AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-149
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:
* 70 CM Spectrum in HR 607 Safe After Meeting With Congressman King
* The DARA Matching Gift Challenge
* Cornell University Chip Satellite Team Invites Ham Radio Collaboration
* Awards Manager for AMSAT Marks 10 Years
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* ARISS Status - 23 May 2011
* Nine New Cubesats
* UK Coloqium
* New ARISS School Procedure
* AO-51 Partial Operation Restored
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-149.01
70 CM Spectrum Safe
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 149.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 29, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-149.01
70 CM Spectrum in HR 607 Safe After Meeting With Congressman King
A delegation of Amateur operators led by Peter Portanova, WB2OQQ,
AMSAT NY Area Coordinator, from the Long Island/New York City area
met with Congressman Peter T. King (R-NY) on May 19 to discuss his
recent proposed legislation, H.R. 607, and its impact on Amateur
Radio. Peter, who resides in King's Congressional District, worked
for many months with only assistance from his local Town of Massa-
pequa government to arrange this important meeting.
The delegation included Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, ARRL Section Manager
for New York City/Long Island (NLI), Peter Portanova, WB2OQQ, NLI
Local Government Liaison and AMSAT NY Area Coordinator, George
Tranos, N2GA, NLI State Government Liaison (SGL), and Jim Mezey,
W2KFV, NLI ARES Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC).
Portanova, Lisenco, Mezey, and Tranos spoke about the importance of
Amateur Radio emergency communications and Portanova, who is the
Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) NY Area Coordinator,
addressed the amateur satellites and its contributions to Science,
Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) education and disaster
communication. Barry Baines, WD4ASW, President of AMSAT, prepared
an important letter that was delivered to Congressman King, by Peter,
addressing his concerns of HR 607. Mr. Baines also contributed and
shared a great deal of information to Peter to allow him to make a
successful presentation of AMSAT's activities to Congressman King.
Congressman King said that he fully understands and appreciates
the importance of Amateur Radio and the Amateur Satellite Service
for the contributions it provides to the community, and that he
would see to the modification of the bill so that the 420-440 MHz
band would be excluded from the spectrum to be auctioned. The Con-
gressman was very receptive to the group and listed Peter Portanova
as point of contact.
"The Congressman went on to explain that it was never his intention
to remove the 70 centimeter band from Amateur use. He further asked
us to 'get the word out' and inform the Amateur Radio community that
70 centimeters is not in jeopardy", said Portanova.
Portanova learned on May 26 that Congressman King has requested the
House Committee on Energy and Commerce to remove section 207, the
section covering the auction of the 420-440 MHz and 450-470 MHz spec-
trum, from the bill. Sub-Committee Chairman Rep. Walden agreed so
the threat to amateur radio access to 70 cm spectrum is no longer
an issue.
The ARRL has reported that the Senate companion bill S-1040 with
similar objectives as H.R. 607 does not call for auctioning any
portions of Amateur Radio spectrum.
AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW noted, "Peter is to be commend-
ed for taking the initiative to arrange for this meeting with his
Congressman on behalf of AMSAT. Using his contacts within the Town
of Massapequa, NY government, Peter made the appropriate queries to
schedule the meeting and then sought input from AMSAT to maximize
the quality of information presented. He also invited amateur radio
operators to the meeting with ties to the ARRL as well. His initiative
and thorough preparation for the meeting resulted in a very positive
experience as well as enlightened Rep. King to the significant benefit
of amateur radio in space and the wonderful work done by AMSAT volun-
teers and others in the areas of technology and education outreach."
(Editor Note: AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW letter to
Congressman King can be read on a link at the AMSAT web site
http://www.amsat.org).
[ANS thanks Peter Portanova, WB2OQQ and AMSAT President Barry Baines
WD4ASW for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-149.02
The DARA Matching Gift Challenge
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 149.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 29, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-149.02
The DARA Matching Gift Challenge
The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) has announced a fund
raising challenge for AMSAT whereby they will match on a 1:3 basis
up to $5,000.00 for donations made in 2011. That is, for every $3.00
that AMSAT raises, DARA will provide $1.00 up to a maximum of $5,000
donated by DARA.
AMSAT kicked off the fundraising campaign at the Hamvention, where
donations began count against this goal. Please consider making a
donation to AMSAT at Hamvention or anytime this Spring as we strive
to meet this goal.
We appreciate DARA's support for AMSAT and see this as an opportunity
for donors to increase the impact of their donations by taking advan-
tage of this matching program.
[ANS thanks AMSAT Headquarters for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-149.03
Cornell University Chip Satellite Team Invites Ham Radio Collaboration
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 149.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 29, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-149.03
Cornell University Chip Satellite Team Invites Ham Radio Collaboration
A group of Cornell University-developed, fingernail-sized satellites
may travel to Saturn within the next decade, and as they flutter down
through its atmosphere, they will collect data about chemistry, radia-
tion and particle impacts.
Three prototypes of these chip satellites, named "Sprite," were mount-
ed on the International Space Station during a recent spacewalk. The
thin, 1-inch-square chips are mounted to the external Materials
International Space Station Experiment (MISSE-8) pallet, exposing them
to the harsh conditions of space to see how they hold up and transmit
data.
Zac Manchester at Cornell University explained that the chips transmit
as beacons with 10 milliwatts of RF power at 902 MHz using MSK modu-
lation (minimum-shift keying) with a chipping rate of 50 kbps. The
Cornell team invites AMSAT satellite operators to collaborate with this
experiment to determine conditions in which the low-power signal has
been detected on the ground.
The Cornell ground station consists of a 18 dBi yagi with a GNU Radio
and USRP receiver (http://www.ettus.com/products). A significant
challenge is that the MISSE-8 pallet the chips are on is mounted on
the anti-nadir side of the space station, facing away from the earth.
The team is hoping to be lucky to catch some kind of reflection off
the ISS structure.
Beyond being able to detect the signal on Earth, decoding the
message requires signal processing. The chips all transmit on the same
frequency, each with it's own PRN code. The Cornell team uses these
codes to differentiate each one, as well as to provide signal proces-
sing gain. At Cornell, data is being recorded and post-processed with
a standard PC.
To track these chip satellites just use the ISS keplerian elements
because they are mounted on the space station.
Mason Peck, Associate Professor Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
at Cornell University wrote, "Receiving the full sequence of data per
se is not of interest, but the mere reception of it (a single digital
bit, for us), indicates successful transmission. If you would like to
serve as one of the lucky few to try detecting this signal, please
follow up with Zac Manchester (zrm3(a)cornell.edu). We definitely welcome
the collaboration of HAM operators."
More information be found at these sources:
http://tinyurl.com/3fs5ks7 (spacemart.com)
http://www.spacecraftresearch.com/blog
[ANS thanks Zac Manchester and Mason Peck at Cornell University for
the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-149.04
Awards Manager for AMSAT marks 10 Years
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 149.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 29, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-149.04
It was May 12, 2001, the day that Mike Scarcella, WA5TWT, the previous
AMSAT Awards Manager handed over all the files to me as the new Awards
Manager. For 10 years I have performed this duty as fairly and equitably
as I can. I computerized all the awards, entered some of the very early
Communication Achievement Awards into the computer and helped create some
new awards along the way.
Here's to another 10 years, enjoy.
Here is a list of awards issued in the last month or so.
The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for making
their first satellite QSO.
Brandon Rasmussen, K7BBR
Stephen Davis, KJ4FEL
Richard Ryan, KC2YDQ
The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement Award.
