AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-205
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: * EVA for ARISSat-1/KEDR Deployment Planned for August 3 * 2011 BOD Ballots are Mailed * Satellite Awards * AMSAT-UK Colloquium Activity * 2011 AMSAT Symposium and Annual Meeting * 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium First Call for Papers * Satellite Shorts From All Over * ARRISat-1 PCSAT32 Doppler info * AMSAT-UK Joins Response to DCMS Spectrum Plan Affecting Satellite Band * ARISS Status - 18 July 2011
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-205.01 EVA for ARISSat-1/KEDR Deployment Planned for August 3
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 205.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 24, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-205.01
EVA for ARISSat-1/KEDR Deployment Planned for August 3
Gould summarized, "As of July 22 we are looking at an August 3, 2011 date for EVA 29 and the ARISSat-1/KEDR deployment, subject to change due to ISS schedules. The preliminary Russian EVA-29 timeline shows the ARISSat/KEDR deployment is the first task of the EVA, so it will occur fairly soon after the EVA begins. We will let everyone know more as we know more."
The ARISSat-1/KEDR battery is scheduled to be charged 24 hours beginning 24 July at 09:45 UTC. A test of the satellite inside the ISS is scheduled to run from 1900 UTC on Saturday, July 30 and turned off at 14:30 UTC on July 31.
145.950 MHz FM Downlink FM transmissions will cycle between a voice ID as RS01S, select telemetry values, 24 international greeting messages in 15 languages and SSTV images. One of the messages will be a conversation between Yuri Gagarin and ground control.
435 MHz - 145 MHz Linear Transponder The linear transponder will operate in Mode U/V (70 cm Up, 2m Down). It is an 16 KHz wide inverting passband and the convention will be to TX LSB on the 435 MHz uplink and RX USB on the 145 MHz downlink. This mode is designed to work with low power transmitters and omni antenna.
145.919 MHz/145.939 MHz CW Beacons The CW transmissions will be callsign ID RS01S, select telemetry, and callsigns of people actively involved with the ARISS program.
145.920 MHz SSB BPSK-1000 Telemetry The BPSK transmissions will feature a new 1kBPSK protocol developed by Phil Karn, KA9Q to be readable in low signal level conditions. The BPSK data will transmit satellite telemetry. When the CW2 beacon on 145.919 MHz is active this indicates that the BPSK-1000 format is being transmitted. If the CW1 beacon on 145.939 MHz is active this the backup of BPSK-400 format is being transmitted.
To find the links to the ARISSatTLM software for Windows and Mac, SSTV software for Windows and Mac, and ARISSat-1/KEDR technical data please go to http://www.amsat.org.
[ANS thanks ARISSat-1/KEDR Project Manager Gould Smith, WA4SXM for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-205.02 2011 BOD Ballots are Mailed
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 205.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 24, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-205.02
AMSAT Board of Directors Ballots in the Mail
The AMSAT Office has mailed the 2011 Ballot for the AMSAT Board of Directors. The deadline for the receipt of your ballot in Silver Spring, MD is September 15, 2011.
Four director's terms expire this year:
Barry Baines, WD4ASW Alan Biddle, WA4SCA Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Tony Monteiro, AA2TX
The 2011 AMSAT Official Ballot for the Board of Directors includes these nominees (alphabetically by last name):
Barry Baines, WD4ASW Alan Biddle, WA4SCA Steve Coy, K8UD Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA Mark Hammond, N8MH Tony Monteiro, AA2TX Patrick Stoddard, WD9EWK
The four candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be seated as full Board members for two year terms. The two candidates receiving the next highest number of votes will be seated as alternate Board members for one year terms.
A statement and biographical information from each candidate is included in the ballot mailing for your review. Your vote is important and is one of the privileges of AMSAT membership.
[ANS Thanks Headquarters for this information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-205.03 Satellite Awards
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 205.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 24, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-205.03
Normally I am able to wait 4-6 weeks before posting a list of AMSAT awards. However, something must have gotten in the water and in the past few days the awards have sky rocketed.
Due to the effort of Matt, N8MS, at the ARRL Teacher's Institute 2, there were 8 hams that worked their first satellite contact. They are included in the list below.
