August 2017 - ANS - mailman.amsat.org

ANS-232 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by Lee McLamb 20 Aug '17

20 Aug '17

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-232 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including 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. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * Cubesats Deployed During Russian EVA - TOMSK TPU-120 Reported Active * Pat Gowen, G3IOR, Silent Key August 17 * AMSAT Fox-1B Completes P-POD Integration * AMSAT Phase 4 Groundstation Update Report * AMSAT 2017 Symposium Call for Papers * AMSAT Journal Packet Articles Added to Station and Operating Hints Page SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-232.01 ANS-232 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 232.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE August 20, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-232.01 Cubesats Deployed During Russian EVA - TOMSK TPU-120 Reported Active News on the AMSAT-UK webf described the hand-deployment plans of three Russian Cubesats during a spacewalk this week: Expedition 52 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, RN3FI and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy, of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, conducted a planned extravehicular activity from the ISS on Thursday, August 17. Ryazanskiy began the schedule of extravehicular activities with the manual deployment of five nanosatellites from a ladder outside the airlock. The satellites, each of which has a mass of about 11 pounds, have a variety of purposes. [the satellites are thought to include Tanyusha-SWSU 1 & 2 and Tomsk-TPU-120] One of the satellites, with casings made using 3-D printing technology, will test the effect of the low-Earth-orbit environment on the composition of 3-D printed materials. Another satellite contains recorded greetings to the people of Earth in 11 languages. A third satellite commemorates the 60th anniversary of the Sputnik 1 launch and the 160th anniversary of the birth of Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. Thanks to Mike, DK3WN for this post-deployment information: http://www.dk3wn.info/p/?cat=325 TOMSK TPU-120 (RS04S) 437.025 MHz digital voice Tanusha-SWSU-1 (RS-6S) 437.050 MHz 9k6 FSK, digital voice Tanusha-SWSU-2 (RS-7S) 437.050 MHz 9k6 FSK, digital voice [ANS thanks Mike, DK3WN, and AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Pat Gowen, G3IOR, Silent Key August 17 AMSAT-UK reported that Pat Gowen, G3IOR became a silent key on August 17. Pat was the amateur radio operator who made the discovery on June 21, 2002 that AO-7 was transmitting again. Pat posted a message on the amsat-bb, "I have just come across something most remarkable this Friday 21st June evening. Checking out interlopers in our 145.800 - 146.000 MHz space band with a new vertical now atop my 60' tower and working like magic, at 1728UTC I came across a beacon at S.7 sending slow 8 -10 wpm CW on 145.973.8 MHz. It slowly Dopplered down to 145.970 MHz before going out at 1739 UTC." Pat's original message and follow-up replies can be accessed in the amsat-bb archives: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/archive/amsat-bb/200206/msg00525.html [ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Fox-1B Completes P-POD Integration Tuesday, August 15 Jerry Buxton, NØJY, Vice President Engineering, delivered RadFxSat, our AMSAT Fox-1B CubeSat, built in partnership with Vanderbilt University to Cal Poly University. RadFsSat/Fox-1B was successfully integrated into the P-POD cubesat deployment container on August 16 along with her pod-mates Makersat-0 and EagleSat. Launch qualification vibration testing of the integrated P-POD was completed on August 17. The P-POD will next be mounted on the ULA Delta II rocket for launch no earlier than October 12, 2017. At the conclusion of integration and testing Jerry commented, "Many thanks to the Cal Poly, Tyvak, and NASA personnel who we performed the integration with, to the Makersat-0 and EagleSat team members, and to my west coast AMSAT CubeSat wing man Al Vasso for a successful and fun day!" Look for photos and more news to be published in the AMSAT Journal. RadFxSat/Fox-1B Uplink: 435.250 MHz FM (67.0 Hz CTCSS tone for access) Downlink: 145.960 MHz FM (with subaudible slow speed telemetry data) 145.960 MHz 9600 baud FSK data [ANS thanks Jerry Buxton, NØJY, AMSAT Vice President Engineering for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Phase 4 Groundstation Update Report Michelle Thompson, W5NYV has published this week's AMSAT Phase 4 Ground Weekly Report - video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZxGfh1Es_I&feature=youtu.be The video provides photos and full discussion of the Team's report. Below is a summary of the highlights, editted for the news format of the e-mailed ANS bulletins. So there's quite the backlog. Let's get caught up. We have a True Position GPS 10 MHz reference with Arduino and display. A very nice system for the money, and we have a session scheduled with the local microwave club to get them up and running for some Phase 4 Ground receiver development. LDPC decode work took some strides forward primarily due to Charles Brain G4GUO and Jan Schiefer AC7TD. Check out the repository in the notes. There will be some more updates there very soon on-line at: https://github.com/phase4ground/DVB-receiver Two B200s compliments of Ettus Research have been delivered to Phase 4 Ground members for R&D. Wally Ritchie WU1Y and Mike Sprenger and Tony Stone W4UOO & W4TAS are the current responsible parties and are learning and doing. This very generous donation is greatly appreciated. If you are in the market for a lab-grade SDR, then go to Ettus and tell them Michelle W5NYV sent you. We're making progress on receivers for DVB-S2 in GNU Radio. We demonstrated the current smoking pile of various blocks at Hamvention, and then Maker Faire, and then DEFCON. We will next bring our work to GNU Radio Conference in September, hopefully that same weekend at TAPR DCC, and then we will bring what will by then be a complete and perfect flow graph to AMSAT Symposium in October. An added bonus? If we can swing it, we'll bring all the wireless challenge exercises from GNU Radio Conference to AMSAT Symposium and be on hand to teach anyone that wants to learn how to use GNU Radio to solve them. Oh, and there's another Maker Faire in there somewhere and I think we should set up a booth. If you're in or around San Diego, Maker Faire will be at Balboa Park on October 7-8. I have a tower trailer for traditional demonstrations but I'm looking to show off satellite, SDR, and digital microwave. We will have Phase 4 Ground members at Microwave Update, IEEE conferences, GNU Radio Conference, TAPR DCC, and AMSAT Sympsosium. Most of these conferences will have papers and/or presentations. If you have never been to any of them, please check them out. These are some of the premier annual events for various overlapping technical communities. We had a very successful Hamvention. Visit https://youtu.be/vHI96TRXchk for a great video of our Hamvention AMSAT engineering booth! Thank you to EC1AME for posting this. We had an extremely successful DEFCON. Phase 4 Ground promoted AMSAT, SDRs, and GNU Radio to one of the largest and most enthusiastic crowds we've ever seen. This was the 25th anniversary of DEFCON, in a new location, and we were invited to be a part of the Wireless Village for all three days as an anchor exhibit and demonstration station. This was a very successful outreach by any measure and we are already planning for next year. If you can help with the GNU Radio DVB-S2 receiver blocks, then do it now because we need more people working on it to make quick progress. Other areas of activity are Phase 4 Ground support of the wireless signal intelligence competition, or CTF, at GNU Radio Conference, and a hackable amateur radio themed badge project. Steve Conklin is coordinating and his first deadline is a February hardware hackers cruise out of San Diego. Next stop after that, Hamvention 2018. If you are interested in badgelife, Bluetooth, integrating VHF/UHF into a hackable wearable badge project, then do we have a challenge for you. Phase 4 Ground will also be at Burning Man. An upcoming video will focus on what we learn from our desert hackathon. The focus will be on getting ahead on DVB-S2 receive and coming up with challenges for the GNU Radio CTF. If you have not got your ticket to GNU Radio Conference, then please do. Link in the notes. www.gnuradio.org Besides producing a radio for AMSAT five and dime, we all want to show how truly fun SDR and GNU Radio and embedded devices and digital communications really are. If you have questions or don't know where to start, then please write me w5nyv(a)yahoo.com [ANS thank Michelle Thompson, W5NYV for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT 2017 Symposium Call for Papers This call for papers is for the 2017 AMSAT Annual Meeting and Space Symposium to be held on the weekend of October 27, 28, 29, 2017 at the Silver Legacy Resort, Reno, Nevada. Proposals for papers, symposium presentations and poster presentations are invited on any topic of interest to the amateur satellite community. We request a tentative title of your presentation as soon as possible, with final copy to be submitted by October 6 for inclusion in the printed proceedings. Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz N8FGV at n8fgv at amsat.org [ANS thanks Dan, N8FGV, for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Journal Packet Articles Added to Station and Operating Hints Page The AMSAT Station and Operating Hints page has been updated to include PDF copies of the packet operating articles recently published in the AMSAT Journal. See https://www.amsat.org/station-and-operating-hints/ + January/February 2017 AMSAT Journal article "Get on the Air with ARISS Packet" (PDF ~500 KB) – How to set up and use computer & soundcard to work the packet system aboard the ISS and other APRS-capable satellites. + January/February 2017 AMSAT Journal article "Working Digipeaters with the Kenwood TH-D72A and TH-D74A" (PDF ~300 KB) – How to use the packet/APRS capability of these radios to work the packet system aboard the ISS and other APRS-capable satellites. AMSAT members received this issue of the AMSAT Journal several months ago. The AMSAT Journal is a premium membership benefit of AMSAT. Please consider joining AMSAT if you are not already a member. Visit https://www.amsat.org/product-category/amsat-membership/ to sign up today! [ANS thanks the AMSAT Web Page Guys 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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KT4TZ kt4tz at amsat dot org