Nikolai Ozerov, VE3NKL, #535
Richard Batchelor, KA5IQX, #536
The following have earned the AMSAT Sexagesimal Award.
Rodney Waln, KC0ZHF, #160
The following have earned the AMSAT Century Award.
Doug Papay, KD8CAO #41
The following have earned the South Africa Satellite Communications
Achievement award Richard Batchelor, KA5IQX, #US166
The following have earned their Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI Award.
Gerald Krebs, N0JE, #US72
John Papay, K8YSE, #US73
Ron Oldham, N8RO, #US63 endorsement for 2K, 3K, 4K
Bob Harrell, AJ5C, #US64 endorsement for 2K, 3K, 4K
The following have earned their Robert W. Barbee Jr., W4AMI 5000 Award.
Ron Oldham, N8RO, #26
Bob Herrell, AJ5C, #27
To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or
http://www.amsatnet.com
Bruce Paige, KK5DO
AMSAT Director Contests and Awards
[ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-149.05
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 149.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 29, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-149.05
+ AMSAT has received the sad news that Robin Harvey, G4BBR died on the
morning of May 23, 2011 after a long illness. He was active in the early
days of satellites in the 1970's. He was most active on Oscar 7.
Robin was AMSAT Life Member number 445. Our condolences go out to
his wife Shirley.
+ According to the 21 May 2011 A.R.I. DX Bulletin No. 1046 425 DX
NEWS bulletin OY/PA0VHA, OY/PA2A and OY/PA2AM are active from
Streymoy, Faroe Islands (EU-018) from 23 May to 2 June. In add-
ition to HF, 6 meters, and 4 meters they plan satellite operation
via AO-51 (if available). QSL via home calls.
+ A link on UniverseToday will bring you to an Infographic: How the
New Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Stacks Up. Thanks to Space.com and
the Tech Media Network for sharing this great graphic showing NASA's
"new" MPCV and how it compares with other human spaceflight vehicles.
http://tinyurl.com/3bngf99 (UniverseToday.com)
+ Back in time: Steve Haines VK3DBL has released a video showing a
March 1997 contact he had with astronaut Andy Thomas KD5CHF/ VK5MIR
who was on the MIR space station. See:
http://tinyurl.com/3v7rbmh (Southgate)
+ The new WorldRadio OnLine magazine is now available at:
http://www.worldradiomagazine.com/ ... In addition to several
interesting features, the satellite column on page 38.
+ UniverseToday.com has a video, "The Sights and Sounds of Endeavour's
Final Launch" made with HD cameras and multiple channel audio record-
ing at: http://tinyurl.com/438s64y
+ OSCAR-11 UO-11 has switched back on. Its beacon is on 145.826 MHz FM.
Bob, N4HY posted photos of UO-11 construction and testing:
http://tinyurl.com/3d48j7x (n4hy.smugmug.com/)
+ AO-7 continues to provide good DX:
Luciano, PY5LF reports a 7843 km contact with Joe K3SZH, in
Mode B, SSB.
Luis, LU6QI reports on his AO-7 DX on Mode B, CW:
Humberto XE1FZE: covering 7162 km
Jay AA4FL operating W4DFU covering 7200 km
Jim ND9M covering 7346 km
+ Pete, WB2OQQ posted a video showing his satellite operation from
the special event station W2GSB/APM during the Great South Bay
Air Power Museum event celebrating Armed Forces Day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyXHvYWaasg ... W2GSB/APM, a
collector QSL will be sent on SASE request to WB2OQQ's QRZ
address.
+ Congratulations to Cori, XYL of intrepid maritime-mobile satellite
operator Jim, ND9M/VQ9JC, upon passing her Technician exam at the
Dayton Hamvention!
+ Peter Guelzow, DB2OS, says a PDF presented at the AMSAT-DL Satellite
Symposium and General Meeting 2011 discussing the 'Status of AMSAT
P3-E and DLR-AMSAT P5-Moon/Mars' can be downloaded directly from
the AMSAT-DL server: http://tinyurl.com/44ter7y (AMSAT-DL)
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-149.06
ARISS Status - 23 May 2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 149.06
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 29, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-149.06
1. Successful ARISS Contact with Debica, Poland
On Thursday, May 19, an ARISS contact was held between Primary and Junior
High Schools Complex in Podgrodziein, Debica, Poland and on-orbit astronaut
Ron Garan, KF5GPO. The contact complemented the science curriculum
covering physics and astronomy. Local amateur radio operators, experienced
in satellite contacts, worked with the school's radio club to prepare
for this event. Approximately eighty students were in attendance and
listened as Garan fielded 14 space-related questions. News coverage
was provided by radio, television and newspapers.
2. ARISS International Team Meeting Held
The monthly ARISS partners meeting was held on Tuesday, May 17. Topics
of discussion included the ISS National Lab, the new proposal process
for U.S. schools and the Ericsson radio which was recently installed
in the Columbus Module. Minutes will be posted to the ARISS Web site
in the near future. http://www.rac.ca/ariss/arissmin.htm
3. ARRL QST Posts ARISS News
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) included several ARISS-related
items in its June QST.
"In Brief" column told about Astronaut Chris Cassidy earning his Amateur
Radio license KF5KDR, and Astronaut Luca Parmitano earning his Amateur
Radio license KF5KDP. The "Happenings" column ran their photos and a
lengthier story about them.
Then the two-page pictorial ran, titled "Houston, We Have Amateur Radio!"
written by ARRL Chief Operating Office Harold Kramer, WJ1B. There was
a short summary about the ARISS education program, and then pictures
of Kenneth Ransom with the radio in the simulator, the antenna on the
ISS mockup, the Kenwood radio, W5RRR's satellite antenna on the tower,
W5RRR's president (John Maca, AB5SS) with Harold, Mission Control, and
Don Pettit, KD5MDT with Kenneth Ransom and Mark Severance.
4. ARRL Article on New Process for U.S. Schools
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a Web story on the new ARISS
proposal process for U.S. schools. There will be two windows of
opportunity each year for U.S. schools and organizations to submit proposals
for an ARISS contact. A window is currently open and proposals should
be submitted by July 15, 2011 for a contact that will be scheduled during
the January - July 2012 time frame. NASA sent out an EXPRESS message to
18,000 educators letting them know of this opportunity. The message may
be found at the end of the article.
http://www.arrl.org/news/nasa-and-ariss-reach-out-to-educators
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-149.07
Nine New Cubesats
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 149.07
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 29, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-149.07
Nine European Cubesats Heading to Space on Vega
Nine CubeSats built by European Universities are to be flown during
the debut of Europe's new Vega launch vehicle scheduled for the final
quarter of 2011.
Vega aims to make access to space easier, quicker and cheaper.
Development started in 1998 and it will be launched from the ESA Space-
port at Kourou in the Caribbean.
The nine CubeSats are: AtmoCube, [email protected], Goliat, OUFTI 1, PW-Sat 1,
ROBUSTA, UNICubeSAT, UWE 3, XaTcobeo
A video of the new VEGA launcher can be viewed here
http://esatv-movies.e-vision.nl/videos/mplo/
vega_tests_TV_05-10-11_wmplow.wmv
ESA CubeSat information
http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Education/SEM3N03MDAF_0.html
IARU Satellite Frequency Coordination pages
http://www.amsat.org.uk/iaru/
Southgate has this item posted at http://tinyurl.com/44smkw8.
