault tolerance scheme including
algorithms for error detection and correction both for on-board
memories and for communication.
+ Acquisition of spacecraft environment and operating data.
+ Redundancy in the key systems in order to resist space environment
induced effects. The critical hardware functions were replicated and
implemented with different technologies.
+ Careful hardware and software design taking care of latchups and
single-event upsets.
+ Smart self-adaptive software management scheme based on techniques
stemming from Artificial Intelligence.
[ANS thanks TIsat-1, SouthGate ARC News and the IARU Satellite
Coordinator for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-115.05
Operations Team Requests Feedback on VO-52's 5th Anniversary
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 115.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 25, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-115.05
This week Mani, VU2WMY Secretary & Station-In-Charge of the Upagrah
Amateur Radio Club VU2URC at the India ISRO Satellite Centre sent a
request on behalf of the Hamsat VO-52 Operations Director.
To commemorate the milestone of Hamsat's VO-52 5 successful years in
space on May 4 the India/ISRO team plans to publish a 'Comprehensive
Performance & Utilization Report' of the VO-52 Transponder based on
user feedback from around the world. Information specifically request-
ed by ISTRAC for the report includes:
1. PERFORMANCE of the HAMSAT TRANSPONDER as _perceived by the users_
2. COMPARISON of the HAMSAT Transponder with her CONTEMPORARIES
3. Details of SATELLITES providing SIMILAR SERVICES
4. Approximate NUMBER OF USERS of HAMSAT in _India / over the globe_
5. GROWTH of HAMSAT USERS, since launch
6. Approximate HAMSAT TRANSPONDER UTILISATION (transponder interaction
period) over the globe (transponder is ON always)
7. Any more INTERESTING INFORMATION on HAMSAT
Send your feedback to Mani, VU2WMY at wmy(a)isac.gov.in or
vu2wmy_mani(a)yahoo.com.
[ANS thanks Mani, VU2WMY for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-115.06
SA AMSAT Space Symposium Announces Cubesat Development
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 115.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 25, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-115.06
SA AMSAT announced at their recent Space Symposium held at the
University of KwaZulu-Natal that it would be building its own
CubeSat.
The project will involve radio amateurs, students and learners.
At this stage the project will start with inviting input from
radio amateurs before the final payload is decided on, and pro-
ject teams will then be set up. If you are interested in becoming
involved, you are invited to send an email with your contact
details and areas of expertise to saamsat(a)intekom.co.za.
The currently proposed payload will include a transponder with a
30 kHz bandwidth, a telemetry beacon and science projects.
[ANS thanks SA AMSAT for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-115.07
Arecibo EME Wrap Up
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 115.07
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 25, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-115.07
While not strictly amateur satellite related, another aspect of
amateur radio in space includes EME operations. Many amateur sat-
ellite operators participated in the recent EME test from Arecibo
and may be interested in this.
Joe Taylor K1JT wrote to the EME community on the memorable KP4AO
amateur radio moon bounce operation from the Arecibo Observatory
in Puerto Rico, "Many thanks to all stations we worked from KP4AO
-- and our apologies to the many more who called without completing
a QSO. The Arecibo telescope's short moon windows were frustrating
for all, ourselves included."
Joe descibed the "wall" of stations calling as simply incredible. A
rough estimate suggests that we may have worked something like 20%
of the callers potentially workable on SSB, 10% of those workable
on CW, and only a few percent of those workable on JT65. I guess
we'll have todo it again, in due course.
The KP4AO log shows nearly 240 completed QSOs with some 57 DXCC
entities, in a total of 8 operating hours. The team made recordings
of the whole 432 MHz EME sub-band for for most of the time KP4AO
was on the air. In due course it will be possible to "tune the band"
carefully, many times, picking out callsigns.
Joe continued, "Here's a request for all ...
1. If you worked us with a setup significantly smaller than is
normally required for EME, please send me a short note describing
your antenna, receiver, and Tx power to joe(a)Princeton.EDU
2. If you copied us with a small setup, please send me details on
your antenna and receiver.
I know we worked and were heard by some pretty small setups, and I'd
like to document some of them for a write-up in QST."
Members of the Arecibo Observatory Amateur Radio Club who constructed
and operated the KP4AO station for this event:
Angel, WP3R
Pedro, NP4A
Angel, WP4G
Jim, WA3FET
Joe, K1JT
Additional guest operator: Pat, AA6EG
The WSJT software for operating JT-65B by K1JT can be downloaded
from http://www.physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/
Many thanks, and see you on the moon!
