AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-164
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: [email protected]
********************************************************************** * FINAL NOTICE: BoD Nominations Due June 15 * * It is time to submit nominations for the upcoming open seats on * * the AMSAT-NA Board of Directors. A nomination requires either * * one Member Society or five current individual members to nominate * * an AMSAT member for the position. Three director's terms expire * * this year: Tom Clark, K3IO, Lou McFadin, W5DID and Gould Smith, * * WA4SXM. Nominations must be in writing and mailed to: AMSAT, * * 850 Sligo Ave #600, Silver Spring MD 20910. They can arrive no * * later than June 15th. * **********************************************************************
In this edition:
* Thank You! We've Met The Dayton $5000 Challenge * 2010 AMSAT Space Symposium Room Reservation Code * AMSAT Forum at Dayton Hamvention Videos Ready to be Viewed On-line * Museum Ships Weekend 2010 - Special Event on the Satellites * A Summer List of Seminars and Symposiums * Early Colloquium Pictures Sought * Satellite Shorts From All Over
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-164.01 Thank You! We've Met The Dayton $5000 Challenge
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 164.01
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 13, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-164.01
Thanks to the generosity expressed by AMSAT members and others, we have met the "Dayton Challenge" one-for-one matching gift goal of $5,000.00. This goal was achieved in less than two months. AMSAT thanks the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) for their con- tinued support of AMSAT. These donations will help support "Getting AMSAT Back into Space."
DARA President Steve Coy, K8UD wrote to AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW, "I am glad that this promotion has worked well and I am looking forward to other endeavors in the future. AMSAT has been a major attraction to Hamvention for many years, and hopefully for many years to come. I hope other organizations will step up with similar programs. Launches have not been going down in price, however with the recent launch of Falcon 9, perhaps there may be other opportunities in the future. We all need to continuously look outside the box for new solutions. Again, DARA congratulates all the AMSAT members and best wishes for the new satellite."
While this one-for-one matching opportunity has been met, AMSAT continues on it's capital drive to raise $100,000.00 in both 2010 and 2011. One AMSAT member has just agreed to pledge $500.00 to AMSAT as an additional 'one-for-one' matching opportunity, so dona- tions made now will continue to "grow".
Since announcement of the campaign in October 2009, over $25,087.00 has been raised to date, not including the DARA matching gift. If you haven't donated to AMSAT this year, please consider making a donation as we must continue to raise funds in 2010 to underwrite the construction and launch of our next satellite, Fox. We will continue to provide opportunities for 'small donations' at various hamfests as well as making contributions online: http://www.amsat-na.com/store/donation.php
[ANS thanks AMSAT President Barry Baines, WD4ASW for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-164.02 2010 AMSAT Space Symposium Room Reservation Code
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 164.02
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 13, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-164.02
The 2010 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting will be held on Friday, October 8 through Sunday, October 10. This year we have selected the Chicago/Elk Grove Holiday Inn which is near O'Hare Airport for the event.
The 2010 Symposium Committee has completed the room reservation and registration details for the event. The Hotel booking code for the Elk Grove Village Holiday Inn is AMS for the AMSAT convention. The $79 per-night room rate will apply for those using this group code.
The direct web page link to the Elk Grove Village Holiday Inn is http://tinyurl.com/22s788d
For people needing special accommodations please call the Hotel directly at (847) 437-6010, ask for Brad.
[ANS thanks the 2010 Symposium Committee for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-164.03 AMSAT Forum at Dayton Hamvention Videos Ready to be Viewed On-line
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 164.03
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 13, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-164.03
If you weren't able to attend the Dayton Hamvention this year, you missed five interesting and informative presentations at the AMSAT Forum. The complete presentations are now available on the AMSAT website at http://www.amsat.org. From the menu on the left side of the home page, select "AMSAT Video News".
The direct link to the AMSAT Video News Page is: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/information/videoNews.php
Here's what you'll find:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW, AMSAT President, "AMSAT Status Report" AMSAT President Barry Baines highlights current activities within AMSAT and discusses some of the challenges facing the organization.
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations, "AMSAT Satellite Oper- ations and International Satellite Operations". Drew discussed oper- ational AMSAT satellites and described new and future international Satellites.
Mike Forsythe, AC2V, "Integrating Satellite Operations into DXpeditions" Mike, K4T Team Leader described the planning and execution of the K4T DXpedition, and how to have satellite operations be a major part of DXpeditions, involving youth and making it all work on green power!
Gould Smith, WA4SXM, AMSAT VP User Services, "Getting ARISSat-1 Ready to Fly". Gould is the AMSAT Project Manager for ARISSat-1 and talked about the evolution of SuitSat-2 to ARRISat-1, the current status of the satellite project, and the testing and delivery of two satellites to Russia in July.