[ANS thanks Southgate ARC News Site for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-149.08
UK Coloqium
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 149.08
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 29, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-149.08
FUNcube at AMSAT-UK Colloquium July 30-31
The 26th AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium will be held on
the weekend of July 30-31 at the Holiday Inn Hotel, Guildford,
England, close to the University of Surrey. A special beginner's
session is planned for Friday afternoon July 29.
Among the presentations will be talks on the FUNcube satellite and
the FUNcube Dongle VHF-UHF Software Defined Radio.
In additional to the lecture stream there will be the GB4FUN Mobile
Communications Centre, AMSAT-UK shop, a Saturday night Gala dinner,
auction and raffle.
The event is open to all Radio Amateurs and SWL's. Either day passes
or full packages comprising overnight accommodation and meals are
available.
Further details are available on the AMSAT-UK website at:
http://www.uk.amsat.org/
[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-149.09
New ARISS School Procedure
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 149.09
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 29, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-149.09
ARISS Announces New Process for US School Contact Proposals
ARISS and the NASA Johnson Space Center Education Office's Teaching
>From Space staff have announced new processes that US-based educators
will need to follow to propose a school contact with the International
Space Station crew.
ARRL ARISS Program Manager Rosalie White, K1STO says there will be
two windows of opportunity each year for educators to submit their
proposals for an ARISS contact. The first window opened on May 19
and will close on July 15, 2011. NASA's Teaching From Space Office
says the new proposal process applies only to US schools at this
time. Schools in other countries will continue to follow their ex-
isting process.
A proposal for an ARISS school contact consists of a comprehensive
education plan, of which the ARISS contact is one of many components:
+ The proposal should integrate NASA education and ARRL content
with surrounding education activities, and include creative ways
to maximize the reach of the ARISS contact and the experience for
students.
+ The educator must describe the instructional activities and lessons
to be engaged in with students as part of the learning and prepara-
tion for the ARISS contact.
+ The proposal should include study topics related to space technology,
space exploration or space research, as well as Amateur Radio, radio
science and wireless communications technology.
ARISS astronaut contacts under the new processes will begin in January
2012 and end in July 2012. A window of opportunity will open every six
months when another NASA news release goes to educators. The initial
NASA news release was sent on May 19 to 18,000 educators.
Full coverage of the ARISS program changes can be found on-line at:
http://www.arrl.org/news/nasa-and-ariss-reach-out-to-educators
NASA Teaching From Space web site can be viewed at:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/teachingfromspace/home/ariss.html
US schools wishing to propose an ARISS contact can get started at:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/teachingfromspace/students/ariss.h
tml
Non-US schools can find information regarding the proposal for an ARISS
contact at: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm
AMSAT Web site: http://www.amsat.org
ARISS Web site: http://www.ariss.org
ARISS Facebook Page: Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS)
ARISS Twitter site: @ARISS_status
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) is a volun-
teer program in partnership with AMSAT, ARRL, and NASA which inspires
students, worldwide, to pursue careers in science, technology, engin-
eering and math through amateur radio communications opportunities
with the International Space Station on-orbit crew. Students learn
about life on board the ISS and explore Earth from space through sci-
ence and math activities. ARISS provides opportunities for the school
community (students, teachers, families and local residents) to become
more aware of the substantial benefits of human space flight and the
exploration and discovery that occur on space flight journeys along
with learning about technology and amateur radio.
[ANS thanks ARISS, the ARRL, and NASA for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-149.10
AO-51 Partial Operation Restored
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 149.10
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 29, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-149.10
AO-51 Partial Operation Restored
AMSAT-NA VP Operations, Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA reports that partial
operation has been restored to AO-51.
Because the Integrated Housekeeping (IHU) computer crashes during each
eclipse turning AO-51 ON requires a manually sent series of commands
from a control station to reload a small housekeeping program stored
on the satellite from ROM, then turning the repeater on, setting the
modulation level and turning the RF power down.
At present, this re-start sequence is being done on afternoon passes
over North America when the satellite's solar panels are being illumin-
ated by sunlight and it is in range of an available control station.
AO-51 is being left enabled after the North American afternoon passes
so stations in Asia may hear it active still on the descending morning
passes there.
The crashes prevent Whole Orbit Data from being collected for analysis
on the ground. Analysis of live telemetry indicates that one of the
Ni-Cd battery cells has failed. Further study is still in progress.
Drew concluded, "Thanks for all the donations for Fox and ARISSat-1 over
the last week! If you haven't yet donated, drop by http://www.amsat.org,
or call Martha at 1-888-322-6728 today and help us get Fox in space."
Keep up with the latest AO-51 Control Team News on-line at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA VP Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA 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.
Memeorial Day Tribute-Thanks to Veterans for what they have earned for us.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Dee Interdonato, NB2F
nb2f at amsat dot org
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-135
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:
* Ready, Set, GO! AMSAT is Ready for Dayton Hamvention
* AMSAT at Smithsonian Space Day 2011
* Second Call for Speakers for AMSAT UK Colloquium 2011
* 2011 AMSAT Field Day Competition
* ISRO Request For VO-52 HAMSAT User Feedback and Comments
* ARISSat-1 Update
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* New High For Space Tourism: Lunar Tour
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.01
Ready, Set, GO! AMSAT is Ready for Dayton Hamvention
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 15, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.01
The 2011 Dayton Hamvention will be held this year from May 20-22,
2011 and AMSAT will be there. The AMSAT theme for 2011 is "Providing
Education Through Amateur Satellites". We will have multiple exhibits
of the new AMSAT satellites on display.
You'll find AMSAT at the same spot (Booths 444-449) in the Ball Arena,
right across from the ARRL area and just inside the door from the Sat-
ellite Demonstration area. Plan to visit all of the AMSAT activities!
AMSAT has planned a number of great activities during the Hamvention.
Here is a sample of the events and activities planned for the entire
weekend. Links to all of these activities can be found on the AMSAT
web page: http://www.amsat.org.
This list has been updated since last week's bulletin!
+ Meet astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC Friday 1:30-2:30, Saturday,
3:00-4:00 at the AMSAT booth.
+ ARISSat-1 operational prototype will be on display.
o Tune your HT to 145.950 MHz to hear a preview of the FM downlink.
o Watch the demonstration of the ARISSatTLM software receive and
display the CW beacon and BPSK telemetry using G6LVB's FUNcube
Dongle.
+ Howard Long, G6LVB will be at the AMSAT booth periodically to talk
about his FUNcube Dongle (FCD) project. This small (1" x 3") USB
software defined radio will receive from 64 - 1700 MHz.
+ CAMSAT delegates will be at AMSAT booth. The CAMSAT delegation con-
sists of Alan, BA1DU; Ken, BH4REQ; Jin, BA4TA; and Michael, BD5RV/4.
+ The ARRL Expo, next door to AMSAT, will have the backup OSCAR-1
satellite on display, resurrected by W1AW Station Manager Joe
Carcia, and ARRL Lab Test Engineer Bob Allison, WB1GCM. The CW
transmitter is tuned to 145.080 MHz. It will transmit at Part 15
levels with only 10 microwatts of power across a 50 ohm dummy load.
A satellite transceiver will be positioned next to the unit that
will be used to receive the CW signal. You will hear it transmit
"HI HI," just as it did 50 years ago.
+ The fifth annual AMSAT/TAPR Banquet will be Friday night May 20.
