[jamsat-news:799] ANS 088

[Dan James <nn0dj@means.net>]

ANS-088 	
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE	

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-088.01
SATELLITE INTERNET LINK 

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 088.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 29, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS 
BID: $ANS-088.01

Bob, WB4APR, reports to ANS that he is in the process of building a network of linked 
ground stations to provide almost continuous coverage for some of the current digital 
amateur satellites.  WB4APR's idea is that these linked stations would use only simple 
antennas and operate unattended 24 hours a day, as many amateur radio digital stations 
currently do. They would be linked to the Internet so that any packets heard by any 
linked station would be merged together into a single Internet stream of raw packets for 
all stations. This would allow amateurs to manage their digital satellite transmissions by 
seeing data flow even when a selected satellite is out of range of their own station. It would 
also let hams on one continent see how the same satellite is being used over a distant area.

Bob reports that the Internet side of this idea has been completed by Steve, K4HG, and is 
working fine, having been on line for more than a year.  According to WB4APR, Steve's site 
has demonstrated being able to handle over 2 dozen simultaneous 1200 baud packet feeds 
and at least 150 simultaneous users. This example system is the worldwide APRS server.  
Steve is now building another system just for digital amateur satellites.  

Bob reports the system now needs more stations with dedicated 24 hour Internet access for 
each local footprint and satellite. Station requirements include digital satellite gear, computer
equipment, and TELNET access or TCP/IP Internet service. Bob reports stations do not need
to see all packets horizon to horizon.  "What really counts is that at least one station in the 
link out of the sum of all stations hears the packet at least once," Bob said. Everyone then 
gets the data via the Internet link. The central server will remove all duplicate data. 
 
WB4APR says that a few amateurs have already responded to his request and are looking 
into setting up stations in the United States, Mexico, Taiwan, and Spain.  Interested stations 
should contact WB4APR at his e-mail address:

bruninga@nadn.navy.mil

[ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-088.02
DAYTON AMSAT ROOMS 

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 088.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 29, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS 
BID: $ANS-088.02

AMSAT-NA secretary, Martha Saragovitz, tells ANS that AMSAT-NA still has  7 rooms 
available for the upcoming Dayton Hamfest. The hotel is the Homewood Suites in Fairborn, 
Ohio. Accommodations include a double bed in the bedroom and a fold-out double sofa bed
in the living room.  There is a kitchen with coffee maker, stove and refrigerator. 

Interested AMSAT members should call Martha at the AMSAT-NA office,  (301) 589-6062, 
for more information.

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA secretary, Martha Saragovitz, for this information]  

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-088.03
STS-90 PRESS BRIEFINGS SET FOR APRIL 2

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 088.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 29, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS 
BID: $ANS-088.03

NASA's Jennifer McCarter reports to ANS that a series of background press briefings on 
the upcoming STS-90 mission are scheduled beginning at 8 a.m. CST, April 2, 1998 on 
NASA TV, originating from NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. The 16-day
Shuttle mission is dedicated to the study of the human nervous system, the most complex 
and least understood part of the body.

The principal objectives of the STS-90 mission are to expand our
understanding of how the nervous system develops and functions in space,
but the research also will provide unique contributions to the study and
treatment of neurological disorders on Earth.

The launch window opens at 1:19 p.m. CDT on April 16th, and lasts 2 hours.
Following a nominal flight duration of 15 days, 21 hours, 50 minutes,
Space Shuttle Columbia is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center
on May 2nd at about 11:09 a.m. CDT.

NASA TV is available on GE-2, Transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, 
vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 MHz, and audio of 6.8 MHz.

STS-90 will be Columbia's 25th mission into space and the 90th Shuttle
flight in the program's history. This flight is not a SAREX mission.

[ANS thanks NASA and Jennifer McCarter for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-088.04
MIRMON PROGRAM AVAILABLE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 088.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 29, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS 
BID: $ANS-088.04

Bob, WB4APR, reports the MIRMON program, designed to simplify the monitoring 
of downlink packets from the Mir Space Station during special MIREX school 
experiments, is now available for downloading. It includes a demonstration of the recent 
experiment earlier this month, showing students the potential for future, similar tests using 
UI packet frames.