The following have entered into the Satellite Communicators Club for making their first satellite QSO.
Pam Kalafice, KD8MUC George Wheeler, W7LX Thomas Maxwell, AE5QB Jerry Taylor, AC0PF Stephen McClune, KB3FKO Larry Brim, KI6FBT Jackie Smith, KJ4SVQ Larry Kendall, K6NDL Samuel Saladino, NW9T Walter Lemons, AE5IT Stephen Reinen, N8BP Lee Olson, N9LO Thomas Talley, KA9QPG
The following have earned the AMSAT Communications Achievement Award. George Henry, KA3HSW, #540 Brandon Rasmussen, K7BBR, #541
The following have earned the South Africa Satellite Communications Achievement award George Henry, KA3HSW, #US169 Brandon Rasmussen, K7BBR, #US170
To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com
Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards
[ANS Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-205.04 AMSAT-UK Colloquium Activity
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 205.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 24, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-205.04
The AMSAT-UK International Space Colloquium at the Holiday Inn, Guildford, GU2 7XZ, England will be taking place during the activation of ARISSat-1.
Members of AMSAT-UK hope to be active during the ARISSat-1 tests from the GB4FUN communications module situated in the Holiday Inn parking lot.
GB4FUN: http://www.gb4fun.org.uk/
It is intend to use the GB4FUN station equipment to listen to the various ARISSat-1 signals and, hopefully make a few contacts through the linear transponder.
In addition they will be experimenting with the use of FUNcube Dongle software defined radios to receive the ARISSat-1 signals with a variety of different antennas.
The Colloquium is open to all Radio Amateurs and SWL's. Either day passes or full packages comprising overnight accommodation and meals are available. For futher information see http://www.uk.amsat.org/colloquium-2011/
AMSAT-UK: http://www.uk.amsat.org/
BATC and AMSAT volunteers will be streaming video of the event live, enabling it to be seen around the world.
Clearly a webcast cannot match actually being there, with the oppor- tunity to chat to satellite builders and inspect space hardware, but if you can't get to Guilford then the webcast provides the next best thing.
The webcast will be at http://www.batc.tv
[ANS thanks Trevor, M5AKA, for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-205.05 2011 AMSAT Symposium and Annual Meeting
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 205.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 24, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-205.05
2011 AMSAT Symposium and Annual Meeting
AMSAT announces the 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held on Friday, November 4th through Sunday, November 6th in San Jose, CA. This annual gathering will feature:
+ Space Symposium with Amateur Satellite Presentations Operating + Techniques, News, & Plans from the Amateur Satellite World Board of + Directors Meeting open to AMSAT members (Nov. 3-4) Meet Board Members + and Officers Annual General Membership Meeting Annual Banquet-Keynote + Speaker and Door Prizes
The 2011 Symposium hotel and registration web pages are now available on the AMSAT web site. You may register for the Symposium and Annual Banquet at the AMSAT Store: http://www.amsat-na.com/store/SymposiumReg.php
The hotel selected is the Wyndham San Jose, close to the airport. The AMSAT discount rate is $79.00+taxes per night. The reservation block code when calling the hotel directly is "AMSAT". The hotel telephone number is 408-453-6200. If you are making reservations on-line use 1031FSJAM for the group code. The direct link to the hotel web page is: http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/SJCAP/main.wnt
Additional information about the 2011 AMSAT Symposium will be posted on the AMSAT web site as it becomes available.
If you are planning to book a room on dates other than November 2, 3, 4, 5, you will have to call the hotel directly and ask for *in- house reservations*. You can get the $79 rate 3 days before and 3 days after the above dates but you cannot book the room on their website. Any problems, give Martha a call at the AMSAT Office: 301-589-6062.
[ANS thanks the 2011 Symposium Committee for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-205.06 2011 AMSAT Space Symposium First Call for Papers
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 205.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 24, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-205.06
2011 AMSAT Space Symposium First Call for Papers
First call for papers. 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 submitted by October 1, 2011 for inclusion in the printed proceedings.
Abstracts and papers should be sent to Dan Schultz, N8FGV, at: [email protected].