Just a reminder that the cutoff date for the AMSAT-TAPR dinner at
Dayton is Monday May 16th. You can register at the AMSAT Store web-
site: http://www.amsat-na.com/store/item.php?id=100158 We will NOT
be selling tickets at the booth. Our new Banquet speaker will be
Bob Bruninga, WB4APR speaking on "Power from Space and in your
Shack". David Rowe, VK5DGR is unable to attend. Read about Bob's
presentation on the AMSAT at Dayton webpages at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/hamvention/2011/Banquet.php
+ AMSAT Thursday Night Get-together at Tickets Pub & Eatery.
+ Dave Jordan, AA4KN will speak about ARISS at the Teachers Forum
at 1000 on Friday in Room 3. The title of his talk "Space Communi-
cations from the Classroom-ARISS and AMSAT". Dave will describe
as how to apply for an ARISS contact at your school and find out
how amateur radio satellites can be accessed and used for class-
room projects."
+ The AMSAT Forum will be on Saturday May 21 1115-1330 in Forum Room
5 on Saturday. Moderated by Alan Biddle, WA4SCA you will have a
chance to hear and see the latest news of amateur radio in space.
o AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW will present an AMSAT
Status Report
o Alan Kung, BA1DU, CEO of AMSAT-China, will discuss the activities
of AMSAT-China.
o Project Manager for ARISSat-1, Gould Smith, WA4SXM, will talk about
its operation aboard the ISS, and the planned deployment and opera-
tions this summer.
o Tony Monteiro, AA2TX, will discuss the design and status of
Project-FOX.
o Alex Harvilchuck, N3NP, will present NextGen CubeSat
Program Update.
+ NASA Astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC is scheduled to speak from
1315-1415 on Saturday in Forum Room 3. Doug is attending Hamvention
as guest of ARRL and AMSAT. According to the Forum listing, "Doug
will share his experiences about space flight and using Amateur
Radio in space."
+ Lou McFadin, W5DID is scheduled to speak at the "Introduction to
Digital-ATV" Forum, scheduled on Saturday from 1530-1700 in Forum
Room 2. The title of his talk is "DATV Space Station Project".
+ Satellite demonstrations will take place outside the Ball Arena
entrance Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Be sure and come by the booth and renew your membership and receive
an AMSAT multiblade screwdriver as a premium!
The AMSAT leadership team will be at Hamvention and invite you to
take advantage of this opportunity to interact with both board mem-
bers and senior officers. If you have issues or concerns that you
wish to express here is your chance to do so.
[ANS thanks AMSAT HQ for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.02
AMSAT at Smithsonian Space Day 2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 15, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.02
Dave Taylor, W8AAS reported a very successful AMSAT presence at Space
Day 2011 held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on the
Mall in Washington DC on May 7. According to the ARISS status report,
the average crowd in the Museum on this Saturday in May is about
30,000.
Featured displays included prototype picosats, cubesats, space hard-
ware including laser reflectors for the kids to try out. A crowd of
250 people watched the ARISS contact as six youngsters asked questions.
Each one had three questions to ask and we got through all of them with
time to thank Cady Coleman, KC5ZTH, give her a round of applause, and
hear her response. Mark Steiner, K3MS handled the ARISS uplink/downlink
from NASA Goddard amateur radio station K6DUE.
Prior to the contact, former Payload Specialist Greg Linteris spoke to
the crowd. Greg had trained with Cady for one of his flights. He was
also on one of the last SAREX missions (STS-94).
This year a group from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and
Technology brought a working prototype of their Cubesat. They demon-
strated with the prototype how one can uplink a text message and their
Cubesat converts the text message to speech and transmits the speech on
the downlink. They are manifested on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch for early
next year. Orbital Sciences has been providing them with assistance for
the project.
At Space Day a new version of the AMSAT-OSCAR slide show was run. A link
to a PDF version of the slide show has been added to the AMSAT web page.
(see http://www.amsat.org).
Thanks to all who helped out:
Dave Taylor, W8AAS
Perry Klein, W3PK
Dick Daniels, W4PUJ
Mark Kanawati, N4TPY
Samudra Haque, N3RDX
Don Sylvain, WA3WOD from the Smithsonian Amateur Radio Club NN3SI
Mark Steiner, K3MS from NASA Goddard K6DUE
Bob McCown, N3IYI from NASA Goddard K6DUE
Photos will be published in the AMSAT Journal.
[ANS thanks Perry Klein, W3PK and Dave Taylor W8AAS for the above
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.03
Second Call for Speakers for AMSAT UK Colloquium 2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 15, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.03
This is the second call for speakers for the AMSAT-UK Colloquium
2011 which will be held at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, UK (same
venue as in 2010) from *Sat 30 Jul to Sun 31 July 2011*
AMSAT-UK invite speakers, about amateur radio, space and associated
activities, for this event.
Offers of talks should be sent *ONLY* to G4DPZ, via the following
routes:
e-mail: david.johnson AT blackpepper.co.uk
SnailMail: QTHR from http://www.QRZ.com
Likewise if anyone knows of a good speaker, please send contact and
other information to G4DPZ.
[ANS thanks Dave, G4DPZ for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.04
2011 AMSAT Field Day Competition
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 15, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.04
AMSAT Director of Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO says, "It's that time
of year again: Summer and Field Day!"
Each year the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) sponsors Field
Day as an emergency preparedness exercise. The event takes place
during a 24-hour period on the fourth weekend of June. For 2011
the event takes place during a 27-hour period from 1800 UTC on
Saturday June 25, 2011 through 2100 UTC on Sunday June 26, 2011.
Those who set up prior to 1800 UTC on June 25 can operate only
24 hours.
The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) promotes its own
version of Field Day for operation via the amateur satellites,
held concurrently with the ARRL event.
Bruce advises, "If you are considering ONLY the FM voice satellites
like AMSAT-OSCAR 16, AMRAD-OSCAR-27, SaudiSat-Oscar-50, or AMSAT-
OSCAR-51 for your AMSAT Field Day focus. Don't, unless you are simply
hoping to make one contact for the ARRL rules bonus points."
The congestion on FM LEO satellites was so intense in prior years
that we must continue to limit their use to one-QSO-per-FM-satel-
lite. This includes the International Space Station. You will be
allowed one QSO if the ISS is operating Voice. You will also be
allowed one digital QSO with the ISS or any other digital, non-
store-and-forward, packet satellite (if operational).
Please refer to these links for the full document of the AMSAT Field
Day rules:
http://www.amsat.org/ (link on AMSAT.org front page to PDF file)
And, an alternative site is:
http://www.amsatnet.com/2011fd.doc (MS-Word Doc File)
http://www.amsatnet.com/2011fd.pdf (PDF File)
These documents also cover the message exchange format, scoring
requirements, reporting requirements, station classes, etc.
[ANS thanks AMSAT Director of Awards, Bruce Paige, KK5DO for the
above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.05
ISRO Request For VO-52 HAMSAT User Feedback and Comments
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 15, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.05
The VO-52 HAMSAT community has received a request from the Indian
Space Research Organisation (ISRO), in Bangalore for user reports
on the satellite's performance. Shri. T. Parimalarangan, HAMSAT
Operations Director, ISRO Tracking, Ranging and Command Centre
(ISTRAC) asks that feedback be sent via e-mail directly to him at:
tprangan(a)istrac.org. Mani, VU2WMY, Secretary & Station-In-Charge
at the Upagrah Amateur Radio Club VU2URC at the ISRO Satellite Centre
requests a copy to be sent to him at: wmy(a)isac.gov.in.