The program is available from the TAPR FTP Web site using the following directory:

          tapr/SIG/aprssig/files/dosstuff/APRSdos

Bob reports the program is a test version, which has not been thoroughly tested on the air. 
Users are cautioned to use it for receive monitoring only and familiarization with the user 
interface.  Any transmit testing at this time should be done locally on a simplex digital frequency. 

Stay tuned to ANS for further developments.

[ANS thanks Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-088.05
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 088.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 29, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-088.05

MIR/SAFEX
SAFEX II 70 cm Repeater 
Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 141.3 Hz	
Downlink 437.950 MHz FM 	
Not operational at this time.

SAFEX II 70 cm QSO Mode
Uplink 435.725 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 151.4 Hz	
Downlink 437.925 MHz FM	
Operational. The SAFEX II installation has been utilized 
recently in QSO Mode. 

PMS 
Uplink/Downlink 145.985 MHz FM  1200 Baud AFSK 	
Operational. The new modem is a Kantronics KPC-9612 Plus, Revision 8.1. 
Please note the command set for this TNC is different than the previous Mir 
TNC.  MIREX suggests a copy of the KPC-9612 manual may help in 
understanding the changes. 

The Progress 38 cargo rocket has delivered the new MIREX-DCI antenna filter 
to the space station.  This filter will be used to prevent interference to the 2-meter 
PMS station from nearby commercial transmitters aboard MIR. The filter is a 
custom designed antenna cavity which will block the offending interference with 
a combination of pass band and notch filters. The filter is tentatively planned for 
installation in the April/May time frame.

MIREX has created an Internet Web page containing information regarding 
MIR and the various ham radio experiments taking place from the space station. 
Please check out the pages for pending and proposed projects.  URLs are:

http://www.ik1sld.org/mirex.htm   
http://www.geocities.com/~ik1sld/mirex.htm 

[ANS thanks the MIREX team for this information]

RS-12
Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB	
Downlink 29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB	
Operational, mode KA. The 15m ROBOT is operational. 
RS-12 has been seeing recent heavy activity and good DX possibilities.  

RS-15
Uplink 145.858 to 145.898 MHz CW/SSB	
Downlink 29.354 to 29.394 MHz CW/SSB 	
Operational.   CW appears to be the most successful mode on RS-15, 
however, John, G7HIA, recently worked G8ATE  on sideband with 5X5 
signals each way. John reports very deep QSB but much better signals 
than a few months ago. G7HIA used 20 watts to a 10 element beam on 
his uplink during this contact. 

{ANS thanks John Heath, G7HIA, for this information] 

RS-16
Beacons (only) are operational. The 29 MHz beacon has not 
been operational for some time.

Transponder information on RS-16. 
Uplink = 145.915 - 145.948 MHz	
Downlink = 29.415 - 29.448 MHz	
Beacons = 29.408 and 29.451 MHz	
Pwr 29 MHz Down = 1.2W /4W	
	
Beacon 1 = 435.504 MHz	
Beacon 2 = 435.548 MHz	
Pwr 435 MHz Beacons = 1.6W	
	
AO-10
Uplink 435.030 to 435.180 MHz CW/LSB	
Downlink 145.975 to 145.825 MHz CW/USB	
Operational.   Despite brief moments of deep QSB, AO-10's downlink
signals have been excellent (even at apogee), with heavy stateside 
and DX activity. 

AO-10's apogee has continued to move into the northern hemisphere. 
Apogee will continue to rise higher to the north for the rest of 1998, 
peaking in December.

W4SM has updated his AO-10 web page, use the following URL:

http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/AO-10.html

[ANS thanks Stacey Mills, W4SM for this information]

AO-27
Uplink 145.850 MHz FM	
Downlink 436.792 MHz FM	
Operational.  Widely used especially during weekend passes. 

