AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-267

ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North America, The Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: ans-editor@amsat.org

******************** AMSAT 2006 Space Symposium **************************

Online registration and hotel reservation for the 2006 AMSAT Space Symposium has been posted to the AMSAT website, and information about the Symposium has been expanded. The 2006 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held October 6, 7 and 8 at the Crowne Plaza in Foster City, California in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area.

Please visit http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium for additional information and an index to the expanded Symposium web pages.

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In this edition:

* HITSAT - New Amateur Radio Cubesat in Orbit * AMSAT President's Club News * AMSAT-UK Chief Discusses PoSAT End-of-Life Issues * Microwave Update Conference 2006 * ARISS Operations Update * SSETI GTO Satellite Project Report * AO-51 QRP Repeater to be Activated for JOTA * 2006 AMSAT Space Symposium Registration * Hawaii Activation on FM Satellites

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-267.01 HITSAT - New Amateur Radio Cubesat in Orbit

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 267.01

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

September 24, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-267.01

HITSAT, a new amateur radio cubesat, was successfully launched from Japan on September 22. HITSAT was developed by the Hokkaido Cubsat Development Ham club at the Hokkaido Institute of Technology under the guidance of Assistant Professor Mitsuhashi Ryuichi. It rode to orbit as a secondary payload aboard a Japanese Space Agency launch of the Japanese Solar-B mission.

Satellite Call Sign JR8YJT CW telemetry down-link 437.275MHz 1200 baud FM packet down-link 437.425MHz

HITSAT transmits its CW telemetry data every 40 seconds. Refer to http://www.hit.ac.jp/~satori/gs/e/hitsatgs.html for a detailed des- cription of the telemetry format.

After launch reception reports began to arrive from amateur radio operators around the world. Pass predictions using the keplerian elements from Space-Track.org have been narrowed down to Object A or Object D, with Object D seeming to be the more accurate at press time.

An excellent resource for HITSAT and other CubeSat information can be found at: http://showcase.netins.net/web/wallio/CubeSat.htm.

[ANS thanks the HITSAT team and observant amateur radio operators around the world for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-267.02 AMSAT President's Club News

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 267.02

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

September 24, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-267.02

Past President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, has been continuing his support of AMSAT by leading the organizational efforts for the President's Club. Robin has requested that President's Club members send him their email addresses so that he can better keep in touch with them.

In response, Robin received the following from President's Club member Jim Jerzycke, KQ6EA, who recently upgraded to "silver" level of member- ship. Jim writes, "I upgraded to "silver" this year. It's my way of paying back AMSAT for not only the enjoyment I get from this aspect of Amateur Radio, but also the knowledge I gained which helped my career immensely." Jim explains, "I never would have been employed by DirecTV, and now Sea Launch, without the *practical* knowledge of satellite opera- tions I gained by being an AMSAT member."

Members of the President's Club, as sustaining donors to AMSAT project funds, are also eligible to receive additional benefits. You too can join the President's Club either through the website at http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/membership/presclub.php or by calling Martha at the AMSAT office, 1-888-322-6728.

[ANS thanks Robin, VE3FRH, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-267.03 AMSAT-UK Chief Discusses PoSAT End-of-Life Issues

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 267.03

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

September 24, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-267.03

Following the recent kind agreement of Consórcio SAT, the owners of PoSAT (PO28 or 1993-061D) which was launched on the Ariane V59 from Kourou on the 26th September 1993, work has been progressing at SSTL and the Surrey Space Centre to switch transponder frequencies to the amateur satellite service to serve as a voice FM transponder for use by all radio amateurs worldwide.

Unfortunately, recent investigations now indicate that the PoSAT on- board NiCd batteries are showing the effects of 12 years in orbit and the approximately 100,000 charge /discharge cycles to which they have subjected and are no longer holding sufficient charge to operate the downlinks. This may mean that, sadly after all, it will not be possible for the satellite to be made available for amateur use.

We fully understand the benefits that PO28 would offer radio amateurs and work is continuing at Surrey to see if there is any way to revive this 'old lady'. AMSAT-UK will provide updates when further informa- tion becomes available.

Martin Sweeting G3YJO http://www.uk.amsat.org

[ANS thanks AMSAT-UK for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-267.04 Microwave Update Conference 2006

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 267.04

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

September 24, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-267.04

Gerd, WB8IFM from Dayton, Ohio writes, "There is only a little over a month left to the national Microwave Update Conference 2006. For the first time this yearly conference will be held* in Dayton,Ohio on the 19th to the 22nd of October.

Presentations are on Friday and Saturday (Oct 20 & 21) with a fleamarket which will be held on Friday night. A banquet on is scheduled for Saturday night with awards and drawings for prizes. There will be a spouse program also.

This is an excellent opportunity to learn about ham activity on the micro- waves, loosely described from about 400 Mhz to light! We hope to attract many hams within driving distance of Dayton.