Roger Westgate, WC2R, "NextGen CubeSat Program Update". Roger delivered the update prepared by Alex Harvilchuck, N3NP, a Systems Engineer with IBM and the NextGen CubeSat Program Manager. A team of engineering students from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton have been modifying the power systems from ARISSat-1 for use in a 3U CubeSat with a U/V linear trans- ponder, for AMSAT.
The files are in Windows Media Video (.wmv) format and will work with Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player on a PC, Safari and QuickTime (with .wmv plug-in) under OS X on an Apple Macintosh, and with a .wmv player under Linux or other operating system.
Credits: Video and audio recording: Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK and Douglas Quagliana KA2UPW Moderator: Alan Biddle WA4SCA Video server: Rob Meisse W8REM and Gunther Meisse W8GSM Webmaster: Rick Hambly W2GPS Video editor: Steve Belter N9IP
[ANS thanks Steve Belter, N9IP for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-164.04 Museum Ships Weekend 2010 - Special Event on the Satellites
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 164.04
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 13, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-164.04
The Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club (BVARC) wishes to thank all the amateur radio operators who worked special event station KK5W operating from Seawolf Park in Galveston, Texas during the Museum Ships Weekend event June 5-6, 2010.
Two passes of SO-50 and one pass of AO-27 were worked by KK5W on June 5, 2010, and a total of 26 satellite contacts were made with stations in 17 US states and Ontario. Contacts were made with K8YSE at the Hudsonville Michigan hamfest, WD9EWK at the Show Low Arizona hamfest, and N2SPI at the Rochester New York hamfest. It was nice to be able support these stations conducting satellite demonstrations, and to let those listening at the hamfests know that special event stations operate on the satellites.
A contact with Patrick, WD9EWK, also provided the opportunity to talk with a boy scout about the Museum Ships Weekend Event, and the scout was able to satisfy several requirements toward the Radio Merit Badge.
Two club stations that were demonstrating amateur radio to the public, W9MJL operated by the Vermilion County Amateur Radio Association in Illinois and VE3JW at the Canada Science & Technology Museum in Ottawa, were also worked. The stations operating at the various hamfests and special events took turns working stations which allowed many contacts to be made on the congested passes.
A schedule was set up for KK5W to try for a ship-to-ship satellite contact with the USS Wisconsin Radio Club - N4WIS in Virginia Beach, Virginia, but due to the heavy congestion on the passes we were unable to make the contact. It was nice, however, to have another ship operating on the satellites for Museum Ship Weekend and we hope that satellite operators living near some of the museum ships that participate in the event will come forward and volunteer to help to put other ships on the satellites next year.
[ANS thanks Allen Mattis, N5AFV for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-164.05 A Summer List of Seminars and Symposiums
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 164.05
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 13, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-164.05
See the list below for Educational and Symposium Opportunities:
-----
2010 AMSAT Space Symposium Call For Papers:
This is the first call for papers for the 2010 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual Meeting. The Symposium Committee invites proposals for:
+ Papers for publication in the Proceedings + Symposium Presentations + Poster Presentations + Equipment and Operating Demonstrations
These can be 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 submitted by September 1, 2010 for inclusion in the printed proceedings.
Abstracts and papers should be sent to JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM at [email protected]. Dan Schultz, N8FGV will assist as Co-Editor of the Proceedings.
-----
Remember also the AMSAT-UK Colloquium 2010 which will be held at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, UK (same venue as in 2009) on Saturday July 31 to Sunday August 1. Details on-line at: http://www.uk.amsat.org/
-----
NASA Science News for June 7, 2010 says they have started sending complimentary DVDs of the smash-hit planetarium show "Journey to the Stars" to teachers and students around the country. The story from Science@NASA reviews the show and tells educators how to request their copies: http://tinyurl.com/255leto
-----
The IEEE is co-sponsoring with the Control Systems Society, American Automatic Control Council, International Federation of Automatic Con- trol, University of Maryland, and University of Kansas. a Workshop targeted for Teachers and Students on Ideas and Technology of Control Systems.
Date: June 29, 2010 Place: Baltimore Marriott Hotel
The workshop is for middle and high school teachers and students. It will be held in Baltimore at the Baltimore Marriott Hotel on Tuesday, June 29, 2010. This one-day workshop is organized in celebration of 10th Anniversary of the Control Outreach Program in conjunction with the 2010 American Control Conference (a pre-conference event): http://www.a2c2.org/conferences/acc2010/SpecialEd.html
Registration: Free. Deadline: June 15, 2010 Send E-mail to: [email protected]
Lunch will be provided and a reception will follow immediately after the workshop.