[ANS thanks Michael Wyrick, N4USI, AO-27 Control-op for this update] 

FO-20
Uplink 145.900 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB	
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB	
Operational.      FO-20 in mode JA continuously. 

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK for this report]

FO-29
Voice/CW Mode JA	
Uplink 145.900 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB	
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB	
Not operational, currently in digital mode.

Digital Mode JD	
Uplink 145.850   145.870  145.910 MHz FM	
Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK	
Operational.  Kazu, JJ1WTK, reports FO-29 was switched into mode JD 
on the 0700 UTC, 23 March pass. Mode JD will continue until 30 March, 
when a new operation schedule will be announced. 

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for this report]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-088.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 088.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 29,1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-088.06

KO-23
Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK	
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM	
Semi-operational. Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-23 is not operating properly.
The satellite has improved slightly, but is still considered marginal. Downlink 
efficiencies are between 0 and 30%. 

This condition has been observed when the satellite spends little or no time eclipsed 
and thermal heating becomes excessive. This condition has happened a number of times 
in the past. Ultimately, the satellite has returned to normal operation when it cools in the 
earth shadow.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC for this report]
 
KO-25
Uplink 145.980 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK	
Downlink 436.50 MHz FM	
Operational.  Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-25 operating normally.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for this report]

OSCAR-11
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 Baud PSK	
Beacon 2401.500 MHz	
Operational. 

OSCAR-11 celebrated its 14th birthday on March 1, 1998. It is a
wonderful achievement by the UOSAT team who designed, built, and
launched the satellite in a period of only six months. Although there have 
been various component failures during its long time in orbit,  OSCAR-11  
does have the habit of bouncing back!  Great credit to its design philosophy.

During the reporting period of 16 February to 9 March good signals had 
been received from the 145 MHz beacon. The battery voltage has been 
slightly depressed, at around 13.5 volts, otherwise telemetry is nominal.

During the past week there have been some problems with OSCAR-11, 
the 145 MHz beacon has been off. The beacon was last heard on 9 March
when  telemetry was nominal. The shut down may be a recurrence of the  
watchdog timer problem, which was prevalent about two years ago.

A single  WOD survey has been transmitted, dated 06 January 1998.
This contains channels 10, 20, 30, 40 (+Y, -X, +X array currents, and
array voltage). The array voltage is a very good indication of the
solar eclipses, changing rapidly as the satellite goes in and out of
darkness.

Reports of the mode-S beacon have been received from VK3BNC,  
N0ZHE and N5JDB.  All are using the Drake MMDS downconverter.

OSCAR-11 users are welcome to visit the G3CWV Web site. Audio
Files have been recently added, including a Mode-S recording from  
KC6SZY. The web site also contains software for capturing data and 
decoding ASCII telemetry and WOD information. The URL is:

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/

The operating schedule is unchanged.
ASCII status (210 seconds)	
ASCII bulletin  (60 seconds)	
BINARY SEU (30 seconds)	
ASCII TLM (90 seconds)	
ASCII WOD (120 seconds)	
ASCII bulletin (60 seconds)	
BINARY ENG (30 seconds)	

The mode-S beacon is on, transmitting an unmodulated carrier, but
telemetry indicates that it has partially failed, delivering half output
power.  Reception reports should be sent to: 

g3cwv@amsat.org.

The 435.025 MHz beacon is normally off.  However it can sometimes be
heard when the satellite is being commanded by ground control. The data 
transmitted is mainly binary.

[ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for this information]

AMSAT-OSCAR-16 (PACSAT)
Uplink 145.90 145.92 145.94 145.86 MHz FM 1200 bps Manchester FSK	
Downlink 437.0513 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK 1200 Baud PSK	
Beacon 2401.1428 MHz	
Operating normally. The telemetry is nominal. The S band transmitter is off.