You have to the end of September to get the earlybird registration fee of $40. After October 1st the registration fee will go up by $5. If you pay at the door the cost will be $50. This fee includes a volume of the proceed- ings which has the presented papers plus others that are not being present- ed! AMSAT will be represented by Freddy, ON6UG.

For registration info and a more detailed plan go to: http://www.microwaveupdate.org.

[ANS thanks Gerd, WB8IFM for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-267.05 ARISS Operations Update

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 267.05

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

September 24, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-267.05

Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO ARISS Project Engineer reminds ISS radio fans to, "Please note, the amateur equipment on the ISS has not been functioning in the automatic modes properly and may be silent more than usual. Information about the next scheduled ARISS contact can be found at http://www.rac.ca/ariss/upcoming.htm#NextContact.

Random ISS voice activity expected the week of September 21-28. Space Station visitor Ansari has announced that she may be active on the Amateur Radio station on ISS. She is planning on a few pre-scheduled school links and some random contacts.

[ANS thanks ARISS for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-267.06 SSETI GTO Satellite Project Report

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 267.06

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

September 24, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-267.06

This week Graham G3VZV reported that the SSETI GTO satellite project is still on track for a launch from Kourou in Nov 2008 with the planned AMSAT-UK U/S linear transponder is on the manifest.

This transponder is expected to support the following features: + Approximate 50kHz bandwidth + 10 watts of RF output + Selectable DSP/SDX and analogue signal paths + 400bps beacon

The satellite may not have good, long term, attitude control therefore the antennas are being designed to work well even if the satellite is tumbling. Although the link budget is not as good as AO40 was nor as P3E will be, circular polarisation of ground segment antennas will be needed.

Before we operate the system as an amateur transponder, it will be used as the initial main communications package for the reception of telecommands to, and for the transmission of telemetry and mission data from, the satellite - so it is quite important for the whole project.

The Preliminary Design Review will be completed during next month and an engineering model of the satellite should be under construction early next year. Hopefully this process will be visible using the same webcam system as we were able to engineer during the SSETI Express construction.

The website at http://www.sseti.net/ has lots of info about the SSETI program. Click on "missions" and ESEO for more details about their plans for their GTO satellite.

A full report on the SSETI Express launch last year, the SSETI ESEO project with the DSP transponder, and their SSETI ESMO (moon orbiter!) project will be provided at the upcoming AMSAT-NA Symposium.

[ANS thanks Graham, G3VZV for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-267.07 AO-51 QRP Repeater to be Activated for JOTA

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 267.07

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

September 24, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-267.07

The AO-51 Operations Group announced plans for AMSAT's support of the Jamboree on the Air event (JOTA) on the weekend of October 21st and 22nd. AO-51 will run in dual repeater mode with the 435.150 QRP repeater reserved for JOTA contacts on the weekend. Please yield the 435.150 repeater to JOTA contacts, especially between two JOTA stations. The normal AO-51 QRP rules apply: 10 watts to omni or handheld antennas only.

Visit the AO-51 schedule at: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/ControlTeam.php

[ANS thanks the AO-51 Operations Group for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-267.08 2006 AMSAT Space Symposium Registration

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 267.08

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

September 24, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-267.08

The 2006 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held October 6, 7 and 8 at the Crowne Plaza in Foster City, California in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area.

There is still plenty of time to sign up for the 2006 AMSAT Space Symposium! Please note that registrations received after September 24 will cost $55.

Hotel registrations have filled the initial block of rooms at the Crowne Plaza Hotel that were set aside for Symposium attendees. The Symposium Committee worked with the hotel management and they are now happy to report that additional rooms have been added to the AMSAT block.

A glitch in the hotel's reservation system causes an occasional error when trying to book rooms at the special AMSAT rate. If you try to book your room through the central Crowne Plaza reservation system (toll free number) they may tell you the dates are unavailable. If this happens call the hotel directly (information on AMSAT web) and be sure to mention the AMS group code.

If you still have problems please send Emily Clarke (n1did@amsat.org) an email with your arrival and departure dates and she will arrange to speak with the hotel manager directly.

One thing that isn't available through the website is that we can upgrade to the Executive rooms. The rate for executive rooms increases from $109 per night to $129 per night. Call the hotel directly to take advantage of this offer.

Information about the Spouse Tours and Activities can be found online. See: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2006GroupTours.php

Please visit http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium for additional information and an index to the expanded Symposium web pages.

[ANS thanks the 2006 Symposium Committee for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-267.09 Hawaii Activation on FM Satellites

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 267.09

From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.

September 24, 2006 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-267.09

Ron, W6ZQ, and Rick, WH6FC will be active on SO-50 and AO-51 for the next week or two from Hawaii. They are on the big island now. Ron will be going to Maui next week for a week or two. Good hunting! Check those westerly passes!

[ANS thanks John, K6YK 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.

73, This week's ANS Editor, JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM K9JKM at amsat dot org