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[jamsat-news:826] ANS 130
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS 130
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-130.01
LMCC DEMANDS 70 CM HAM BAND FOR COMMERCIAL USE
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 130.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 10, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-130.01
The Land Mobile Communications Council (LMCC) has petitioned the FCC asking
that the commission immediately reallocate most of the 70 centimeter
amateur radio band over to private mobile operations, with private land
mobile use designated as the primary user.
Technically, the document is nothing more than a formal rule making request
to the FCC that has been designated as RM-9267. The LMCC is asking the FCC
to immediately reallocate 420 to 430 MHz and 440 to 450 MHz over to the
Private Mobile Radio Service on a primary basis. The Land Mobile
Communications Council is also asking for new allocations at 1390 to 1400
MHz, 1427 to 1432 and 1670 to 1675 MHz. The LMCC has also asked the FCC for
an 85 MHz wide band from 960 to 1215 MHz.
The ARRL is organizing opposition to this new threat to our frequencies,
noting the 70cm band is the second most popular of the hobby's VHF/UHF
allocations. Substantial FM repeater and other operation in the 440 to 450
MHz segment and a variety of transmission modes in the 420 to 430 MHz
segment are all very popular, according to the ARRL.
The LMCC request, based on ''additional spectrum needs of the PMRS
community,'' acknowledges amateur radio's use of 420 to 430 and 440 to 450
MHz, and suggests that ham radio applications can remain secondary to PMRS
in those segments, but offers no explanation of how sharing could be
accomplished. The LMCC says it believes the 430 to 440 MHz subband ''is
more important to the amateurs for use in emerging technologies such as
links with spacecraft and amateur television applications.''
The petition also suggests that equipment availability and technology
resulting from an expanded PMRS presence on 70cm would benefit hams
''pursuing such applications as compressed video television in the 430-440
MHz band.'' The LMCC concedes, however, that its ''most urgent need'' for
PMRS is voice and low-speed data applications, not advanced technologies
which might come later on.
Comments are due on the LMCC's Petition for Rulemaking, RM-9267, by June 1,
1998. Those responding must be certain to reference RM-9267 at the top of
your letter. Comments should be sent to the Secretary, FCC, Washington DC,
20554.
The FCC has taken no official position on the matter.
[ANS thanks the ARRL and Newsline for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-130.02
QUEEN'S AWARD FOR SURREY SPACE CENTER
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 130.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 10, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-130.02
AMSAT-UK tells ANS the Queen's Award for Technological Achievement has been
won by Surrey Satellite Technology, in recognition of their national
standing as an organization of excellence in the research, development and
application of small satellites. The Center previously won The Queen's
Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 1996.
The Surrey Space Center, with 130 staff members and postgraduate research
students, houses state-of-the-art satellite research and construction
facilities. The facility's Mission Operations area contains a fully
automated satellite tracking and data collection system, currently
responsible for nine micro-satellites in low Earth orbit.
[ANS congratulates Surrey Space Technology and thanks Richard Limebear,
G3RWL, Communications Officer/AMSAT-UK, for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-130.03
AMSAT AT THE DAYTON HAMVENTION
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 130.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 10, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-130.03
It's that time of year again--time for the Dayton Hamvention--and AMSAT-NA
will again be represented in full force at the three day event, May 15-17,
1998, at the Hara Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
AMSAT-NA will be in the same booth location as previous years, spaces
445-448. However, the layout of the Hamvention has changed slightly, so
the AMSAT booth location may be a few feet from where it has been in
previous years.
Once again, all AMSAT booth activity will be under the expert leadership of
Barry Baines, WD4ASW, AMSAT-NA's VP for Field Operations, along with his
team of very dedicated volunteers.
A number of new and updated items will be available at the '98 AMSAT booth
including new versions of Gould Smith's 'RS Satellite Operators Guide' and
Keith Baker's 'How to Use the Amateur Radio Satellites'. In addition,
Steve Bible, N7HPR, has added WISP installation and setup instructions to
the 'Digital Satellite Guide', which will also be offered at the booth.
'The Amateur Satellite Resource Guide' has been updated (thanks to Mike,
N1JEZ), and will be available at the Beginner's Forum (08:15 Friday). The
latest in AMSAT fashions, featuring T-shirts and caps sporting the AMSAT
logo, will also be available at the booth throughout the weekend.