[ANS thanks Dan Schultz, N8FGV for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-205.07 ARRISat-1 PCSAT32 Doppler info
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 205.07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 24, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-205.07
The deployment of ARRISat-1 is approaching. Here is a collection of data on the various modes for use in configuring SATPC32. Note that you will need to tweak the sideband frequencies slightly to account for rig calibration and other issues, as usual, but these should be close. You can paste these in the DOPPLER.SQF file, but before you do, please read on!
ARISSat-1,145918.5,0,USB,,,0,0,BPSK/CW-2 ARISSat-1,145950.0,0,FM,,,0,0,VOICE/SSTV ARISSat-1,145930.0,435750.0,USB,LSB,REV,0,0,XPDR ARISSat-1,145938.5,0,USB,,,0,0,CW-1
Since ARISSat-1 will be deployed by a gentle push from the ISS by Cosmonauts, the ISS Keps will be good until separate Keps are released by Space Track. One way to handle the transition is to change the Doppler information slightly:
ISS,145918.5,0,USB,,,0,0,BPSK/CW-2 ISS,145950.0,0,FM,,,0,0,VOICE/SSTV ISS,145930.0,435750.0,USB,LSB,REV,0,0,XPDR ISS,145938.5,0,USB,,,0,0,CW-1
Paste the ARISSat-1 data as desired, and also paste the ISS version of the data into the DOPPLER.SQF file after the regular ISS data. For the final test aboard the ISS, and initially after deployment, select ISS tracking, and then select the desired ARRISat-1 frequency data at the end of the list in the CAT window.
After the ISS and ARISSat-1 are far enough apart that independent Keps are available, you can begin using ARISSat-1 as a separate object by adding it to the objects you track in the Satellites menu window. The satellite may be identified as ARISSat-1, but may well have some other designation which will be reported. If it is not ARRISat-1, then change the name in the first group above to that used in the Keps. They must agree exactly for SATPC32 to match the Doppler data with the satellite. (You can also use the AmsatNames.txt file, which is covered in the SATPC32 documentation.) You can then delete the extra ISS data if you wish. They won't hurt anything, but it will clean up the ISS CAT window.
[ANS thanks Alan, WA4SCA, for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-205.08 Satellite Shorts From All Over
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 205.08 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 24, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-205.08
Satellite Shorts From All Over
+ Congratulations to Ron, N8RO for attaining Satellite VUCC # 219!
+ Look for Makoto, JI5RPT to be active as JD1BLY from Chichijima Island (IOTA AS-031) Ogasawara. Operation is planned for 40m to 6m and Satellite CW/SSB/DIGI between August 1-7. QSL via JI5RPT. Web based log will be found at: http://www.ji5rpt.com/jd1/ and you are also invited to monitor Twitter: http://twitter.com/jd1bly ([email protected])
+ TP50, FRANCE. The "Council of Europe Radio Amateur Club" (CERAC - TP2CE) will be active as TP50CE during the RSGB IOTA Contest (July 30-31). Activity is to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Euro- pean Social Charter. Operations are usually on all HF bands and modes, possibly the satellites. QSL via F5LGF. An online log search will be available at: http://ewwa.free.fr (Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin No. 1019)
+ The Amateur Radio functions of the Tokyo university PRISM satellite have been tested and it is hoped it will be generally available soon. It carries a beacon on 437.250 MHz and a data downlink on 437.425 MHz with a downlink power up to 3 watts. PRISM Web: http://www.space.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/prism/en/main.html Snapshot of decoding screen captured by Mineo Wakita, JE9PEL: http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/10716pri.png
+ A 47 minute video of Space Shuttle Atlantis undocking from the International Space Station can be viewed at UniverseToday.com http://tinyurl.com/448ra22 Additional video can be viewed at: http://spaceflightnow.com/shuttle/sts135/status.html
+ NASA released the videos taken from the cameras mounted on the solid rocket boosters for Atlantis' launch for the STS-135 mission: http://tinyurl.com/6z3gohl (UniverseToday.com)
+ The schedules for Australasia and Eastern Asia for 18 - 31 July are now on http://www.amsatsa.org.za. The next schedule starts on August 1 with the Americas.