73, Joe, K1JT
[ANS thanks Joe, K1JT 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 lament of the fellow who didn't pass his exam,
"I'll never take another ham radio code test," Tom said without remorse.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-102.01
ANS Special Bulletin AO-51 Second Repeater for Scouting's 100th Anniversary
Contacts
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 102.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 12, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-102.01
AMSAT-NA VP Operations, Drew KO4MA says that AO-51 is now running
two FM repeaters to support contacts by the Boy Scouts celebrating
their 100th anniversary this week.
The second repeater is available for Scouting stations, and when
not in use by the Boy Scouts, low power stations are welcome. We
define low power as 10 watts or less, AND omni or handheld antennas
only:
Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM for Scouting contacts
Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM for Scouting contacts
Downlink Power 450 mW
The main repeater is still open for general traffic. The 67 Hz PL
access testing continues on this repeater:
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM for general contacts
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM for general contacts
Downlink Power 470 mW
See http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php for the latest
AO-51 Control Team News.
[ANS thanks the AO-51 Control Team for the above information]
/EX
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-101
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
********************************************************************
* The AMSAT team is preparing for the 2010 Dayton Hamvention AMSAT *
* Booth and activities. For the latest information go to: *
* http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/hamvention/2010/Dayton.php *
********************************************************************
In this edition:
* AO-51 New PL Operation Being Tested
* Deadline Approaching To Reserve Rooms in AMSAT Block At Dayton
* USSTRATCOM Approves Continued AMSAT TLE Distribution
* Ten Hams in Orbit Now
* Estonian University Plans Amateur Radio CubeSat
* Arecibo on 432 MHz Moon Bounce
* ARISS Status - 5 April 2010
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-101.01
AO-51 New PL Operation Being Tested
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 101.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 11, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-101.01
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, reports that AO-51's 435.150 transmitter has
been turned
off and the 435.300 transmitter raised to near 2 watts output. On Saturday, 10
April, the new PL routine was turned on. This improved routine will turn the
downlink on with an unsquelched uplink when it hears a 67 hz tone. The plan is
to leave a tail of several minutes, so the transmitter will stay on without
hearing a tone for an interval of several minutes.
What does this mean for the user? It would be helpful to program in a 67
hz PL tone again, but not absolutely required as long as someone else in
the footprint does. It also means if you are the first person in the
footprint (not very likely in North America, Europe, or Japan) you might
not hear the satellite until after it hears 67hz for a few seconds.
Reports from when the downlink turns on or off would be
appreciated.
73, Drew KO4MA
AMSAT-NA VP Operations
[ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-101.02
Deadline Approaching To Reserve Rooms in AMSAT Block At Dayton
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 101.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 11, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-101.02
Again a friendly reminder that the cutoff date for the AMSAT block of rooms
in Dayton is April 13th. If you are planning to stay with us, please call
me at 301-589-6062 to make your reservation. I will need a credit card
number to hold the room.
[ANS thanks Martha for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-101.03
USSTRATCOM Approves Continued AMSAT TLE Distribution
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 101.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 11, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-101.03
AMSAT-NA Orbital Data Manager Ray Hoad, WA5QGD said this week, "I am
pleased to announce that AMSAT NA has received approval to continue
re-distribution of Keplerian elements from the USSTRATCOM data source
(Space Track website) for the period April 1, 2010 to April 1, 2011.
Thanks to the USSTRATCOM team and especially to Mr. Mark Riddle for their
help in this process."
This means that the AMSAT Keplerian Elements in verbose format and the
2-line format can be freely distributed by those who recieve them from
AMSAT. AMSAT's two formats are each considered an AMSAT product and
therefore can be freely distributed. AMSAT asks that AMSAT-NA be given
credit as the source for your redistribution.
[ANS thanks Ray Hoad, WA5QGD for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-101.04
Ten Hams in Orbit Now
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 101.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 11, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-101.04
Six of the seven astronauts on the shuttle Discovery are licensed
radio amateurs and will join four radio hams already on the Inter-
national Space Station (ISS).
The shuttle Discovery (STS131) crew consists of:
Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, KE5DAT
Stephanie Wilson, KD5DZE
Naoko Yamazaki, KE5DAS
James P. Dutton, Jr., KE5HOE,
Rick Mastracchio, KC5ZTE,
Clayton Anderson, KD5PLA
Alan Poindexter
Already onboard the ISS are radio hams:
Tracy Caldwell Dyson, KF5DBF
Timothy J. Creamer, KC5WKI
Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP
Mikhail Kornienko, RN3BF
along with Oleg Kotov and Alexander Skvortsov.