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ANS 225
by KG5JUP 13 Aug '17

13 Aug '17

My apologizes to all for the errors this week. This bulletin had the wrong numbering and no subject. AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-225.01 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including 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. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * Return of Experimenter's Wednesday to AO-85 * AMSAT-NA Elects Executive Vice President * ARRL PR Poster Features Amateur Radio in Space * AMSAT Phase 4 Groundstation * AMSAT-NA BoD Ballots Due At AMSAT Office By September 15, 2017 * AMSATSA/SARL Workshop To Focus On Taking SDR To A New Level * ARLK061 Keplerian data * NASA Program Gives Students Access to Astronauts * Mayak Fails to Deploy Solar Reflector * Satellite Shorts From All Over + Satellite Reporter + RX only i-gate + Grid Expedition SB SUN @ AMSAT $ANS-225.01 ANS-218.01 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 218.01 From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. August 13, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-218.01 Return of Experimenter's Wednesday to AO-85 With the recent popularity of Slow Scan Television (SSTV) from the ISS, AMSAT Operations is bringing back Experimenter's Wednesday to AO- 85. On a trial basis, we invite users to exchange pictures using Robot 36 SSTV mode via the FM repeater on AO-85 during UTC Wednesdays. Please identify prior to beginning transmissions, and only send when the uplink is clear. Stations are requested to only uplink if they have a reasonable expectation of maintaining a full-quieting signal for the duration of the image transmission. Smaller stations are encouraged to focus on receiving the images. Please don't send questionable or provocative images. If in doubt, pick another one. Expect all ages to be participating. Feedback is encouraged, and comments may be directed via email to me at ko4ma at amsat dot org. [ANS thanks Drew KO4MA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-NA Vice President, Educational Relations, Joe Spier, K6WAO of Reno, NV, has been elected by the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors as Executive Vice President during a Board Meeting via a conference call that took place on August 8, 2017. Joe's new duties will include implementation of AMSAT-NA's Strategic Planning. He will continue in his other duties as 2017 Space Symposium Chairman, AMSAT News Service Co-Editor, ARISS-NA Education, and Educational Relations until new personnel can be appointed or the task assigned is completed. Under the AMSAT ByLaws, the position of Executive Vice President is one of seven senior officer positions that are approved by the AMSAT Board of Directors. Included in the ByLaw stated duties, "the Executive Vice President shall act in the place of the President in the President's absence, and shall have such other duties as the Board may determine." [Bylaws, Article II, Section 5B]. In addition, the Executive VP is assigned the responsibility of AMSAT External Relations team leader and as acting director of any team leader position that is not filled. Joe is a Life Member of AMSAT-NA and has served in Educational Relations during the past six years. He also has Life Memberships in the ARRL, SARA (Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers) and the AFA (Air Force Association). He holds an Extra Class license as well Commercial licenses. AMSAT-NA President, Barry Baines, WD4ASW said, "I extend my congratulations to Joe on his new position of leadership in AMSAT-NA. As EVP, he will be working closely with me on a variety of matters involving various AMSAT departments as we move forward on our strategic planning process as well as day-to-day management of the organization. Joe's dedication to the strategic planning process will enhance the future of AMSAT-NA." [ANS thanks the AMSAT-NA BOD for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL PR Poster Features Amateur Radio in Space The ARRL offers a series of six posters that promote Amateur Radio to the general public. These were originally designed by ARRL for the 2017 National Scouting Jamboree, but may be used for any outreach effort. Each poster is 11" x 17". One of the posters features amateur radio in space. The six posters are based around the theme, "Ham Radio Is..." Those themes are: + Adventure (Portable operating of all kinds) + Discovery (Making/Building/DIY) + Friendship (Community and Mentoring) + Out Of This World (space communications/satellites) + Ready (Publc Service) + The Game (Contesting and Awards) A link to ARRL's "What Is Ham Radio" page is provided as both a URL and a QR code on each poster. The posters are available for free download in PDF format. http://www.arrl.org/pr-posters We suggest printing on high-gloss paper and framing them for maximum effect. [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Phase 4 Groundstation AMSAT Phase 4 Ground will next present at the GNU Radio Conference in September, in San Diego, CA. Register now at https://www.gnuradio.org/grcon-2017/ After that, we will be at the AMSAT Symposium in October, in Reno, NV. More information at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-symposium/ Thank you to Paul Williamson and Steve Conklin for helping staff the booth, bringing cool custom swag, setting up demonstrations, and answering hundreds and hundreds of questions. We are already looking forward to next year! [ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NYV for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-NA BoD Ballots Due At AMSAT Office By September 15, 2017 Ballots for AMSAT-NA's Board of Directors were mailed to members in good standing on July 15. Members are encouraged to complete their ballots and return them as soon as possible. Ballots must be received at the AMSAT office by September 15 in order to be counted. This year AMSAT-NA will be electing four voting members of the Board of Directors. These will go to the four candidates receiving the highest number of votes. In addition, there will be one alternate chosen, based on the next highest number of votes received. The 2017 candidates, in alphabetical order by last name are: Jerry Buxton, N0JY Clayton Coleman, W5PFG Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Peter Portanova, W2JV Paul Stoetzer, N8HM Election of Board members is both an obligation as well as an opportunity by our membership to help shape the future direction of AMSAT. Please take the time to review the candidate statements that will accompany the ballot and determine who you wish to see on the Board. You have the option to vote for up to four candidates. [ANS thanks AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSATSA/SARL Workshop To Focus On Taking SDR To A New Level The AMSAT SA/SARL workshop, to be held on Saturday 19 August at the SARL National Amateur Radio Centre at Radiokop Roodepoort, will focus on how to get more out of Software Defined Radio, and will take participants to another level in Amateur Radio activity. The workshop will be presented in two sessions. Session one will deal with the VHF SDR dongle and how to have more fun, such as listening to satellites, receiving weather satellites pictures, and astronomy projects. The second session will discuss a HF Dongle and the SARL HF Noise floor monitoring project, with details and a demonstration of how to automate this and how to build an autonomous system using a raspberry Pi. For more details and to check your registration status, point your browser to www.amsatsa.org.za or send an e-mail to admin at amsatsa.org.za [ANS thanks SARL weekly news in English 2017-8-5 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARLK061 Keplerian data Decode 2-line elsets with the following key: 1 AAAAAU 00 0 0 BBBBB.BBBBBBBB .CCCCCCCC 00000-0 00000-0 0 DDDZ 2 AAAAA EEE.EEEE FFF.FFFF GGGGGGG HHH.HHHH III.IIII JJ.JJJJJJJJKKKKKZ KEY: A-CATALOGNUM B-EPOCHTIME C-DECAY D-ELSETNUM E-INCLINATION F-RAAN G-ECCENTRICITY H-ARGPERIGEE I-MNANOM J-MNMOTION K-ORBITNUM Z-CHECKSUM 0 AO-07 1 7530U 74089B 17222.89382764 -.00000034+00000-0 +65403-4 0 9994 2 7530 101.6352 190.51130011675 214.9856 169.654212.53628132955487 0 FO-29 1 24278U 96046B 17222.88315093 -.00000020+00000-0 +15539-4 0 9999 2 24278 098.5553 098.84690350108 195.5218 163.496413.53077139036025 0 ISS 1 25544U 98067A 17223.80427436 .00000839 00000-0 19944-4 0 9990 2 25544 51.6417 121.06850005753 127.9944 342.434415.54137576 70404 0 SO-50 1 27607U 02058C 17222.70530263 -.00000019+00000-0 +17647-4 0 9997 2 27607 064.5567 318.96290030593 068.5242 291.911814.75346094787154 0 CO-55 1 27844U 03031E 17222.95672142 +.00000034+00000-0 +35298-4 0 9990 2 27844 098.6896 231.16650009598 181.9520 178.162114.22051495732061 0 RS-22 1 27939U 03042A 17222.97040331 +.00000040+00000-0 +15718-4 0 9990 2 27939 097.9469 005.96770014114 056.3493 048.528014.66584866741206 0 CO-58 1 28895U 05043F 17222.87314324 +.00000088+00000-0 +25763-4 0 9993 2 28895 097.8709 022.66180016157 335.1569 024.885514.63418301628257 0 CO-65 1 32785U 08021C 17222.91711090 +.00000186+00000-0 +25911-4 0 9995 2 32785 097.5644 244.68450012846 354.3527 005.754414.87920127502963 0 COMPASS 1 1 32787U 08021E 17219.63433091 +.00000659+00000-0 +69181-4 0 9996 2 32787 097.5570 250.74060011708 333.3907 026.671014.92651841503170 0 DO-64 1 32789U 08021G 17222.94489045 +.00000684+00000-0 +52430-4 0 9993 2 32789 097.5555 280.01530010897 275.4557 084.542615.05021247505002 0 RS-30 1 32953U 08025A 17222.93246189 +.00000006+00000-0 -27611-4 0 9991 2 32953 082.5015 205.60940019184 161.8443 198.332612.43078449418222 0 KKS-1 1 33499U 09002H 17222.88213370 +.00000109+00000-0 +24219-4 0 9997 2 33499 098.3375 029.88180008862 192.4626 167.636414.75208800459427 0 AO-71 1 37854U 11061E 17222.66330723 +.00001124+00000-0 +68027-4 0 9995 2 37854 101.6957 123.99190166924 273.7613 084.452615.04249114314670 0 AO-73 1 39444U 13066AE 17222.57930650 +.00000238+00000-0 +35934-4 0 9990 2 39444 097.6269 263.29630060073 088.8088 272.000714.81476715199070 0 UKUBE 1 1 40074U 14037F 17222.79095587 +.00000329+00000-0 +47155-4 0 9994 2 40074 098.3518 340.17790003571 225.1982 134.893814.83534592167270 0 XW-2A 1 40903U 15049E 17222.87356365 +.00001746+00000-0 +47328-4 0 9998 2 40903 097.4186 249.24800016516 071.5648 288.739115.38944766106055 0 XW-2C 1 40906U 15049H 17223.20886975 .00000610 00000-0 36481-4 0 9991 2 40906 97.4556 227.60270016062 29.9894 330.225515.14609982104560 0 XW-2F 1 40910U 15049M 17222.96013475 +.00000999+00000-0 +55913-4 0 9996 2 40910 097.4544 227.87960016161 026.6269 333.579015.15634603104577 0 IO-86 1 40931U 15052B 17222.61952655 +.00000684+00000-0 +62228-5 0 9996 2 40931 005.9980 204.64320013797 295.9894 063.706314.76535783101022 0 AO-85 1 40967U 15058D 17221.51251771 .00000256 00000-0 48666-4 0 00502 2 40967 064.7776 057.12380174670 058.2511 303.548014.75464490007664 Keplerian bulletins are transmitted twice weekly from W1AW. The next scheduled transmission of these data will be Tuesday, August 15, 2017, at 2230z on Baudot and BPSK31. [ANS thanks ARRL News Bulletin for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- * NASA Program Gives Students Access to Astronauts On June 23, NASA astronaut Jack Fischer spoke with 22 Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, while he was aboard the International Space Station. More than 400 people attended the event, with many more watching live footage online. Children all over the world can connect with astronauts aboard the space station via Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), and with the help of volunteer ham operators. ARISS delegates from the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan help connect the world, from Senegal to Cincinnati, with the station. These contacts endeavor to inspire youth worldwide to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) interests and careers. "Ham radio was one of the most rewarding things to do on the International Space Station," said NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, a former Girl Scout and Ohioan. "Having that connection with kids on Earth who have worked hard to understand and build HAM radio was priceless. Their excited voices, echoing through equipment they had a hand in building, brought numerous smiles and often tears to my eyes. Afterward, getting the reports on how the kids enjoyed the event, and how amazed that they were that they were talking directly with a space ship, really made me understand how important and how easily we can get kids interested in STEM. ARISS is a great project and we are so happy to be part of it on the International Space Station." The Girl Scout mission is to build girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. Williams embodies this tenet. She's lived more than 322 days in space over the course of four expeditions to the ISS, Expeditions 14, 15, 32 and 33. During her stay, she logged more than 50 hours of space walks, ran the first marathon and triathlon in space, and participated in a number of ARISS contacts. She currently trains to fly America's first commercially built spacecraft, the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and the SpaceX Dragon. The week prior to the contact, Sydney Walter, an 11-year-old Girl Scout, participated in the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio's Space Cadettes program at Camp Timberlane in Lorain County, Ohio. She met with NASA professionals, learned what it's like to float in zero gravity and explored constellations with a Starlab portable planetarium. The ARISS contact rounded off a week of activities devoted to STEM education. "I really like that NASA can do this for kids at schools and Girl Scouts at camp," said Sydney. "It was a really fun experience and I will never forget it." Programs like this instill powerful memories that can spark a lifelong passion for STEM. For 10 minutes, with the space station in range of northern Ohio, a field of girls spoke with humans among the stars. Their vests now bear patches honoring that moment in time. Pink and green encircle a yellow tent with the bold gray shadow of the space station above. The patches honor 10 minutes when they were not Girl Scouts - they were astronauts. Volunteers from national amateur radio organizations and AMSAT run ARISS events. For more information and to learn how your community can get involved, visit www.ariss.org. By Danny Baird NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Link to the patch http://tinyurl.com/ybp6zpll [ANS thanks JoAnne K9JKM/Pat Kilroy, N8PK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mayak Fails to Deploy Solar Reflector "Per Mayak’s simple design, the project engineers did not include a radio as the satellite could be programmed on the ground to autonomously execute its critical tasks in orbit to complete the deployment of the solar reflector. Later in the design stages it was realized that a radio would be beneficial, however, no radio channel could be allocated to the satellite this close to launch. A backup plan of using a series of LEDs on the satellite to deliver basic telemetry in the form of a visual Morse Code never came to fruition, leaving Mayak without any means of communicating its status to the ground." http://tinyurl.com/ybeoz23n [ANS thanks to AMSAT Bulletin Board for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over * Satellite Reporter Andrew VK4TEC is working on a little project for space communications enthusatics It is a raspberry Pi, that is connected to the APRS-IS and will eventually also take in user reports as well Andrew has setup a static ip http://59.167.159.165/ It is called "Satellite Reporter" It is intended to provide a dashboard, stats in graphical format and also data streams. Please let me know if you want any features added as this project grows. I see a user input screen and drop downs for satellites. I will make an iPhone and Samsung compatible version. The back end is MySQL and PERL and CGI I will add ISS for the time being, please check back often for updates. I think it best to use UTC times for the time being. [ANS thanks Andrew VK4TEC for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- + RX only i-gate Dave, EI4HT operates an RX only i-gate in the UK MB7UEI-6. Currently it uses AZ/EL active tracking antennas, VHF and UHF wimo Xquads, the system runs 24/7 and also tracks the 3 Funcube sats, Dave plans to expand this further and include the station on WEBSDR, [ANS thanks Dave EI4HT / M0GIW for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- + Gride Expedition Clayton Coleman (W5PFG) will depart for a satellite grid expedtion to northern Maine on Friday, August 18. The trip will conclude the morning of August 21. I'll roughly follow the same path I used on a similar expedition January 2015. Planned grids will be: FN54-57 and FN64-67 Due to the short duration of this trip, my satellite pass selection will be dynamic. I will probably not work many passes from each unique grid. I'll do my best to work from grid boundaries on passes with wide coverage. Monitor my Twitter feed @w5pfg for updates during the trip. [ANS thanks Clayton Coleman (W5PFG) 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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Chris Bradley, KG5JUP kg5jup at amsat dot org _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb Sent from my iPhone