ISTRAC/ISRO is interested in gathering VO-52 data with responses
to these questions:
1. Qualitative/quantitative performance report. (Signal strength
telemetry observations, availability).
2. Observation on the quality of services from the launch to
present (trend of the onboard behaviour as seen from the
ground).
3. Comparison with other amateur radio satellites.
4. Positive/negative aspects of HAMSAT.
The data will be used to generate a HAMSAT Performance Report on
the 6th anniversary since launch. ISRO values direct feedback from
the user community.
[ANS thanks Mani, VU2WMY for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.06
ARISSat-1 Update
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 15, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.06
The ARISSat-1 satellite was intended to be activated in April as
part of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's famous flight.
However, no ground stations reported hearing the satellite. To
follow up, the ARISSat-1 team had a teleconference with represent-
atives of RSC-Energia (Russia) and NASA to request a clarification
of the events and discuss what happened.
According to RSC-Energia, the battery in ARISSat-1 was only charged
once on the ground and was then used for a variety of tests and dur-
ing the February activation event. It was not recharged prior to the
April Yuri Gagarin activity since it can only be charged a limited
number of times on the ISS.
The cosmonauts reported that they activated the satellite and con-
firmed that they heard the signal on the ham radio equipment on board
the ISS. Since the battery was nearly depleted of its original charge,
they switched the satellite off after six hours of operation in order
to prevent over-discharging the battery. The battery was then removed
from the satellite and stored separately as per their normal battery
handling procedures. For more information on this battery, please see
the JAN/FEB 2011 AMSAT Journal.
RSC-Energia reported that their plan is to recharge the battery about
three weeks prior to the EVA deployment. This will give the cosmonauts
time to reinstall the battery and test the satellite to make sure it is
working properly. The EVA deployment is planned for late July of this
year.
[ANS thanks AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering, Tony Monteiro, AA2TX
for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.07
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.07
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 15, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.07
+ Congratulations to Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA! Paolo now has the
record for the number of contacts during a single flight at
42. He is part of Expedition 26/27).
+ AMSAT-UK is now active on Twitter as @AMSAT_UK. Keep up to
date with all the AMSAT-UK news and updates.
+ MILESTONE! On Saturday May 7, Bob Herrell, AJ5C, acheived his
5,000th amateur radio satellite contact when he worked Kerry,
WC7V on the FO-29 satellite using SSB. Bob posted a video at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt6gM7K7Kv0. The Southgate ARC
news site also carried the story:
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/may2011/5000_sat_qsos.htm
Bob, congratulations on a remarkable acheivement.
+ SA AMSAT said that its Space Symposium 2011 will go full steam
ahead on Saturday 21 May. The auditorium at Radiokop will be the
venue and the SARL National Amateur Radio Centre being used for
refreshment breaks and lunch. The new arrangement has substantially
reduced the registration fee to R75 for SARL and SA AMSAT members
if booked before 15 May 2011. Students and scholars will enter
free if a student card or scholar ID is submitted at the time of
Registration. The conference will be opened by the CEO of the South
African National Space Agency, Sandile Malinga. John Willescroft,
ZS6EF, will demonstrate the development of a totally new concept
which allows a solar panel to be released from SAiSAT once in
Space. For full details, registration forms and programme, visit:
http://www.amsatsa.org.za
+ Spaceflightnow.com has posted a movie capturing the Atlas 5 rocket's
launch over the weekend that successfully deployed the first in a
new generation of missile warning satellites for the U.S. military.
Watch on-line at: http://spaceflightnow.com/atlas/av022/video.html
+ OY, FAROE ISLANDS. Operators Hans/PA0VHA, Steef/PA2A and Wim/PA2AM
will be active as OY/homecall from Skaelingur, Streymoy Island, in
the Faroes (EU-018), between May 22nd and June 3rd. Activity will
be on all bands using CW and RTTY. Also, look for activity on 6 and
4 meters, and PA2AM will also be on AO-51 satellite. Streymoy Island
has a population of 11 and some sheep! QSL via their home callsigns.
ADDED NOTE: This team also plans activity from Market Reef later this
year. (Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin)
+ The next Hudson Valley Satcom Nets "HV Satcom" Net ia scheduled for
May 26, at 8PM EDT (UTC-4) on the 146.970 MHz repeater, (Pl 100),
and also on Echolink node N2EYH-L. More info: http://www.hvsatcom.org
(Stu, WA2BSS)
+ Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 30th Annual
ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference to be held September
16-18, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland. These papers will also be pub-
lished in the Conference Proceedings (you do NOT need to attend the
conference to have your paper included in the Proceedings). The sub-
mission deadline is July 31, 2011. Please send papers to:
Maty Weinberg, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 or you can make
your submission via e-mail to: maty(a)arrl.org.
+ Squrl may be a useful tool for storing your on-line videos. Its pri-
mary function is to help visitors collect interesting videos online
for later "consumption". First-time visitors will need to complete a
short registration, and they can get started saving videos from a
range of sources. Visitors can also organize playlists, and then
email them to friends and colleagues. This version is compatible
with all operating systems. See: http://www.squrl.com/
+ AMSAT's Keeper of the Keps, Ray Hoad, WA5QGD says he has updated
the name designation in the AMSAT KEPs for FAST1 as FO-69 and FAST2
as FO-70. This matches the OSCAR desginators assigned to these
satellites earlier this year.
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-135.08
New High For Space Tourism: Lunar Tour
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 135.08
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 15, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-135.08
This week MoonDaily.com posted a story, "Space Adventures proposes
modified Soyuz TMA for Lunar tourists" which follows below:
U.S. Space Adventures, the only company currently offering tourist
orbital spaceflights, has offered to equip the Russian Soyuz TMA
spaceship with additional living space for eight-day commercial
flights around the moon, the company said late on Thursday.
The firm announced on April 28 that it would offer moon orbit tourist
trips, albeit with a price tag of around $150 million per seat.
"After consultation with Rocket Space Corporation Energia (the Soyuz
TMA design authority), modifications to the Soyuz TMA configuration
have been agreed upon. The most important is the addition of a sec-
ond habitation module to the Soyuz TMA lunar complex," Space Adven-
tures said.
A moon tour mission would include separate launches of a Soyuz and
the upper stage, their docking in a low Earth orbit, a flight to
the moon with the upper stage engine, the separation of Soyuz from
the upper stage rocket, an orbit around the moon, return to Earth
and landing.
Space Adventures is currently selecting candidates for the next
space tour together with the Russian Federal Space Agency.
The company quoted Vice Chairman Richard Garriott as saying it
had sold one of the two seats for the flight and anticipated that
the launch would occur in 2015.
The CEO of Russia's Gagarin Research and Test Cosmonaut Training
Center Sergei Krikalyov has said the center was ready to train a
professional cosmonaut and a space tourist for the future flight.
This story is on the MoonDaily.com web site, see:
http://tinyurl.com/3zn8xhl
[ANS thanks MoonDaily.com 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 ham who was a physics professor. His lectures
could be quite animated and exciting. He would jump off of the desk
or fling frisbees to illustrate his point. One day in class he was
spinning on an office chair holding weights in each hand when he lost
his balance and tumbled into the first row. He apologized to his class
for going off on a tangent.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-130.01
AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - ARISSat-1 Update
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 130.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 10, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-130.01
The ARISSat-1 satellite was intended to be activated in April as
part of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's famous flight.