As a new offering this year, AMSAT will be marketing the popular dual band
144/435 Arrow Antenna for the first time at the booth. This is the antenna
that many amateurs are using to work through AO-27 using only their dual
band handhelds. Both the basic antenna and the 10-watt internal duplexer
will be available, but supplies of each will be limited. AMSAT will be
handling the Arrow antenna at the Hamvention only, it will not be available
from AMSAT-NA following the 1998 Hamvention.
Other new items at this year's booth include copies of K2UBC's 'The Radio
Amateur's Satellite Handbook' (released in February, 1998) and copies of
Rick Fleeter's 'Micro Space Craft' book which discusses all facets of
micro-satellite design and operation.
The AMSAT booth itself will feature a number of interesting displays,
including a computer demo 'replay' of the APRS/MIR experiment by Bob
Bruninga, WB4APR. In addition, Terry Douds, WB8CKI, will be showing a
continuous loop video highlighting recent activities at the Phase 3D
Integration Lab in Florida.
Those wishing to participate in AMSAT-NA's recently announced 'Fly Your
QSL in Space' campaign will have an opportunity to do so by dropping off
their QSL's (and donations to Phase 3-D) at this year's AMSAT Hamvention
booth. Be sure to bring a copy of your QSL along with you to Dayton for
this purpose. More information about this campaign can be obtained on the
AMSAT-NA web page at http://www.amsat.org.
Due to internal Hamvention scheduling pressures, AMSAT's forum times and
venues have been significantly changed this year. The first AMSAT forum
will run from 08:15 to 10:15 on Friday morning in Forum Room 3. This
presentation will include a beginner's forum, SAREX/ISS update and a Phase
3-D team panel discussion. Another AMSAT forum will be held on Sunday
morning from 08:15 to 09:30 in Forum Room 1. This forum will also include a
brief update of the Phase 3-D integration activities, along with a
presentation on how to get ready to use the microwave bands via Phase 3-D.
Don't forget the AMSAT dinner scheduled for Friday evening, May 15th, at
the Amber Rose Restaurant in old North Dayton. This is the same venue as
last year's dinner, and cost (including tax and tip), will also be the same
as last year. Seating is limited, so please register (quickly!) with Ed
Collins, N8NUY, at edcollins@worldnet.att.net. Ed also asks that those who
have pre-registered to please reconfirm your intent to attend the dinner by
speaking with him at the AMSAT booth before 3 PM on Friday.
This year's Saturday evening Hamvention Banquet will feature
internationally known country singer Ronnie Milsap, WB4KCG, as both the
banquet speaker and the evening's main entertainment. This event will be
held at Wright State University's Nutter Center in Fairborn. At the
banquet, AMSAT-NA member Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, will be recognized as the
recipient of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association's Technical Merit Award.
All in all, 1998 is shaping up to be another banner year for AMSAT at
Dayton, and the annual three day event promises to be as exciting as ever.
Your AMSAT leaders are looking forward to seeing many of you there!
More information about the 1998 Dayton Hamvention can be found at
www.hamvention.org.
[ANS thanks Barry Baines, WD4ASW, and Keith Baker, KB1SF, for this
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-130.04
W9ODI SILENT KEY
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 130.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 10, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-130.04
ANS is saddened to report that Charles (Chuck) Parmelee, W9ODI, became a
silent key on May 4, 1998. Chuck had serious surgery last December but had
made good progress until about a week ago. Upon hearing the news, AMSAT
Vice President Keith Baker, KB1SF, told ANS "this is indeed a sad day."
W9ODI was a long time supporter of AMSAT and was very active on both the
digital and analog satellites, especially FO-20 and FO-29. Mike, N1JEZ, and
Dan, NN0DJ, were especially sorrowful to hear about Chuck, as both Mike and
Dan held regular, 'late night' QSO's with Chuck.
The funeral was help May 7th in Mundelein, Illinois. W9ODI is survived by
his wife Evelyn and son Dan. They would be happy to receive cards or notes
about Chuck at the W9ODI call book address or via e-mail at
dparmelee@midwest.idsonline.com
Charles (Chuck) Parmelee, W9ODI, will be sadly missed by his many amateur
radio friends.
[ANS thanks Ron long, W8GUS and Keith Baker, KB1SF, for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-130.05
MIR SCHOOL CONTACTS CONTINUE
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 130.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 10, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-130.05
With only a short time before US astronaut Andy Thomas returns to Earth
from the Russian Mir space station, efforts are under way to schedule as
many Mir-school contacts as possible.
In a related story, NASA recently reported the space shuttle Discovery will
be five days late for it's Mir docking. U.S. space agency officials decided
to delay the launch of Discovery according to Kennedy Space Center
spokesman Joel Wells. "We have a very tight schedule and it was decided to
allow some extra time," he said.