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(no subject)
by Chris Bradley 12 Aug '17

12 Aug '17

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-218.01 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including 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. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * Return of Experimenter's Wednesday to AO-85 * AMSAT-NA Elects Executive Vice President * ARRL PR Poster Features Amateur Radio in Space * AMSAT Phase 4 Groundstation * AMSAT-NA BoD Ballots Due At AMSAT Office By September 15, 2017 * AMSATSA/SARL Workshop To Focus On Taking SDR To A New Level * ARLK061 Keplerian data * NASA Program Gives Students Access to Astronauts * Mayak Fails to Deploy Solar Reflector * Satellite Shorts From All Over + Satellite Reporter + RX only i-gate + Grid Expedition SB SUN @ AMSAT $ANS-218.01 ANS-218.01 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 218.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. August 13, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-218.01 Return of Experimenter's Wednesday to AO-85 With the recent popularity of Slow Scan Television (SSTV) from the ISS, AMSAT Operations is bringing back Experimenter's Wednesday to AO- 85. On a trial basis, we invite users to exchange pictures using Robot 36 SSTV mode via the FM repeater on AO-85 during UTC Wednesdays. Please identify prior to beginning transmissions, and only send when the uplink is clear. Stations are requested to only uplink if they have a reasonable expectation of maintaining a full-quieting signal for the duration of the image transmission. Smaller stations are encouraged to focus on receiving the images. Please don't send questionable or provocative images. If in doubt, pick another one. Expect all ages to be participating. Feedback is encouraged, and comments may be directed via email to me at ko4ma at amsat dot org. [ANS thanks Drew KO4MA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-NA Vice President, Educational Relations, Joe Spier, K6WAO of Reno, NV, has been elected by the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors as Executive Vice President during a Board Meeting via a conference call that took place on August 8, 2017. Joe's new duties will include implementation of AMSAT-NA's Strategic Planning. He will continue in his other duties as 2017 Space Symposium Chairman, AMSAT News Service Co-Editor, ARISS-NA Education, and Educational Relations until new personnel can be appointed or the task assigned is completed. Under the AMSAT ByLaws, the position of Executive Vice President is one of seven senior officer positions that are approved by the AMSAT Board of Directors. Included in the ByLaw stated duties, "the Executive Vice President shall act in the place of the President in the President's absence, and shall have such other duties as the Board may determine." [Bylaws, Article II, Section 5B]. In addition, the Executive VP is assigned the responsibility of AMSAT External Relations team leader and as acting director of any team leader position that is not filled. Joe is a Life Member of AMSAT-NA and has served in Educational Relations during the past six years. He also has Life Memberships in the ARRL, SARA (Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers) and the AFA (Air Force Association). He holds an Extra Class license as well Commercial licenses. AMSAT-NA President, Barry Baines, WD4ASW said, "I extend my congratulations to Joe on his new position of leadership in AMSAT-NA. As EVP, he will be working closely with me on a variety of matters involving various AMSAT departments as we move forward on our strategic planning process as well as day-to-day management of the organization. Joe's dedication to the strategic planning process will enhance the future of AMSAT-NA." [ANS thanks the AMSAT-NA BOD for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL PR Poster Features Amateur Radio in Space The ARRL offers a series of six posters that promote Amateur Radio to the general public. These were originally designed by ARRL for the 2017 National Scouting Jamboree, but may be used for any outreach effort. Each poster is 11" x 17". One of the posters features amateur radio in space. The six posters are based around the theme, "Ham Radio Is..." Those themes are: + Adventure (Portable operating of all kinds) + Discovery (Making/Building/DIY) + Friendship (Community and Mentoring) + Out Of This World (space communications/satellites) + Ready (Publc Service) + The Game (Contesting and Awards) A link to ARRL's "What Is Ham Radio" page is provided as both a URL and a QR code on each poster. The posters are available for free download in PDF format. http://www.arrl.org/pr-posters We suggest printing on high-gloss paper and framing them for maximum effect. [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Phase 4 Groundstation AMSAT Phase 4 Ground will next present at the GNU Radio Conference in September, in San Diego, CA. Register now at https://www.gnuradio.org/grcon-2017/ After that, we will be at the AMSAT Symposium in October, in Reno, NV. More information at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-symposium/ Thank you to Paul Williamson and Steve Conklin for helping staff the booth, bringing cool custom swag, setting up demonstrations, and answering hundreds and hundreds of questions. We are already looking forward to next year! [ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NYV for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-NA BoD Ballots Due At AMSAT Office By September 15, 2017 Ballots for AMSAT-NA's Board of Directors were mailed to members in good standing on July 15. Members are encouraged to complete their ballots and return them as soon as possible. Ballots must be received at the AMSAT office by September 15 in order to be counted. This year AMSAT-NA will be electing four voting members of the Board of Directors. These will go to the four candidates receiving the highest number of votes. In addition, there will be one alternate chosen, based on the next highest number of votes received. The 2017 candidates, in alphabetical order by last name are: Jerry Buxton, N0JY Clayton Coleman, W5PFG Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Peter Portanova, W2JV Paul Stoetzer, N8HM Election of Board members is both an obligation as well as an opportunity by our membership to help shape the future direction of AMSAT. Please take the time to review the candidate statements that will accompany the ballot and determine who you wish to see on the Board. You have the option to vote for up to four candidates. [ANS thanks AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSATSA/SARL Workshop To Focus On Taking SDR To A New Level The AMSAT SA/SARL workshop, to be held on Saturday 19 August at the SARL National Amateur Radio Centre at Radiokop Roodepoort, will focus on how to get more out of Software Defined Radio, and will take participants to another level in Amateur Radio activity. The workshop will be presented in two sessions. Session one will deal with the VHF SDR dongle and how to have more fun, such as listening to satellites, receiving weather satellites pictures, and astronomy projects. The second session will discuss a HF Dongle and the SARL HF Noise floor monitoring project, with details and a demonstration of how to automate this and how to build an autonomous system using a raspberry Pi. For more details and to check your registration status, point your browser to www.amsatsa.org.za or send an e-mail to admin at amsatsa.org.za [ANS thanks SARL weekly news in English 2017-8-5 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARLK061 Keplerian data Decode 2-line elsets with the following key: 1 AAAAAU 00 0 0 BBBBB.BBBBBBBB .CCCCCCCC 00000-0 00000-0 0 DDDZ 2 AAAAA EEE.EEEE FFF.FFFF GGGGGGG HHH.HHHH III.IIII JJ.JJJJJJJJKKKKKZ KEY: A-CATALOGNUM B-EPOCHTIME C-DECAY D-ELSETNUM E-INCLINATION F-RAAN G-ECCENTRICITY H-ARGPERIGEE I-MNANOM J-MNMOTION K-ORBITNUM Z-CHECKSUM 0 AO-07 1 7530U 74089B 17222.89382764 -.00000034 +00000-0 +65403-4 0 9994 2 7530 101.6352 190.5113 0011675 214.9856 169.6542 12.53628132955487 0 FO-29 1 24278U 96046B 17222.88315093 -.00000020 +00000-0 +15539-4 0 9999 2 24278 098.5553 098.8469 0350108 195.5218 163.4964 13.53077139036025 0 ISS 1 25544U 98067A 17223.80427436 .00000839 00000-0 19944-4 0 9990 2 25544 51.6417 121.0685 0005753 127.9944 342.4344 15.54137576 70404 0 SO-50 1 27607U 02058C 17222.70530263 -.00000019 +00000-0 +17647-4 0 9997 2 27607 064.5567 318.9629 0030593 068.5242 291.9118 14.75346094787154 0 CO-55 1 27844U 03031E 17222.95672142 +.00000034 +00000-0 +35298-4 0 9990 2 27844 098.6896 231.1665 0009598 181.9520 178.1621 