The workshop activities include short presentations by control systems experts from the technical community, informal discussions, and the opportunity for teachers to meet passionate researchers and educators from academia and industry. The talks are designed to be educational, inspirational and entertaining showing the excitement of being an engin- eer but showing also that control systems is a field that spans science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
-----
The 44th annual CSVHFS Conference is July 22nd - 24th in St. Louis. The Online Registration form is up and running, as is the Hotel Reser- vation Form. All the details are on the CSVHFS Web Site. http://www.csvhfs.org/conference/index.html
-----
Technical papers are solicited for presentation at the 29th Annual ARRL and TAPR Digital Communications Conference to be held September 24-26, 2010 in Portland, Oregon. These papers will also be published in the Conference Proceedings (you do NOT need to attend the conference to have your paper included in the Proceedings). The submission deadline is July 31, 2010. Please send papers to:
Maty Weinberg ARRL 225 Main St Newington, CT 06111
or you can make your submission via e-mail to: [email protected].
Papers will be published exactly as submitted and authors will retain all rights.
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-164.06 Early Colloquium Pictures Sought
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 164.06
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 13, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-164.06
This year sees the 25th AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium and Jim Heck G3WGM is looking for pictures of the early years.
The first event was held in Harrow School a quarter of a century ago, it later moved to the University of Surrey and finally to the Holiday Inn at Guildford. Jim is looking to have a display of early pictures at this years event which takes place 31 July - 1 Aug.
If you have any pictures of the early years please email Jim at [email protected]
The Colloquium is open to all Radio Amateurs and Shortwave listeners, for further details see: http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium
Videos from 2008/9 can be seen at http://www.batc.tv/channel.php?ch=1
[ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-164.07 Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 164.07
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
June 13, 2010 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-164.07
+ Congratulations to Don WB8ZOM on his first contact via satellite on SO-50 on June 7. Don contacted John K8YSE. N3TL added encour- agement, "Working the satellites is the most fun and satisfying thing I've ever done in amateur radio." Bob W7LRD observed, "Be aware this is an addictive part of ham radio - there is no cure!" Greg KO6TH noted, "That bug bit me about 17 years ago. It still hasn't let go."
+ The SpaceX Falcon 9 blasted-off successfully from Cape Canaveral at 1545 UT on Friday, June 4. Watch the Falcon 9 Launch 1 Webstream at: http://tinyurl.com/26cjwuv
+ ESA's Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli will visit the International Space Station in November, and he needs your help to name his mission. More information can be found at http://tinyurl.com/35wukjn
+ A video of the French Over The Horizon (OTH) radar, Nostradamus, which operates across 3-30 MHz can be seen on YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/299g7oy
+ Listen for Paul, 2E1EUB to be active for just a few days from northern Scotland from his converted van operating as 2M1EUB/P. Paul plans to to be on the air around June 25-27.
+ The goal of the Moon Zoo website is "to provide detailed crater counts for as much of the Moon's surface as possible." Interested parties can help out with this effort by examining images of the moon's surface and providing feedback to be used by the team of researchers in charge of the Moon Zoo project. First-time visitors should click on the "How To Take Part" for a tutorial that will help determine which project they might be best suited for. See http://www.moonzoo.org/ for more information.
+ The Amateur Radio contact between the International Space Station (ISS) and Japanese boy and girl scouts is now available on YouTube. The contact with Astronaut Soichi Noguchi, KD5TVP, was broadcast on Japanese cable TV. Watch at: http://tinyurl.com/28y6h7r
+ AMSAT has received the sad news of the passing of Frank Lumney, W2UHI. He passed away in the early hours of June 3, 2010. Frank was a great friend and a true asset to the amateur radio community. Many old time AMSAT operators (AO-13 for example) will remember Frank. Many years ago, he was also a frequent check-in to the AMSAT-NA 75 meter net. Frank would have turned 88 on July 4.
+ NASA has released the first-ever up close video available for the public, taken from inside a space shuttle after landing, showing the checkout procedures and the "towback" to the Orbiter Processing Facil- ity. It was taken on May 26, 2010 following shuttle Atlantis' landing following the STS-132 mission. See: http://tinyurl.com/2fbkks4 (UniverseToday.com)
+ Watch the YouTube video at http://tinyurl.com/23fftkg that addresses one of amateur radio's urban legends regarding homebrewing an antenna from a Slinky.
[ANS thanks whomever 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 tale of the two trout who were dining in a rest- aurant when one of them starts waving his empty glass in the air. The waiter observed, "I think there's a fish out of water."
73, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM K9JKM at amsat dot org