However, no ground stations reported hearing the satellite. To
follow up, the ARISSat-1 team had a teleconference with represent-
atives of RSC-Energia (Russia) and NASA to request a clarification
of the events and discuss what happened.
According to RSC-Energia, the battery in ARISSat-1 was only charged
once on the ground and was then used for a variety of tests and dur-
ing the February activation event. It was not recharged prior to the
April Yuri Gagarin activity since it can only be charged a limited
number of times on the ISS.
The cosmonauts reported that they activated the satellite and con-
firmed that they heard the signal on the ham radio equipment on board
the ISS. Since the battery was nearly depleted of its original charge,
they switched the satellite off after six hours of operation in order
to prevent over-discharging the battery. The battery was then removed
from the satellite and stored separately as per their normal battery
handling procedures. For more information on this battery, please see
the JAN/FEB 2011 AMSAT Journal.
RSC-Energia reported that their plan is to recharge the battery about
three weeks prior to the EVA deployment. This will give the cosmonauts
time to reinstall the battery and test the satellite to make sure it is
working properly. The EVA deployment is planned for late July of this
year.
[ANS thanks AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering, Tony Monteiro, AA2TX
for the above information]
/EX
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-128
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
**********************************************************************
* Volunteers are needed to Help at the AMSAT booth at Dayton. Gould *
* WA4SXM, is looking for volunteers to help man the AMSAT booth dur- *
* ing the 2011 Hamvention. People are needed all 3 days for 2 hour *
* shifts. Please send the days and times you are available to help *
* as well as how many shifts you are willing to work via e-mail to *
* wa4sxm at amsat.org. *
**********************************************************************
In this edition:
* AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention 2011
* The DARA Matching Gift Challenge
* May 16 Deadline for Dayton AMSAT/TAPR 2011 Banquet Reservations
* AO-51 Batteries Failing
* Calling all software developers - AMSAT needs you!
* W5KUB Dayton Webcast to Feature Interview with Astronaut
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* Satellite Presentations for May 2011
* 6th Anniversary of HAMSAT VO 52
* Ben Stevenson, W2BXA Silent Key
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-128.01
AMSAT at the Dayton Hamvention 2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 128.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 8, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-128.01
The 2011 Dayton Hamvention will be held this year from May 20-22,
2011 and AMSAT will be there. The AMSAT theme for 2011 is "Providing
Education Through Amateur Satellites". We will have multiple exhibits
of the new AMSAT satellites on display.
You'll find AMSAT at the same spot (Booths 444-449) in the Ball Arena,
right across from the ARRL area and just inside the door from the Sat-
ellite Demonstration area. Plan to visit all of the AMSAT activities!
AMSAT has planned a number of great activities during the Hamvention.
To help produce and deliver our great list of AMSAT activities we need
you to volunteer to help at the AMSAT booth all three days for 2 hour
shifts. Please contact AMSAT-VP User Services, Gould Smith, WA4SXM by
e-mail (wa4sxm(a)amsat.org) to tell him the days and times you are avail-
able to help as well as how many shifts you are able to help.
Here is a sample of the events and activities planned for the entire
weekend. Links to all of these activities can be found on the AMSAT
web page: http://www.amsat.org.
+ Meet astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC Friday 1:30-2:30, Saturday,
3:00-4:00 at the AMSAT booth.
+ ARISSat-1 operational prototype will be on display.
o Tune your HT to 145.950 MHz to hear a preview of the FM downlink.
o Watch the demonstration of the ARISSatTLM software receive and
display the CW beacon and BPSK telemetry using G6LVB's FUNcube
Dongle.
+ AMSAT Thursday Night Get-together at Tickets Pub & Eatery.
+ The AMSAT Forum will be on Saturday May 21. Moderated by Alan Biddle,
WA4SCA you will have a chance to hear and see the latest news of ama-
teur radio in space.
o AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW will present an AMSAT
Status Report
o Alan Kung, BA1DU, CEO of AMSAT-China, will discuss the activities
of AMSAT-China.
o Project Manager for ARISSat-1, Gould Smith, WA4SXM, will talk about
its operation aboard the ISS, and the planned deployment and opera-
tions this summer.
o Tony Monteiro, AA2TX, will discuss the design and status of
Project-FOX.
o Alex Harvilchuck, N3NP, will present NextGen CubeSat
Program Update.
+ Satellite demonstrations will take place outside the Ball Arena
entrance Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
+ The fifth annual AMSAT/TAPR Banquet will be Friday night May 20.
(More information below).
Be sure and come by the booth and renew your membership and receive
an AMSAT multiblade screwdriver as a premium!
The AMSAT leadership team will be at Hamvention and invite you to
take advantage of this opportunity to interact with both board mem-
bers and senior officers. If you have issues or concerns that you
wish to express here is your chance to do so.
[ANS thanks AMSAT HQ for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-128.02
The DARA Matching Gift Challenge
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 128.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 8, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-128.02
The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) has also announced a
fundraising challenge for AMSAT whereby they will match on a 1:3
basis up to $5,000.00 for donations made in 2011. That is, for
every $3.00 that AMSAT raises, DARA will provide $1.00 up to a
maximum of $5,000 donated by DARA.
AMSAT will be conducting fundraising at Hamvention, where donations
will count against this goal. Please consider making a donation to
AMSAT at Hamvention or anytime this Spring as we strive to meet this
goal. We appreciate DARA's support for AMSAT and see this as an
opportunity for donors to increase the impact of their donations by
taking advantage of this matching program.
This is the 60th year of the Dayton Hamvention, sponsored by DARA
(Dayton Amateur Radio Association). As has been the case for the
many years Hamvention will be at the Hara Arena Complex on the north
side of Dayton. Further information on Hamvention 2011, including
advance ticket sales and motel accommodations, can be found at the
Hamvention web site: http://www.hamvention.org/
[ANS thanks AMSAT HQ for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-128.03
May 16 Deadline for Dayton AMSAT/TAPR 2011 Banquet Reservations
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 128.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 8, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-128.03
May 16 Deadline for Dayton AMSAT/TAPR 2011 Banquet Reservations
The cutoff date for the AMSAT-TAPR dinner at Dayton is May 16th. You
can register at the AMSAT website. As in previous years, we will NOT
be selling banquet tickets at the AMSAT booth.
The fifth annual joint AMSAT/TAPR Banquet will be held Friday evening,
May 20, 2011 during the Dayton Hamvention.
The Banquet will be at the:
Kohler Presidential Banquet Center
4572 Presidential Way
Kettering, OH 45429
(just south of Dayton).
The price for the Banquet is $30 per person. Reserved tickets may be
picked up at the AMSAT booth at Hamvention on Friday, or at the door.
You may make reservations for the 2011 AMSAT/TAPR Banquet online in
the AMSAT Store: http://www.amsat-na.com/store/item.php?id=100158
AMSAT Presidents Club Gold members should let Martha know if they are
planning to attend the banquet. For additional information contact
Martha at the AMSAT office (martha(a)amsat.org).
Banquet Schedule
----------------
6:30 PM Doors open and Cash bar is available with Beer, Wine,
Liquor and soft drinks.
7:15 PM Buffet Dinner service begins. The Center has a justly
deserved reputation for good food and service.
8:15 PM Presentation by David Rowe, VK5DGR - The Village Telco
There are now billions of mobile phones all over the world. However
in many developing countries, mobile phones are simply too expensive
to use. For example, in a country where people earn $1.50/day, a
phone call can cost 21 cents/minute. This is a huge tax on communica-
tions.