14.22051495732061 0 RS-22 1 27939U 03042A 17222.97040331 +.00000040 +00000-0 +15718-4 0 9990 2 27939 097.9469 005.9677 0014114 056.3493 048.5280 14.66584866741206 0 CO-58 1 28895U 05043F 17222.87314324 +.00000088 +00000-0 +25763-4 0 9993 2 28895 097.8709 022.6618 0016157 335.1569 024.8855 14.63418301628257 0 CO-65 1 32785U 08021C 17222.91711090 +.00000186 +00000-0 +25911-4 0 9995 2 32785 097.5644 244.6845 0012846 354.3527 005.7544 14.87920127502963 0 COMPASS 1 1 32787U 08021E 17219.63433091 +.00000659 +00000-0 +69181-4 0 9996 2 32787 097.5570 250.7406 0011708 333.3907 026.6710 14.92651841503170 0 DO-64 1 32789U 08021G 17222.94489045 +.00000684 +00000-0 +52430-4 0 9993 2 32789 097.5555 280.0153 0010897 275.4557 084.5426 15.05021247505002 0 RS-30 1 32953U 08025A 17222.93246189 +.00000006 +00000-0 -27611-4 0 9991 2 32953 082.5015 205.6094 0019184 161.8443 198.3326 12.43078449418222 0 KKS-1 1 33499U 09002H 17222.88213370 +.00000109 +00000-0 +24219-4 0 9997 2 33499 098.3375 029.8818 0008862 192.4626 167.6364 14.75208800459427 0 AO-71 1 37854U 11061E 17222.66330723 +.00001124 +00000-0 +68027-4 0 9995 2 37854 101.6957 123.9919 0166924 273.7613 084.4526 15.04249114314670 0 AO-73 1 39444U 13066AE 17222.57930650 +.00000238 +00000-0 +35934-4 0 9990 2 39444 097.6269 263.2963 0060073 088.8088 272.0007 14.81476715199070 0 UKUBE 1 1 40074U 14037F 17222.79095587 +.00000329 +00000-0 +47155-4 0 9994 2 40074 098.3518 340.1779 0003571 225.1982 134.8938 14.83534592167270 0 XW-2A 1 40903U 15049E 17222.87356365 +.00001746 +00000-0 +47328-4 0 9998 2 40903 097.4186 249.2480 0016516 071.5648 288.7391 15.38944766106055 0 XW-2C 1 40906U 15049H 17223.20886975 .00000610 00000-0 36481-4 0 9991 2 40906 97.4556 227.6027 0016062 29.9894 330.2255 15.14609982104560 0 XW-2F 1 40910U 15049M 17222.96013475 +.00000999 +00000-0 +55913-4 0 9996 2 40910 097.4544 227.8796 0016161 026.6269 333.5790 15.15634603104577 0 IO-86 1 40931U 15052B 17222.61952655 +.00000684 +00000-0 +62228-5 0 9996 2 40931 005.9980 204.6432 0013797 295.9894 063.7063 14.76535783101022 0 AO-85 1 40967U 15058D 17221.51251771 .00000256 00000-0 48666-4 0 00502 2 40967 064.7776 057.1238 0174670 058.2511 303.5480 14.75464490007664 Keplerian bulletins are transmitted twice weekly from W1AW. The next scheduled transmission of these data will be Tuesday, August 15, 2017, at 2230z on Baudot and BPSK31. [ANS thanks ARRL News Bulletin for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- * NASA Program Gives Students Access to Astronauts On June 23, NASA astronaut Jack Fischer spoke with 22 Girl Scouts of North East Ohio, while he was aboard the International Space Station. More than 400 people attended the event, with many more watching live footage online. Children all over the world can connect with astronauts aboard the space station via Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), and with the help of volunteer ham operators. ARISS delegates from the United States, Russia, Canada, Europe and Japan help connect the world, from Senegal to Cincinnati, with the station. These contacts endeavor to inspire youth worldwide to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) interests and careers. "Ham radio was one of the most rewarding things to do on the International Space Station," said NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, a former Girl Scout and Ohioan. "Having that connection with kids on Earth who have worked hard to understand and build HAM radio was priceless. Their excited voices, echoing through equipment they had a hand in building, brought numerous smiles and often tears to my eyes. Afterward, getting the reports on how the kids enjoyed the event, and how amazed that they were that they were talking directly with a space ship, really made me understand how important and how easily we can get kids interested in STEM. ARISS is a great project and we are so happy to be part of it on the International Space Station." The Girl Scout mission is to build girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. Williams embodies this tenet. She's lived more than 322 days in space over the course of four expeditions to the ISS, Expeditions 14, 15, 32 and 33. During her stay, she logged more than 50 hours of space walks, ran the first marathon and triathlon in space, and participated in a number of ARISS contacts. She currently trains to fly America's first commercially built spacecraft, the Boeing CST-100 Starliner and the SpaceX Dragon. The week prior to the contact, Sydney Walter, an 11-year-old Girl Scout, participated in the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio's Space Cadettes program at Camp Timberlane in Lorain County, Ohio. She met with NASA professionals, learned what it's like to float in zero gravity and explored constellations with a Starlab portable planetarium. The ARISS contact rounded off a week of activities devoted to STEM education. "I really like that NASA can do this for kids at schools and Girl Scouts at camp," said Sydney. "It was a really fun experience and I will never forget it." Programs like this instill powerful memories that can spark a lifelong passion for STEM. For 10 minutes, with the space station in range of northern Ohio, a field of girls spoke with humans among the stars. Their vests now bear patches honoring that moment in time. Pink and green encircle a yellow tent with the bold gray shadow of the space station above. The patches honor 10 minutes when they were not Girl Scouts - they were astronauts. Volunteers from national amateur radio organizations and AMSAT run ARISS events. For more information and to learn how your community can get involved, visit www.ariss.org. By Danny Baird NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Link to the patch http://tinyurl.com/ybp6zpll [ANS thanks JoAnne K9JKM/Pat Kilroy, N8PK for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mayak Fails to Deploy Solar Reflector "Per Mayak’s simple design, the project engineers did not include a radio as the satellite could be programmed on the ground to autonomously execute its critical tasks in orbit to complete the deployment of the solar reflector. Later in the design stages it was realized that a radio would be beneficial, however, no radio channel could be allocated to the satellite this close to launch. A backup plan of using a series of LEDs on the satellite to deliver basic telemetry in the form of a visual Morse Code never came to fruition, leaving Mayak without any means of communicating its status to the ground." http://tinyurl.com/ybeoz23n [ANS thanks to AMSAT Bulletin Board for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over * Satellite Reporter Andrew VK4TEC is working on a little project for space communications enthusatics It is a raspberry Pi, that is connected to the APRS-IS and will eventually also take in user reports as well Andrew has setup a static ip http://59.167.159.165/ It is called "Satellite Reporter" It is intended to provide a dashboard, stats in graphical format and also data streams. Please let me know if you want any features added as this project grows. I see a user input screen and drop downs for satellites. I will make an iPhone and Samsung compatible version. The back end is MySQL and PERL and CGI I will add ISS for the time being, please check back often for updates. I think it best to use UTC times for the time being. [ANS thanks Andrew VK4TEC for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- + RX only i-gate Dave, EI4HT operates an RX only i-gate in the UK MB7UEI-6. Currently it uses AZ/EL active tracking antennas, VHF and UHF wimo Xquads, the system runs 24/7 and also tracks the 3 Funcube sats, Dave plans to expand this further and include the station on WEBSDR, [ANS thanks Dave EI4HT / M0GIW for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- + Gride Expedition Clayton Coleman (W5PFG) will depart for a satellite grid expedtion to northern Maine on Friday, August 18. The trip will conclude the morning of August 21. I'll roughly follow the same path I used on a similar expedition January 2015. Planned grids will be: FN54-57 and FN64-67 Due to the short duration of this trip, my satellite pass selection will be dynamic. I will probably not work many passes from each unique grid. I'll do my best to work from grid boundaries on passes with wide coverage. Monitor my Twitter feed @w5pfg for updates during the trip. [ANS thanks Clayton Coleman (W5PFG) 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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Chris Bradley, KG5JUP kg5jup at amsat dot org _______________________________________________ Sent via AMSAT-BB(a)amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb

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ANS-221 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin - AMSAT-NA Elects Executive Vice President
by Joe Spier 09 Aug '17

09 Aug '17

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE SPECIAL BULLETIN ANS-221.01 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including 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. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * AMSAT-NA Elects Executive Vice President SB WED @ AMSAT $ANS-221.01 ANS-221 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin AMSAT News Service Bulletin 221.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. DATE August 9, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-221.01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-NA Elects Executive Vice President AMSAT-NA Vice President, Educational Relations, Joe Spier, K6WAO of Reno, NV, has been elected by the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors as Executive Vice President during a Board Meeting via a conference call that took place on August 8, 2017. Joe's new duties will include implementation of AMSAT-NA's Strategic Planning. He will continue in his other duties as 2017 Space Symposium Chairman, AMSAT News Service Co-Editor, ARISS-NA Education, and Educational Relations until new personnel can be appointed or the task assigned is completed. Under the AMSAT ByLaws, the position of Executive Vice President is one of seven senior officer positions that are approved by the AMSAT Board of Directors. Included in the ByLaw stated duties, “the Executive Vice President shall act in the place of the President in the President's absence, and shall have such other duties as the Board may determine.” [Bylaws, Article II, Section 5B]. In addition, the Executive VP is assigned the responsibility of AMSAT External Relations team leader and as acting director of any team leader position that is not filled. Joe is a Life Member of AMSAT-NA and has served in Educational Relations during the past six years. He also has Life Memberships in the ARRL, SARA (Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers) and the AFA (Air Force Association). He holds an Extra Class license as well Commercial licenses. AMSAT-NA President, Barry Baines, WD4ASW said, “I extend my congratulations to Joe on his new position of leadership in AMSAT-NA. As EVP, he will be working closely with me on a variety of matters involving various AMSAT departments as we move forward on our strategic planning process as well as day-to-day management of the organization. Joe’s dedication to the strategic planning process will enhance the future of AMSAT-NA.” [ANS thanks the AMSAT-NA BOD for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- /EX

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ANS-218 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins
by E.Mike McCardel 05 Aug '17