[ANS thanks SouthGate ARC and ISS Fan Club for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-101.05
Estonian University Plans Amateur Radio CubeSat
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 101.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 11, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-101.05
IARU Amateur Satellite Frequency Coordination reports the University
of Tartu, Estonia, has submitted a frequency coordination application
to the IARU for an Amateur Radio CubeSat called ESTCube-1.
The proposal is for a 1U CubeSat in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with UHF
downlinks and a VHF telecommand uplink. It is hoped to launch in 2012
although no launch opportunity has yet been confirmed.
ESTCube-1 will carry a camera to acquire images of Estonia for out
reach purposes and will deploy a 10 meter conductive Hoytether as a
part of the development work of an electric solar wind sail.
ESTCube
http://tinyurl.com/yk66s2o
[ANS thanks IARU for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-101.06
Arecibo on 432 MHz Moon Bounce
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 101.06
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 11, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-101.06
The Arecibo Observatory Amateur Radio Club will be putting the
1000-foot radio telescope on the air for 432 MHz EME from April 16-18.
It can be heard with a small hand-held yagi pointed at the moon
The scheduled times of operation are:
April 16: 1645 - 1930 UTC
April 17: 1740 - 2020 UTC
April 18: 1840 - 2125 UTC
Callsign: KP4AO
Tx Frequency: 432.045 MHz
Rx Frequency: 432.050 to 432.060+
Tx power: 400 W
Antenna gain: 60 dBi
System noise temp: 120 K (cold sky)
System noise temp: 330 K (when pointed at moon)
KP4AO can be heard with a small hand-held yagi pointed at the moon and a
good receiver. A 15 dBi antenna and 100 W will be enough to work us on
CW.
Operators at KP4AO will do their best to work as many stations as
possible. Each session will start with a brief announcement and CQ in
SSB. SSB QSOs may continue for 30 minutes to an hour, if the QSO rate
remains high.
The mode will be shifted to CW as soon as it is judged that higher QSO
rates would result.
We will listen for calls at frequencies 5-15 kHz higher than our own,
and even higher if QRM warrants. Callers who s-p-r-e-a-d o-u-t are more
likely to be copied.
If you've already worked us in any mode, please do not call again --
give others a chance.
If we call "CQ QRP", we will listen for stations running 100 W or less
to a single yagi. Please do not answer such a CQ if you are running more
power or have a larger antenna.
On April 18, if we reach a condition where most calling stations have
been worked, and we judge that operating in the digital mode JT65B would
produce a higher QSO rate, we will switch to JT65B.
Note that any of these planned operating strategies may be changed as
circumstances dictate.
We are extremely fortunate to have been granted access to the world's
largest radio telescope for this amateur radio good-will event. We look
forward to working as many stations as possible in the alloted time!
[ANS thanks John, KB1MGI, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-101.07
ARISS Status - 5 April 2010
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 101.07
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 11, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-101.07
1. Astronaut Soichi Noguchi Chats with Texas Students via ARISS Contact
On Monday, March 29, Walnut Creek Elementary School students in Azle,
Texas took
part in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
contact with
JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP. All 23 questions were answered with time
for a two way "Goodbye." ARISS was integrated into the science curriculum as
students researched space objects and gave presentations to their class. The
youth also attended satellite communications demonstrations given by retired
Lockheed employees and members of local radio clubs. On the day of
the contact,
a proclamation was read by an Azle City representative declaring it to be Space
Day in Azle. Four television stations and one local newspaper
covered the event
and the audio was available on EchoLink.
2. HAMEX 2010 ARISS Exhibit
HAMEX 2010, the largest RadioFest in Canada, was held on Saturday, March 27 in
Toronto. AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) and ARISS
(Amateur Radio on
the International Space Station) members attended the event and manned an
exhibition booth which displayed two mini satellite communications stations as
well as information boards with pictures of astronauts involved in the ARISS
program. A large AMSAT banner was posted, along with two 7 foot posters on loan
from the Canada Space Agency (CSA). CSA also provided handouts, stickers and
various magnetic logos, which along with pamphlets describing AMSAT and the
ARISS program, were distributed to the many visitors the exhibit attracted. The
event was a success in generating interest in the ARISS program and
the team was
invited back next year.
[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,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS
ku4os at amsat dot org