David Rowe, VK5DGR, will describe how a community of people from
around the world set out to fix this problem, using a mix of Wi-Fi
and open source software. The result is the Village Telco - a DIY
telephone company that anyone can set up.
A Village Telco is constructed from a network of "Mesh Potatoes" -
small Wi-Fi boxes that are mounted on homes in a village. They form
a mesh network, relaying telephone calls for each other. Each Mesh
Potato connects to a regular telephone inside village homes. Phone
calls on the network are free. A local person in the Village can be
trained in a few hours to set up and maintain the network.
To build the Village Telco we borrowed many ideas from Ham Radio,
such as sharing hardware designs and community networks.
The talk will include real world stories of how Village Telcos are
helping people in several developing countries, and explain why a
simple phone call that we take for granted can be so important.
[ANS thanks AMSAT HQ for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-128.04
AO-51 Batteries Failing
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 128.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 8, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-128.04
AMSAT Vice-President of Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA reported
the AO-51 Command Team is having a difficult time trying to restore
AO-51 to operation.
The current situation is the satellite will not retain the upload of
the flight software across eclipse. The batteries are in very poor
condition.
AO-51 ground control stations plan a few more things to try, but with
eclipses peaking around July at approximately 27 minutes, the long
term situation is grim.
There is a brief period around November where eclipses are as short
as 16 minutes, but past that it is a long climb to 30 minutes or
longer eclipses for many years.
At this time the Command Team cannot provide an estimated "return to
service" date. Stations with 9k6 digital capability can listen in on
control station attempts at recovery on 435.150 MHz on many passes
over the US.
Please support AMSAT-NA and the other AMSAT groups around the world,
and help us get new satellites into orbit. Projects like Fox, FunCube,
P3E, and Kiwisat need your financial support to keep our amateur sat-
ellite fleet flying. You can donate to AMSAT-NA via the link on the
front page at http://www.amsat.org.
Keep up with the latest AO-51 Control Team News on-line at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA VP Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA for the
above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-128.05
Calling all software developers - AMSAT needs you!
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 128.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 8, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-128.05
To receive the new BPSK-1000 telemetry format from ARISSat-1,
AMSAT has developed demodulation and decoding software called
ARISSatTLM. This software is designed to be used with a standard
2-meter SSB receiver. With the advent of software defined radios,
we would like to test receiving the telemetry on one of these
new devices such as the "FUNcube Dongle" receiver. This would
require modifying the software to use an I/Q source and doing
the Doppler tracking in software. The ARISSatTLM software by
Phil Karn KA9Q and Douglas Quagliana KA2UPW is open source and
is available here:
https://svn.sarpeidon.net/suitsat2/repos/ground_station_software
Interested software developers are invited to download the software
and see what you can do with it for your favorite SDR.
[ANS thanks AMSAT Vice-President of Engineering Tony Montiero,
AA2TX for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-128.06
Dayton Webcast to Feature Interview with Astronaut Doug Wheelock
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 128.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 8, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-128.06
If you cannot make it to Dayton this year you can watch the event
via the webcam broadcast by Tom Medlin, W5KUB. Tom had 28 contacts
with Col. Doug Wheelock during Expedition 25 on the International
Space Station. Tom and Doug will meet in-person with the event to
be broadcast on the webcam link at: http://w5kub.com.
W5KUB.Com will start the live broadcast on Wednesday May 18th at
approximately 0800 Central Time or 1300 UTC with the webcam mounted
in the car for the 550 mile drive to Dayton. They will broadcast the
shelter set up on Thursday morning May 19th at Hara Arena at 0900
Eastern time or 1300 UTC. Thursday afternoon they will try to broad-
cast the Air Force Museum.
Then they will be live for the entire Hamvention Friday May 20th
through Sunday May 22nd.
Tom says, "We will also be giving away over $5000 to lucky winners on
our broadcast. All you have to do is be logged into our chatroom and
claim your prize when your name is called. We have so many prizes that
we will be giving them out every 20-30 minutes during live broadcasts."
This year prizes include:
+ Grand prize FT-950
+ Icom IC80AD D-star radio
+ headsets with mic from Heil Sound
+ headset and mic from TenTec
+ Diawa wattmeters
+ LDG auto antenna tuners
+ Comet antennas
+ baluns
+ communication speakers
+ weather stations
+ ham hats
+ QSL cards
+ ham plaques
+ And many other ham related prizes
Last year over 50,000 unique hams followed the broadcast in about 150
countries. Log into the chat room on the web site and chat with us or
other hams watching the broadcast. You can also join the ham chat room
via your IRC client: server: irc.liveharmony.org then join #hamradio.
Tom concludes, "Watch for our interview with Astronaut Doug Wheelock
when he visits the W5KUB booth. There will also be other surprise inter-
views and guests."
The http://w5kub.com website on-line 24 x 7, 365 days per year. It will
have recorded videos on when we are not live. Come on over and say hello.
[ANS thanks Tom Medlin, W5KUB for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-128.07
Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 128.07
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 8, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-128.07
+ AMSAT extends sincere sympathy and best wishes to ISS astronaut
Paolo Nespoli, IZ0JPA from Italy upon his recent sad news while
in orbit on the International Space Station about the passing of
his mother following an illness. She was 78. Nespoli is scheduled
to return to Earth in three weeks.
+ A school contact with Greenville was done with the recently instal-
led Ericsson radio from the Columbus module on the ISS. The ARISS
team has received some reports that the signal may been lower than
from past contacts. Please pass along your thoughts on how the sig-
nals seemed to be. ARISS had several contacts on Saturday, so if you
listened, please tell ARISS how the signals sounded to you. Please
post your signal reports on the sarex(a)amsat.org list.
+ NASA has made available for the public a new online collection of
images of our solar system and locations on Earth where astrobiology
researchers travel to conduct field research. The 90+ images in the
collection were chosen for their scientific significance and sheer
beauty. The photos can be viewed on the "From Earth to the Solar
System (FETTSS)" website at: http://fettss.arc.nasa.gov/ A related
story is at: http://tinyurl.com/3wzjve5 (skynightly.com)
+ NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory says the Space Images Version 2 app
for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Android is available for free down-
load from: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/apps/spaceimages/index.cfm
The Space Images are also available on a web site:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/
+ Kazakhstan Special Event Stations to celebrate the 50th anniversary
of manned space flight using special callsigns will remain active
until May 31. UN50SK (homecall UN7GWC), UO50G (UN2G), UP1ASTR (UN0GL),
UP50F (UN7FW), UP50ASTR (UN6GK), UP50YG (UN7Z), UQ50G (UN6QC), UQ50L
(UN7LZ) and UQ50P (UN7PL). They have also a special award and the
rules can be found at: http://un-dx.ucoz.com/index/yuri_gagarin/0-36
(DXNL 1726 - May 4, 2011 DX Newsletter)
+ Here's your chance to dress up your QSL mailings with new postage
stamps honoring Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, America's first man
in space, and NASA's MESSENGER probe, the first spacecraft to orbit
Mercury. For more information see: http://tinyurl.com/637uz3n
(UniverseToday.com)
+ Something to talk about on 75 meters besides the weather ... Research-
ers at Northwestern University have created a new kind of cloaking
material that can render objects invisible in the terahertz range.