05 Aug '17

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-218 The AMSAT News Service bulletins are a free, weekly news and infor- mation service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS publishes news related to Amateur Radio in Space including 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. The news feed on http://www.amsat.org publishes news of Amateur Radio in Space as soon as our volunteers can post it. Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor at amsat.org. In this edition: * Return of Experimenter's Wednesday to AO-85 * ARISS contact planned for YOTA, England * VUCC Awards/Endorsements for July 2017 * ARRL PR Poster Features Amateur Radio in Space * AMSAT Phase 4 Groundstation at DEFCON * AMSAT-NA BoD Ballots Due At AMSAT Office By September 15, 2017 * AMSATSA/SARL Workshop To Focus On Taking SDR To A New Level * ARISS News * Satellite Shorts From All Over SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-218.01 ANS-218 AMSAT News Service Weekly Bulletins AMSAT News Service Bulletin 218.01 >From AMSAT HQ KENSINGTON, MD. August 6, 2017 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-218.01 Return of Experimenter's Wednesday to AO-85 With the recent popularity of Slow Scan Television (SSTV) from the ISS, AMSAT Operations is bringing back Experimenter’s Wednesday to AO- 85. On a trial basis, we invite users to exchange pictures using Robot 36 SSTV mode via the FM repeater on AO-85 during UTC Wednesdays. Please identify prior to beginning transmissions, and only send when the uplink is clear. Stations are requested to only uplink if they have a reasonable expectation of maintaining a full-quieting signal for the duration of the image transmission. Smaller stations are encouraged to focus on receiving the images. Please don’t send questionable or provocative images. If in doubt, pick another one. Expect all ages to be participating. Feedback is encouraged, and comments may be directed via email to me at ko4ma at amsat dot org. [ANS thanks Drew KO4MA for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS contact planned for YOTA, England An International Space Station ARISS contact has been planned for astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZ0JPA and the Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) event, which takes place in UK. The ARISS contact is scheduled Tuesday August 8, 2017 at approximately 18.38 UTC. This will be a direct radio contact, operated by GB4YOTA. Downlink signals will be audible in parts of Europe on 145.800 MHz narrowband FM. Moreover, Paolo Nespoli IZ0JPA will operate the HamVideo transmitter. The Goonhilly receiver will be activated sometime Friday (4th August) and will remain active over the weekend and continue to track the ISS until Wednesday morning, 9th August. Goonhilly, will be one of several European HamTV reception ground stations contributing to the reception of the HamTV signal for the contact itself. Two web streams will be available: 1. The normal ARISS/BATC website will be available at https://ariss.batc.tv/hamtv ; This shows only the HamTV video downlink as an output from the merger facility, with an indication of which registered HamTV stations are providing signal input to the merger. 2. The ARISS Operations UK Team will be web streaming from the YOTA event itself at https://ariss.batc.tv/ ; This web stream includes introductions and presentations from the RSGB and the YOTA participants before the actual contact itself according to the timetable of the event below. The timetable of the event is as follows. ALL times are UTC times: 17:30 - All participants and guests to be present at the location. The event web stream (https://ariss.batc.tv/) will start at approximately this time to capture some of the build-up. 17:40 - Formal start of the RSGB/YOTA introductions and presentations. 18:20 - ARISS Operations in the UK take over the event, give the background to what is happening, how it is organised and how all the different elements of the contact are managed. 18:38 - Scheduled time for start of contact with Nespoli operating as NA1SS. The YOTA participants will be using the GB4YOTA callsign. 18:50 - Approximate end of contact with Nespoli. After closing the contact, the operator will invite RSGB/YOTA to formally close down the ARISS event. [ANS thanks Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, ARISS Europe for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- VUCC Awards/Endorsements for July 2017 Here are the endorsements and new VUCC Satellite Awards issued by the ARRL for the period July 1, 2017 through August 1, 2017. Congratulations to all those who made the list this month! CALL GRIDS KD8CAO 1240 N8RO 1010 N8HM 980 N4UFO 675 WA5KBH 630 KG5CCI 616 KK4FEM 476 WD9EWK 375 PV8DX 313 NJ7H 203 KX9X 158 KA9P 150 XE3DX 117 OX/NJ7H 110 (NEW VUCC) PT9BM 100 (NEW VUCC) Eduardo PY2RN wrote, "Congratulations to aGustavo, PT9BM for the first VUCC-SAT in South America (below the Equator), way to go!" This list was developed by comparing the ARRL .pdf listings for July 1st and August 1st, 2017. It's a visual comparison so omissions are possible. Apologies if your call was not mentioned. Thanks to all those who are roving to grids that are rarely on the birds. They are doing most of the work! [ANS thanks John K8YSE for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL PR Poster Features Amateur Radio in Space The ARRL offers a series of six posters that promote Amateur Radio to the general public. These were originally designed by ARRL for the 2017 National Scouting Jamboree, but may be used for any outreach effort. Each poster is 11" x 17". One of the posters features amateur radio in space. The six posters are based around the theme, "Ham Radio Is..." Those themes are: + Adventure (Portable operating of all kinds) + Discovery (Making/Building/DIY) + Friendship (Community and Mentoring) + Out Of This World (space communications/satellites) + Ready (Publc Service) + The Game (Contesting and Awards) A link to ARRL's "What Is Ham Radio" page is provided as both a URL and a QR code on each poster. The posters are available for free download in PDF format. http://www.arrl.org/pr-posters We suggest printing on high-gloss paper and framing them for maximum effect. [ANS thanks the ARRL for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT Phase 4 Groundstation at DEFCON