Time is Fri Mar 27 23:39:52 1998 uptime is 1286/18:09:09.
+10V Bus              10.275 V  RC PSK TX Out    0.599 W	
+X (RX) Temp        -9.683 D  RX Temp          4.234 D	
Baseplt Temp          3.024 D  RC PSK BP Temp  -4.842 D  	
RC PSK HPA Tmp  -5.448 D  +Y Array Temp  -24.206 D  	
PSK TX HPA Tmp   -5.448 D  +Z Array Temp  -16.339 D	
	
Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.425 Ifb= 0.165 I+10V= 0.278
TX:010B BCR:1E PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:18

General information and telemetry WOD files can find it in:

http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/wod.htm

[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report]

DO-17 (DOVE)
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM   1200 Baud AFSK	
Beacon 2401.220 MHz	
Currently non-operational. DO-17 appears to have experienced a problem. 
The 145.825 MHz downlink is off the air. Jim, WD0E, reports
he will attempt to correct the situation as time permits.

[ANS thanks Jim White, WD0E, for this update]

WEBERSAT (WO-18)
Downlink 437.104 MHz SSB  1200 Baud PSK AX.25	
Currently non-operational.  WO-18 is in MBL mode after a software 
crash. Attempts are being made to find and correct the cause 
of the suspected seasonal crashes. 

[ANS thanks the WO-18 Command Team for this news]

LUSAT-OSCAR-19
Uplink 145.84  145.86  145.88  145.90 MHz FM 1200 bps Manchester FSK	
Downlink 437.125 MHz SSB  1200 bps RC-BPSK 	
Operating normally. The telemetry is nominal.  

Here are two orbit situations followed in time.
(A)	= the final obscure moment of the orbit 
(B)	= beginning of the orbit with light

(A) Time is Fri Mar 27 22:56:20 1998 uptime is 1011/08:51:10
+Z Array V       10.741 V	
+10V Bus         10.275 V  BCR Set Point   29.271 C	
BCR Input Cu    0.158 A  BCR Output Cur   0.007 A	
Total Array C= 0.010 Bat Ch Cur=-0.258 Ifb= 0.148 I+10V= 0.117	

(B) Time is Fri Mar 27 22:57:20 1998 uptime is 1011/08:52:10.
+Z Array V        22.711 V	
+10V Bus         10.950 V  BCR Set Point  122.692 C	
BCR Input Cur    0.478 A  BCR Output Cur   0.364 A	
Total Array C=  0.478 Bat Ch Cur= 0.244 Ifb=-0.000 I+10V= 0.120	
	

General information and telemetry samples can be found at:

http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/lo19.htm

[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report]

UO-22
Uplink 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK	
Downlink 435.120 MHz FM	
Operational.  Chris, G7UPN reports UO-22 is operating normally.

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, Operations Manager 
of UO-22, for this report]

IO-26 (ITAMSAT)
Uplink 145.875  145.900  145.925  145.950 MHz  FM 1200 Baud PSK	
Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB	
Operational. On 16 March, ITAMSAT Command Stations IK2XRO and 
IW2EGC, successfully switched the satellite to active status from the safe 
MBL mode it had been in. The command stations also reloaded the high level 
IHT97 code. The spacecraft is now sending the full set of 64 telemetry channels 
and collecting Whole Orbit Data survey information. After a full check is completed,
the digipeater will be turned on and the file system code reloading process will begin. 

Alberto, I2KBD, reports the satellite appears to be in a healthy state, with all the
subsystems working nominally. 

Telemetry is downloaded on 435.822 MHz at 1200 baud PSK.

[ANS thanks Alberto Zagni, I2KBD, ITAMSAT Mission Director for this
information]

Please send any amateur satellite news or repots to 
ans-editor@amsat.org or to ANS Editor Dan James, NN0DJ, 
at nn0dj@amsat.org.

/EX

Daniel  (Dan) James
AMSAT News Service Bulletin Editor
Amateur callsign: NN0DJ
Grid Square EN-28iv
Warroad, Minnesota U.S.A.
e-mail:  nn0dj@amsat.org