+ The AO-7 footprint continues to be long according to Luis, LU6QI. He reports a successful AO-7 Mode B contact with Drew, KO4MA for a distance of 7062 KM. Luis invites more North American stations to attempt a contact via AO-7 Mode A or B, and FO-29. Contact Luis by e-mail to set up a schedule: [email protected]
+ Bill OM3BD/NZ5N operating from Grid JN88mf reported good conditions on AO-7. He worked 10 stations, including KD8CAO, WB8TGY, and K8YSE.
[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-205.09 AMSAT-UK Joins Response to DCMS Spectrum Plan Affecting Satellite Band
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 205.09 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 24, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-205.09
AMSAT-UK Joins Response to DCMS Spectrum Plan Affecting Satellite Band
The UK Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), a government agency, issued a consultation seeking opinion on the release of 500MHz
of public sector spectrum by 2020. The full UK Government document may
be viewed on-line at: http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/Spectrum_Release.pdf
A joint response from the RSGB, UK Microwave Group, AMSAT-UK and BATC is among the 31 responses to the DCMS consultation on releas- ing public sector spectrum.
The response notes that the Amateur Radio and Amateur Satellite ser- vices successfully share spectrum with the current public services under consideration for reallocation. In regards to the proposed spectrum under consideration for reallocation the joint Amateur Radio response states that the 435-438 MHz sub-section is the largest active band for international amateur satellites.
RSGB, UK Microwave Group, AMSAT-UK and BATC invite further consultation with the DCMS, "We would caution that any precipitous decision and un- coordinated release would impair a raft of innovative activity that is
aligned with many DCMS and other national goals. We therefore look for- ward to further discussions with DCMS."
The joint RSGB, UK Microwave Group, AMSAT-UK and BATC response can be read at: http://tinyurl.com/3stw6wn (culture.gov.uk)
All of the responses can be read at: http://www.culture.gov.uk/consultations/8297.aspx
[ANS thanks the Southgate ARC News Site for the above information]
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SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-205.10 ARISS Status - 18 July 2011
AMSAT News Service Bulletin 205.10 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. July 24, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-205.10
1. Ottawa Contact Successful
On Thursday, July 14, the City of Ottawa Sports Recreation Camp in Ontario, Canada took part in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. Telebridge station W6SRJ in California provided the connection. One hundred twenty-five students, twelve counselors and many parents were present for the event and watched as the youth asked 16 questions of ISS crew member Ron Garan, KF5GPO. Global National (Canadian network) aired the story nationally and Your Ottawa Region posted an article on its site.
http://www.yourottawaregion.com/news/local/article/1043569--ground-con trol-to-major-tom
2. ARISS-U.S. Receives Proposals for Contacts
The NASA Teaching From Space Office received over 100 inquiries about the U.S. proposal process for ARISS contacts that will be scheduled during the January - July 2012 time frame. Twenty-five schools met the July 15 deadline and submitted proposals. The selection process will begin shortly. Another window of opportunity for U.S. schools and organizations to submit proposals will open later in the year.
3. ARRL QST Posts ARISS News
The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) included an ARISS item in its August QST about ARRL at Hamvention, and highlighted Astronaut Doug Wheelock's participation, particularly with the youth activities.
4. AMSAT Provides ARISSat-1 Status
The AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service July 17 bulletin (ANS-198) included a status on ARISSat-1. The battery will be charged July 27 or 28 and a test will be conducted on the ISS over the weekend of July 30-31. Deployment is scheduled for August 3. "ARISSat-1/KEDR Activation Planned; Deployment Update" may be viewed here: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2011/000532.html
5. Amateur Radio Newsline on ARISSat-1 Deployment
On July 15, the Amateur Radio Newsline Report 1770 included a status on the deployment date of ARISSat-1. The story may be found under the heading "Ham Radio in Space." See: ftp://ftp.arnewsline.org/quincy/News/news.txt
[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]
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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 ligible to receive additional benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office.
73, This week's ANS Editor, Dee Interdonato, NB2F Nb2f at amsat dot org