August 2006 - Eagle (INACTIVE)

CNN reports on Cubesat Launch Failure
by Tom Clark, K3IO 31 Aug '06

31 Aug '06

Interesting report -- See http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/08/30/cloudsat/index.html 73, Tom

2 1

Need Eagle Presentation
by Bill Tynan 26 Aug '06

26 Aug '06

Hi All: I am scheduled to give an Eagle presentation at the Hill Country Amateur Radio Club on Thursday Sept. 7. Tom and Bob gave a good one at Central State and Keith Pugh gave one at Austin Summerfest one week later. I assumed that I could find these on the AMSAT Web site and burn a CD of them. However, including Eaglepedia, I can't find anything like the above presentations. Eaglepedia is mostly words and pretty dry as presentation material. Does someone have a disk? Or can I find the material somewhere? Please advise ASAP. 73, Bill, W3XO

4 3

San Francisco meeting
by Tom Clark, K3IO 25 Aug '06

25 Aug '06

Emily still needs papers for the October meeting. I just added a 2-part paper to the list at http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2006PapersStatus.php?retURL=sympos… intended to discuss the how/why/what I think about the antenna arrays. If others wish to make contributions, the URL for submissions is http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2006PapersProcedure.php 73, Tom

1 0

Hotel Reservations
by Emily Clarke 25 Aug '06

25 Aug '06

At 06:17 PM 8/24/2006, Another member wrote with an excellent question >Emily, >I have looked and have not found the AMS discount code anywhere. I >have made my reservations through the web site as directed and got a >rate of $109. I made the reservation under my wife's name so that >she get the points under her priority club number. Is that the right amount? Yes (member), that is the correct amount. The AMS Code is automatically applied and can be found under the "Corporate, Group and IATA Identification (Optional)" field if you expand it by clicking on the Plus sign. AMS shows up in the "Group Booking Code" field. It's probably a good thing to check, but thus far there has been no problems with the 6 or 7 browsers I've tested. If you are calling the hotel or toll free number you need to mention the AMS code when you book. (In So Far As I Know) It doesn't matter who's points number you enter and I think in the last three years I've only been asked for my card once. But if you have any questions about that please contact the Intercontinental Hotels Group (Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Intercontinental, etc.) Priority Club customer service for specific information. Depending on your club membership (Member, Gold, Elite) that number is different - please consult your membership information. One thing I can tell you is that if your spouse has a Priority Club number, and you have a different one, you can combine points when you go to redeem them. 73, Emily --------------------------------- N1DID formerly W0EEC - CM87tm Donate to AMSAT at http://www.amsat-na.com/donation.php Support Project OSCAR - http://www.projectoscar.net Personal Website - http://www.PlanetEmily.com

1 0

[Updated] Important Information about Hotel Reservations
by Emily Clarke 25 Aug '06

25 Aug '06

After reviewing the hotel contracts we discovered that our members are also entitled to the discounted rate three days before and three days after the symposium dates. We contacted the hotel, and they have made further adjustments to the reservation system. You can now use the AMS discount code for any hotel reservations from the 1st of October through the 13th. The following is a corrected set of instructions. 73, Emily --------------------------- It seems like we are running into a similar problem with the Intercontinental Reservation system as we did in Washington and Lafayette. When this happens, people making reservations are told that there are no rooms available. After speaking with the hotel we know what is happening and why, and it is really a bug in the reservation software that affects both the online system and the system the customer service representatives use. It is important to understand how the discounted rate system works in order to reserve your rooms successfully. We have a block of rooms set aside from the 4th through the 10th of October, and the discounted rate code only applies during that period. If you book a room outside that range the reservation software will tell you (or a customer service representative) that there are no rooms available. Here are some additional steps that will guide you to a successful reservation: 1) Make a reservation for within the dates of October 1st through the 13th using the AMS discount code. 2) Make a second (or third if necessary) for dates before and after that range. If you have difficulties call the hotel directly at (650) 570-5700 or call at 1-877-2-CROWNE. Be sure to give them the AMS discount code and explain the reservations you need as described above. You must make your reservations prior to September 13 to qualify for the discounted rate! Please Note: The symposium rate is for a standard room - you can upgrade to an executive room or suite at a discounted rate. 73, Emily --------------------------------- N1DID formerly W0EEC - CM87tm Donate to AMSAT at http://www.amsat-na.com/donation.php Support Project OSCAR - http://www.projectoscar.net Personal Website - http://www.PlanetEmily.com --------------------------------- N1DID formerly W0EEC - CM87tm Donate to AMSAT at http://www.amsat-na.com/donation.php Support Project OSCAR - http://www.projectoscar.net Personal Website - http://www.PlanetEmily.com

1 0

Important Information about Hotel Reservations
by Emily Clarke 24 Aug '06

24 Aug '06

It seems like we are running into a similar problem with the Intercontinental Reservation system as we did in Washington and Lafayette. When this happens, people making reservations are told that there are no rooms available. After speaking with the hotel we know what is happening and why, and it is really a bug in the reservation software that affects both the online system and the system the customer service representatives use. It is important to understand how the discounted rate system works in order to reserve your rooms successfully. We have a block of rooms set aside from the 4th through the 10th of October, and the discounted rate code only applies during that period. If you book a room outside that range the reservation software will tell you (or a customer service representative) that there are no rooms available. Here are some additional steps that will guide you to a successful reservation: 1) Make a reservation for within the dates of the 4th through the 10th using the AMS discount code. 2) Make a second (or third if necessary) for dates before and after that range. If you have difficulties call the hotel directly at (650) 570-5700 or call at 1-877-2-CROWNE. Be sure to give them the AMS discount code and explain the reservations you need as described above. You must make your reservations prior to September 13 to qualify for the discounted rate! Please Note: The symposium rate is for a standard room - you can upgrade to an executive room or suite at a discounted rate. 73, Emily --------------------------------- N1DID formerly W0EEC - CM87tm Donate to AMSAT at http://www.amsat-na.com/donation.php Support Project OSCAR - http://www.projectoscar.net Personal Website - http://www.PlanetEmily.com