Though this design can't translate into an invisibility cloak for the
visible spectrum, it could have implications in diagnostics, security,
and communication. See: http://tinyurl.com/3m8uehs (spacewar.com)
+ 70MHz is not an amateur band in the USA, but European stations may
try to listen for a new 4-Meter Band Radio Science E-skip Trans-
Atlantic propagation beacon from the East Coast of the US. Its
operating frequency is 70.005 MHz, QTH is FM07fm, CW emissions.
The callsign of the beacon is WE9XUP. Any and all QSL/SWL reports
are welcome via email to: WA1ZMS ( at ) ARRL ( dot ) NET.
The beacon is scheduled to run 24 hours a day until 1 Sept, 2011.
+ Additional information about the Resourcesat-2, Youthsat, and X-Sat
satellites launched on PSLV-C16 rocket on April 20 from India can be
found on-line at: http://tinyurl.com/3fh53zt (spacemart.com)
+ A group of Cornell-developed, fingernail-sized satellites may travel
to Saturn within the next decade, and as they flutter down through
its atmosphere, they will collect data about chemistry, radiation and
particle impacts. Three prototypes of these chip satellites, named
"Sprite," will be mounted on the International Space Station after the
space shuttle Endeavour delivers them on its final flight. The thin,
1-inch-square chips will be mounted to the Materials International
Space Station Experiment (MISSE-8) pallet, which will be attached to
the space station, exposing them to the harsh conditions of space to
see how they hold up and transmit data. More information at:
http://tinyurl.com/3fs5ks7 (spacemart.com)
+ Dave, KB1PVH is still looking for operators for CT, NH, NJ for the
13 Original Colonies Special Event. If anyone wants to participate
send him an email at kb1pvh(a)gmail.com. More info on-line at:
http://www.13colonies.info/
+ 'CQ EGYPT' Amateur Radio Magazine from The Egyptian Radio Amateurs
Society (ERASD). One of their foremost goals is providing educational
programs and materials to promote amateur radio and develop the sci-
entific and technical skills of the Egyptian and Arab youth. In this
context, ERASD is currently issued an online magazine focused on simp-
lifying science and technology to youth in general, and more particu-
larly in areas related to amateur radio and satellite. The Magazine
articles will be a mix of English and Arabic. The May issue is NOW
on-line at: http://erasd.net/CQSUAMATEURRADIOMAGAZIN.aspx
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-128.08
Satellite Presentations for May 2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 128.08
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 8, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-128.08
Clint Bradford, K6LCS, will be presenting his "How to Work the FM
Amateur Satellites With Your HT" session at the following clubs in the
month of May, 2011. ALL are welcome to attend.
Attendees will be shown everything needed to work the FM ham
satellites - with a re-occurring theme of, "Most hams already have
most of the necessary equipment ... " Attendees should download
the four-page tutorial beforehand at ...
http://www.work-sat.com
... and Clint welcomes pre-presentation questions. Call him at
909-241-7666, or send email to clint(a)clintbradford.com .
Chattanooga Tennessee ARC, 7PM local time
Thursday, May 5, 2011
American Red Cross chapter
3801 McCallie Avenue
Chattanooga TN 37403
Iredell County ARS, 7PM local time
May 12, 2011
Julia's Talley House Restaurant
Highway 21 North
Troutman NC 28166
Palos Verdes ARC, 7:30PM PDT
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Hesse Park Community Room
23901 Hawthorne Boulevard
Rancho Palos Verdes CA 90275
West Coast ARC, 7PM PDT
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Huntington Beach Senior Outreach Center
1718 Orange Avenue
Huntington Beach CA 92648-2478
Barrow ARC, 7PM local time
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Barrow Regional Medical Center - 3rd floor conference room
316 North Broad Street
Winder Georgia 30680
[ANS thanks Clint Bradford, K6LCS for the above information and thanks
him for his on-going outreach work for amateur radio in space.]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-128.09
6th Anniversary of HAMSAT VO 52
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 128.09
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 8, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-128.09
Mani, VU2WMY, Secretary & Station-In-Charge of the Upagrah Amateur
Radio Club VU2URC at the ISRO Satellite Centre in India released
the following statement this week:
"It gives us great pleasure and satisfaction to say that 'HAMSAT-VO
52' has completed 6 years of successful operation in orbit. HAMSAT
was launched on 5th May 2005 aboard PSLV-C6 from Sriharikotta.
The transponder and the beacon on-board were never been off the air,
even for a second from the time they were switched 'ON'. Looking at
the health parameters, HAMSAT is still in good condition and we are
sure it would provide fruitful services for many more years to come.
On this happy occasion, we express our sincere thanks to the entire
ISRO HAMSAT project team for this great feat. Our thanks to AMSAT-
India, Kumar VU2BGS and William PEIRAH for their contributions."
[ANS thanks Mani, VU2WMY for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-128.10
Ben Stevenson, W2BXA Silent Key
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 128.10
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 8, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-128.10
AMSAT has received the sad news of the passing of Ben Stevenson,
W2BXA, of Colonia, New Jersey, on May 5, 2011. He was 97. An ARRL
member since 1934, Stevenson was also a charter member of the
North Jersey DX Association (NJDXA) since 1957, serving as its
first president. Stevenson held Satellite DXCC #1, Mixed DXCC #6
(390 countries confirmed) and Phone DXCC #6 (388 countries confirmed).
He held WAZ No.1, as well as DXCC on 10 bands, 6 through 160, plus
of course OSCAR. At his death he had 225 confirmed on Top Band, all
from a 1-acre lot in central New Jersey. He held his call sign con-
tinuously for 82 years.
Ray Soifer, W2RS recalls, "Ben was a good friend for nearly 40
years. Ben and I made the first-ever two-way contact by satellite-
to-satellite relay in any radio service, using AO-7 and AO-6 in
1975. Ben often said that the secrets of success in DX are persis-
tence and consistency. Not a bad formula for success in life either.
I'll miss him."
[ANS thanks the ARRL and Ray Soifer, 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 with that
please keep in mind the ham who realized several reasons why he was
getting older ... he realized him and his teeth don't sleep together;
when he went to try to straighten out the wrinkles in his socks he
discovered he wasn't wearing any; he woke up looking like his drivers
license picture; and when his wife told him to suck in his gut he
realized he had already done so.
73,
This week's ANS Editor,
JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM
K9JKM at amsat dot org
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-126.01
ANS Special Bulletin - AO-51 Batteries Failing
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 126.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
May 6, 2011
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-126.01
AMSAT Vice-President of Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA reported
the AO-51 Command Team is having a difficult time trying to restore
AO-51 to operation.
The current situation is the satellite will not retain the upload of
the flight software across eclipse. The batteries are in very poor
condition.
AO-51 ground control stations plan a few more things to try, but with
eclipses peaking around July at approximately 27 minutes, the long
term situation is grim.
There is a brief period around November where eclipses are as short
as 16 minutes, but past that it is a long climb to 30 minutes or
longer eclipses for many years.
At this time the Command Team cannot provide an estimated "return to
service" date. Stations with 9k6 digital capability can listen in on
control station attempts at recovery on 435.150 MHz on many passes
over the US.
Please support AMSAT-NA and the other AMSAT groups around the world,
and help us get new satellites into orbit. Projects like Fox, FunCube,
P3E, and Kiwisat need your financial support to keep our amateur sat-
ellite fleet flying. You can donate to AMSAT-NA via the link on the
front page at http://www.amsat.org.
Keep up with the latest AO-51 Control Team News on-line at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA VP Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA for the
above information]
/EX