Amateur Radio and AMSAT were prominently featured this year at DEFCON Hacking Conference. In addition to the license exam session run by one of the many local DEFCON Groups, there were amateur radio demonstrations of software defined radio, Phase 4 Ground, and GNU Radio flowgraphs at WiFi Village, one of the many subject-specific subcategories at DEFCON. The amateur satellite service was of great interest! At an estimated 30,000 attendees, outreach was highly successful. Participants were diverse, technical, curious, and came ready with the questions! A very high fraction were already licensed or interested in getting their license. Amateur radio was also part of the WiFi Village Capture the Flag competition. Word on the street is that next year we expect to see a lot more ham content in this exciting signal intelligence competition. AMSAT Phase 4 Ground will next present at the GNU Radio Conference in September, in San Diego, CA. Register now at https://www.gnuradio.org/grcon-2017/ After that, we will be at the AMSAT Symposium in October, in Reno, NV. More information at https://www.amsat.org/amsat-symposium/ Thank you to Paul Williamson and Steve Conklin for helping staff the booth, bringing cool custom swag, setting up demonstrations, and answering hundreds and hundreds of questions. We are already looking forward to next year! [ANS thanks Michelle Thompson, W5NYV for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSAT-NA BoD Ballots Due At AMSAT Office By September 15, 2017 Ballots for AMSAT-NA's Board of Directors were mailed to members in good standing on July 15. Members are encouraged to complete their ballots and return them as soon as possible. Ballots must be received at the AMSAT office by September 15 in order to be counted. This year AMSAT-NA will be electing four voting members of the Board of Directors. These will go to the four candidates receiving the highest number of votes. In addition, there will be one alternate chosen, based on the next highest number of votes received. The 2017 candidates, in alphabetical order by last name are: Jerry Buxton, N0JY Clayton Coleman, W5PFG Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Peter Portanova, W2JV Paul Stoetzer, N8HM Election of Board members is both an obligation as well as an opportunity by our membership to help shape the future direction of AMSAT. Please take the time to review the candidate statements that will accompany the ballot and determine who you wish to see on the Board. You have the option to vote for up to four candidates. [ANS thanks AMSAT Office for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMSATSA/SARL Workshop To Focus On Taking SDR To A New Level The AMSAT SA/SARL workshop, to be held on Saturday 19 August at the SARL National Amateur Radio Centre at Radiokop Roodepoort, will focus on how to get more out of Software Defined Radio, and will take participants to another level in Amateur Radio activity. The workshop will be presented in two sessions. Session one will deal with the VHF SDR dongle and how to have more fun, such as listening to satellites, receiving weather satellites pictures, and astronomy projects. The second session will discuss a HF Dongle and the SARL HF Noise floor monitoring project, with details and a demonstration of how to automate this and how to build an autonomous system using a raspberry Pi. For more details and to check your registration status, point your browser to www.amsatsa.org.za or send an e-mail to admin at amsatsa.org.za [ANS thanks SARL weekly news in English 2017-8-5 for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ARISS News + A Successful contact was made between VCP-Bundeszeltplatz, Großzerlang, Germany and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA using Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began 2017-08-01 18:20 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Direct via DP9S. ARISS Mentor was Peter IN3GHZ. + A Successful contact was made between Frontiers of Flight Museum/ Moon Day, Dallas, TX, USA and Astronaut Paolo Nespoli IZØJPA using Callsign OR4ISS. The contact began Sat 2017-08-05 18:02:31 UTC and lasted about nine and a half minutes. Contact was Telebridge via ON4ISS. ARISS Mentor was Keith W5IU. [ANS thanks ARISS, Charlie AJ9N and David AA4KN for the above information] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Satellite Shorts From All Over + Free SpaceUK Magazine Edition 47 of the UK Space Agency's free magazine SpaceUK is now available for download The latest edition is packed with interesting content, including a feature on growing the UK space sector, a look at the next mission to Mars and an interview with Tim Peake KG5BVI / GB1SS. Download your copy of SpaceUK from http://tinyurl.com/ANS218-SpaceUK Sign up for email updates http://tinyurl.com/ANS218-EmailUpdates UK Space Agency blog https://space.blog.gov.uk/ [ANS thanks Southgate ARN for the above information] + Satellite has deployable VHF crossed Yagi antenna Radio amateurs Sean Hum VA3SHV and Jeff Nicholls VA3NGJ worked on the design for a deployable VHF crossed Yagi antenna on the recently launched NORsat-2 The very high frequency (VHF) antenna was designed to unfold from the CubeSat after receiving a command from the Norwegian Space Center to deploy once in orbit. “This antenna is a completely new type of deployable antenna — it unfolds to be more than three times as large as the satellite that took it into orbit,” says Hum. “This is the first time that a deployable antenna of this type has been contemplated and successfully used as a main mission antenna for a CubeSat.” On July 20, cameras on board the CubeSat confirmed the successful deployment of the antenna. Read the full story at http://tinyurl.com/ANS218-Cubesats [ANS thanks Southgate ARN 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 addi- tional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. Primary and secondary school students are eligible for membership at one-half the standard yearly rate. Post-secondary school students enrolled in at least half time status shall be eligible for the stu- dent rate for a maximum of 6 post-secondary years in this status. Contact Martha at the AMSAT Office for additional student membership information. 73, This week's ANS Editor, EMike McCardel, AA8EM aa8em at amsat dot org

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