AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-109
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:
In this edition: * AMSAT Activites at Dayton 2009 * AMSAT/TAPR Banquet Note * HAMSAT * SumbandilaSat: From Sub To Space * Satellite Shorts * Balloon Launch-Assist in Tracking * ARISS Schedule
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-109.1 AMSAT Activites at Dayton 2009
From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 19, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-109.1
In addition to being the keynote speaker at the AMSAT/TAPR Banquet on Friday, Richard Garriott, entrepreneur, game programmer and space tourist will being visiting the AMSAT booth on Friday and Saturday. Come by and meet Richard, the specific times will be available soon. We will be having our Thursday night get-together at a new location this year - Tickets Pub in Fairborn. The menu has many tasty items, so come by and visit with your AMSAT friends. Drew and Keith will be leading the outdoor satellite demonstrations this year. They will have two types of stations setup and operational - computer controlled station and handheld station. This is the 40th Anniversary of AMSAT, we have a great tee design by Steve Kenwolf to celebrate the event as well as many pices of AMSAT memorabilia on display. Members of the SuitSat-2 team will have a complete operational SuitSat protoype with an experiment. As always there will be new publications, frequency chart, LVB Trackers and premiums for membership renewal. The AMSAT Forum is Saturday moring 11:15 to 13:30 in Room 5. Visit the AMSAT web site for additional information. Come by booths 444-449 during the May 15-17 2009 Dayton Hamvention.
[ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-109.2 AMSAT/TAPR Banquet Note
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 109.2 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 19, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-109.2
The Dayton AMSAT/TAPR banquet is just about 1 month away. Our Guest Speaker is Richard Garriott, W5KWQ. If you have not registered, go to the AMSAT website and look on the left hand side. There will be a box that says Dayton Hamvention. Click on that and it will lead you to the banquet registration. You MUST be pre- registered to attend. You cannot register at Dayton.
-- [ANS thanks Martha, AMSAT Manager, for the above information] /EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-109.3 HAMSAT
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 109.3 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 19, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-109.3
Hi All Hamsat 4th Birthday is coming up next month, 5 May 2009 and Hamsat has been the most popular Amateur Sat for beginners and veterans all over the world.
Hamsat is very healthy and should serve the ham community for many more years.
Amsat India is pleased to announce that we are conducting a Workshop to coincide with the 4 th anniversary celebrations of the Hamsat. ( Note this is an advance infomation, complete programme schedule is frozen and will be announced shortly)
Date 10 May 2009 Starts at 8 AM with registration and breakfast Morning sessions include various topics Lunch Afternoon session Tea & close by 4 pm
Venue : Little Lilly English School, Vidyaranyapura, Bamgalore Delegate fee Rs 100/-
Detailed programme schedule etc will be announced shortly on these email groups, local nets etc. You may also check our web page www.amsatindia.org email : [email protected]
We request all hams and wouldbe hams interested in Amateur Satellite activity to kindly participate and make the event a grand success. Looking forward to your participation. Best 73 Pop VU2POP Secy Amsat India
[ANS Thanks Pop, VU2POP, for the above info] /EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-109.4 SumbandilaSat: From Sub To Space
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 109.4 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 19, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-109.4
A Sat News Daily story dated April 12, 2009, says SumbandilaSat to launch in June from a sub.
SumbandilaSat: From Sub To Space http://www.satnews.com/cgi-bin/story.cgi?number=195613620
SatNewsDaily were quoting from a South African Business Report story -
Russian sub to launch second satellite http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=552&fArticleId=4930464
The South African Business Report website last year carried a story on the use of Soyuz launcher at Baikonur. http://www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=552&fArticleId=4596130
The Southern Africa AMSAT website is still quoting Baikonur http://www.amsatsa.org.za/
[ANS Thanks, Trevor, M5AKA, for the above info]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-109.5 Satellite Shorts AMSAT News Service Bun 109.5 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 19, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-109.5
Good DX via AO-7
This week AO-7 continued to surprise and delight amateur radio satellite operators with opportunities for good DX. On April 12 Tim, N3TL reported, "At 21:33 UTC today G1WPR answered my "CQ DX" on AO-7 Mode B. I was sending CW with the straight key I picked up for Straight Key Night on AO-51, and Terry called me in SSB so we completed a cross-mode QSO of more than a minute with a few exchanges. I am thrilled!"
Tim also logged more trans-Atlantic AO-7 QSOs on April 16, "PH7PCF in the Netherlands answered my CW "CQ DX" with a hello in SSB. Then, a couple of minutes later, F2IL returned my CW in some CW from France. What a hoot!"
The equipment at N3TL consists of a Yaesu FT-857D for TX and a Yaesu FT-817ND for RX (both used radios). He uses a Diamond MX-72H duplexer to connect them to a dual-band Elk log periodic, which is hand-held, manually tracking the satellites. Computer doppler control was done with Simon's HRD Satellite Tracker. Of the CW operation Tim described his setup, "I have the "CQ DX" call set up in a memory buffer on my FT-857D. But when somebody responds, the straight key takes over."
Turning 35 years old on November 15, 2009 AO-7 still carries lots of amateur satellite traffic. Joe, K3SZH says Igor UA9CS Igor has now logged over 6000 QSOs via the bird. Also, this month Mike, KC9ELU has reached his 1000th QSO via AO-7.
[ANS thanks Tim, N3TL and Joe, K3SZH for the above information]
/EX
W0YPT Silent Key
AMSAT received the sad news that Telmer G. Olson, W0YPT became a silent key at age 91 this week. Telmer had worked the satellites from the earliest OSCARs to the modern satellites. Jerry, W0SAT remembered, "He elmered me and helped me get on the satellites in 1996. I knew him as a great friend that I called on for advice all the time. I used to visit him at his QTH and went to hamfests with him too. I and all the people who ever had contact with will always remember the many QSO,s and contacts we had with him."