1 0

[Fwd: [Officers] AMSAT Symposium]
by Jim Sanford 24 Aug '06

24 Aug '06

Team: Please note this. I'd like to see a presentation from each team -- SDX, RF, Power, Structure, Sensors, IHU/CAN, etc. Even if someone else has to present it. I think each of you has a very interesting story to tell. Please cc: me on any intent to publish or abstract emails, so I know what's going on. I look forward to seeing many of you at Symposium. REMINDER: I STILL HAVE NO BUDGET INPUTS!!!! Help! Thanks & 73, Jim wb4gcs(a)amsast.org -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [Officers] AMSAT Symposium Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2006 07:01:41 -0400 From: Rick Hambly (W2GPS) <w2gps(a)cnssys.com> To: <bod(a)amsat.org> CC: 'AMSAT Advisors' <advisors(a)amsat.org>, officers(a)amsat.org All, The AMSAT Symposium is getting close and I am concerned that the number of papers submitted and the number of registrations are very low. AMSAT need the help of each of our leaders to get the word out now. I would like to see at least one paper from each member of the Executive team written by them or a member of their teams. For now just get an abstract in to Emily so we know something is coming. That includes the teams of the: * Executive Vice President * Vice-President Operations * Vice President of Human Spaceflight * Vice-President Engineering * VP of Marketing and User Services * Secretary * Treasurer * Manager I would like to see everyone on this group who is coming to be registered for the Symposium and have their hotel room reserved ASAP. There is not much time before the hotel rates go up. AMSAT needs for everyone to get the word out to clubs, Hamfests and friends about this great Symposium. This is especially true on the West Coast where many people can get there by car. Rick W2GPS AMSAT LM2232 _______________________________________________ Via the Officers mailing list at AMSAT.ORG courtesy of AMSAT-NA http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/officers

1 0

2007 Budget
by Jim Sanford 23 Aug '06

23 Aug '06

Team: Back in May, I requested budget inputs by 1 July. I received none. In July, I asked again. I've received none. The AMSAT treasurer is now asking for my input by the end of August. All I can give him is what I project for project management, and the rollover from 06 to 07 of the IHU board respin that didn't happen. Everything else will be ZERO. Please help. Thanks & 73, Jim wb4gcs(a)amsat.org

2 2

Emergency Communications Thoughts
by Tom Clark, K3IO 19 Aug '06

19 Aug '06

One of the thoughts that prevailed at the June EAGLE meeting in San Diego was that EAGLE needed an SMS-like "User Class-1" service (SMS = Short Message Service a.k.a. text messaging, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_message_service) that would allow small, hand held portable user terminals to have reliable satellite access. Many of us thought (in the back of our minds) that this is similar to one of the functions that WB4APR has advocated with APRS. After examining the link budgets, we concluded that this was a perfect Mode-B (70cm -> 2M) function and it fits within the Mode-B SDX concept very neatly (SMS on one SDX sideband and linear transponder on the other, with PSK beacon in the middle). Frank, AB2KT has already begun designing the protocol (and we are already planing to include it in our on-the-air Balto-Wash SDX demo station). Related to this topic, this week's ARRL newsletter contains this item: > ==>ARRL FIRST VP CHAIRS GLOBAL AMATEUR RADIO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS > CONFERENCE > > ARRL First Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN, represented the League at the > Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference 2006 (GAREC-2006) > <http://www.rientola.fi/oh3ag/garec/index.html>. She also was chosen to > chair the event, held June 19-20 in Tampere, Finland, concurrently with the > International Conference on Emergency Communications (ICEC 2006) and the > International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Working Group on Emergency > Telecommunications (WGET). GAREC-2006 participants primarily followed up on > items first raised during GAREC-2005. Representatives of than 20 countries > were on hand, and Craigie said it was beneficial to have a chance to get to > know amateurs from other countries who are involved in emergency > communications. (balance of the item deleted for brevity). I just spent an hour scanning the presentations. Both the Turkish & Swedish presentations talk about the desirability of having interoperable reliable digital communications. Both APRS and PSK31 are included in the discussions. We have long thought that the Europeans, especially with their 3rd party communications rules, had little interest in coordinated disaster response. But I came away from my reading of the GAREC-2006 materials realizing that our preconceived notions about the international situation was quite naive. I suggest that we should start stressing the AMSAT EAGLE plans for SMS-like capabilities to the ARRL (note that several of us know Kay Craigie well -- she's from this area) and the IARU. IMHO, we want to have them DEMANDING this type of service from AMSAT. 73, Tom

1 0

2 Meter amplifier
by Robert McGwier 19 Aug '06

19 Aug '06

As promised, Marc N2UO has done some work with a new GaN device from CREE. In new files please find: http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/eagle/EaglePedia/uploads/1/13/VHF_SiC_amplif… This looks REALLY good for HELAPS. Bob -- AMSAT VP Engineering. Member: ARRL, AMSAT-DL, TAPR, Packrats, NJQRP/AMQRP, QRP ARCI, QCWA, FRC. ARRL SDR Wrk Grp Chairman "You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." - Einstein

4 6