ANS thanks Jerry, WOSAT for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-109.6 Balloon Launch-Assist in Tracking
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 109.6 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 19, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-109.6
The NS3 group of Cornell University engineering graduate students will launch PBH-9 (Project Blue Horizon) from Lockheed Martin in Owego NY on Sunday evening, 19Apr09, at approximately 21:00EDT (Monday, 20Apr09, 01:00UT) This ARHAB flight (Amateur Radio High Altitude Ballooning) will ascend and then float for up to 50-hours while drifting to the east.
The payload will include a KC2TUA-8 144.390 APRS beacon (track via (http://findu.com/cgi-bin/find.cgi?call=KC2TUA-8) and HF CW position report and telemetry downlinks on 7.104MHz and 10.148MHz. The NS3 PBH-9 team requests distant ground stations receive and report HF telemetry via [email protected] including reception UT date and time.
Distant receiving stations are welcome to also submit HF reception reports to [email protected] for the ARHAB <50MHz telemetry reception record, see http://showcase.netins.net/web/wallio/ARHABrecords.htm.
Additional PBH-9 information including HF telemetry transmit schedule and format is available via http://showcase.netins.net/web/wallio/ARHABlaunchannouncements.htm. Flight updates are available from the NS3 PBH-9 team via http://twitter.com/pbh3.
[ANS thanks Ralph, W0RPK, for the above information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-109.7 ARISS Schedule
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 109.7 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. April 13, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-109.7
1. Upcoming School Contacts
Students from Ulvila Upper Secondary School in Ulvila, Satakunta, Finland have been preparing for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. It was completed on Friday, April 17 at 07:40 UTC. They have studied physics and astronomy and have researched the ISS. They have written essays and created posters on related subject matter. Students have also learned about amateur radio. Newspaper, radio and television coverage is anticipated.
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been scheduled for St. Edward School in Ashland, Ohio, U.S.A. on Monday, April 20 at 16:36 UTC. The ARISS contact has been integrated into the science curriculum which covers topics on satellite images, global positioning of satellites, telescopes, and radio waves. Students read science related books and poems, conducted informational internet searches, wrote stories and informational articles, interviewed amateur radio operators, and studied and applied science and math objectives. Media coverage is expected.
2. Japanese Contact to be Rescheduled
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was scheduled for Thursday, April 9 between Kawanishi Seiwadai Community Center in Hyogo, Japan and Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA onboard the ISS. Due to technical difficulties, the contact did not take place. The contact will be rescheduled in the near future.
3. Parkside Contact Video
On Monday, March 30, students from Parkside Community College in Cambridge, U.K. took part in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP/HA5SIK. Video of the contact is now available. See: http://www.it-sparkles.co.uk/ARISS/Parkside.aspx
4. Article Posted on ARISS - Kalori Contact
On Wednesday, April 1, Kalori Catholic School students in Wallaroo, Australia experienced an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Mike Fincke, KE5AIT. The Yorke Peninsula Country Times published an article covering the event. See: http://www.ypct.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=484... =66
5. ARRL Article on CLC Contact
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) ran a story about an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact that took place in October 2008 between the Indianapolis Challenger Learning Center (CLC) and Spaceflight Participant Richard Garriott, W5KWQ. The article, "Hams Mentor Challenger Center Students for Garriott Contact," may be found here: http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2009/04/08/10758/?nc=1
The ARRL Web site has 100,000 regular readers.
6. ARISS News on Amateur Radio Newsline
On April 3, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1652 included an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) news item. The story, "Ham Radio in Space: KE7KDP, KE5AIT and RA3DT Return from the ISS," summarizes the ARISS accomplishments of Charles Simonyi and Mike Fincke during their missions. To view the story, go to: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt
7. Astronaut Training Status
The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) team provided another training session to Mike Fossum on Thursday, April 9 to prepare him for his amateur radio license exam.
8. ARISS Report to WIA
The Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) over the May 1-3 weekend. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) mentor and telebridge station operator Tony Hutchison, V K5ZAI will give his ARISS 2008-09 report. It has been posted on the ARISS Web site under "Latest News." See: http://www.rac.ca/ariss/oindex.htm
9. ARISS-Related Article in NASA HQ News Briefs
NASA Headquarters News Service cited an op-ed found in the Times of London. The item, written by Lucy and Stephen Hawking, mentions Richard Garriott's mission and how he inspired youth through his numerous radio contacts while onboard the ISS. See: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/arti cle6027988.ece
10. Simonyi PowerPoint Presentation
An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) volunteer prepared a PowerPoint presentation on Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi's mission and used this during the Milwee Middle School (Longwood, Florida) contact on April 1. To view the slideshow, go to www.mydrive.ch/en. Enter username, "plethra2" and password, "aa4kn_1". Select the "ARISS SLIDE SHOW" folder and download the available files.
11. SuitSat-2 Meeting Held
A SuitSat-2 meeting was held in Phoenix, Arizona on April 3 - 5. The team primarily worked on software, but there was also some final coordination on the cabling and hardware. The software team was able to run some integration tests and achieved the first radio frequency (RF) output of the system. During the testing, the team demonstrated the continuous wave (CW) and voice message transmissions. Work continues on the solar panel mounting. Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) plans to have SuitSat-2 hardware ready for delivery by September.
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]
/EX
73, This week's ANS Editor, Dee Interdonato, NB2F nb2f at amsat dot org