On tap for this month (so far) are Mir amateur radio contacts with schools
in New Hampshire, South Africa, Texas, Tennessee, and possibly,
Connecticut. The South African contact will occur during the Africa Telecom
98 conference, demonstrating how amateur radio on Mir --and eventually
aboard the International Space Station-- will benefit education. Attempts
also are being made to firm up contact schedules with school groups in
Australia. Thomas holds the special call sign, VK5MIR.
Thomas has been especially active in recent months catching up on the
backlog of school contacts, which were halted after serious technical pr
oblems cropped up aboard Mir in 1997. He has also managed a few casual
contacts.
Nearly all of the activity has been on 70 cm.
[ANS thanks NASA, SpaceNews, the ARRL and SAREX for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-130.06
ANS IN BRIEF
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 130.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 10, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-130.06
** TAPR will be active at the Dayton Hamvention with its Digital Forum and
PacketBash scheduled for the convention. The TAPR Digital Forum is on
Friday and the PacketBash banquet will be held on Friday night. Check out
the web page http://www.tapr.org/tapr/html/dayton.html
for any last minute changes in the schedule. -TAPR Web Site
** Bruce, KK5DO, has added a Real Audio file of the original Sputnik I
satellite to the Houston AMSAT home page, http://www.amsatnet.com. Bruce
says credit is given to Bill, VK3JT, for his efforts many years ago in
preserving this historic moment. -AMSAT BB
** MIREX reports there will be another APRS School test in the very near
future. This will be a 'school' test only, and will happen with very little
notice, testing the readiness of amateur radio operators. In addition, Mir
QSL requests (except Europe) should be sent to: Dr. Dave Larsen,
N6CO/K6MIR, PO Box 1501, Pine Grove, California, 95665. -WA6LIE
** Paul Willmott, VP9MU, AMSAT-BDA, tells ANS he
is alive and well and working on the Station 2 project.
Station 2 is a 32-bit version, and is a complete re-
write with lots of new features. Minimum
requirements will be a Pentium 100 MHz with 40 MB
free drive space, 16 MB RAM (W95/8) or 32 MB RAM
(NT4/5) and SVGA monitor or better. Paul needs
volunteers from around the world to help verify,
modify, and organize the location data he has
collected for Station 2. Contact Paul at
paul.willmott@omsl.bm. -AMSAT BB
** Japan's Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer Institute is pressing ahead
with a program to give Japanese aerospace firms the technologies to launch
LEO comsats at U.S. prices by 2005. The program seeks to use USEF's current
Unmanned Space Experiment Recovery System as a springboard to develop
'cheaper-faster-better' satellites. -Japan Space Net
**The Big Bang has a little brother, astronomers recently announced. At a
NASA news conference, scientists said they have recorded evidence of the
most powerful explosion since the one they believe produced everything
(stars, planets, dirt). The blast, detected by a satellite on December
14th, occurred so far across the cosmos that its rays took 12 billion years
to reach Earth. -Morrock News
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-130.07
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 130.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 10, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-130.07
MIR/SAFEX
SAFEX II 70 cm Repeater
Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 141.3 Hz
Downlink 437.950 MHz FM
Semi-operational.
SAFEX II 70 cm QSO Mode
Uplink 435.725 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 151.4 Hz
Downlink 437.925 MHz FM
Semi-operational.
PMS
Uplink/Downlink 145.985 MHz FM 1200 Baud AFSK
Operational. The modem is a Kantronics KPC-9612 Plus, Revision 8.1.
Stations are asked to not try digipeating through Mir while other users are
connected to the R0MIR-1 mailbox. Stations may also have noticed that they
can't send messages to other hams via the Mir PBBS. This is because the
mailbox is a personal mailbox and is intended for the use of the crew.
Please do not make 'blind' calls on voice (FM) for Andy Thomas using the
145.985 MHz frequency. Doing so kills the ability for the Mir TNC to decode
users on packet. If Andy or any of the other crewmember are active on FM,
they will call CQ and be happy to chat with anyone who answers.
Paul, K5VAS, reports a voice (FM) contact with Andy Thomas from his mobile
recently on 145.985 MHz. Brent Stuart, ZL4TX, made his first digital Mir
contact using a 5 watt VHF handheld and a Baycom TNC.
[ANS thanks Scott Avery, WA6LIE, and the MIREX team for Mir status
information]
RS-12
Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB
Operational, mode KA.
RS-15
Uplink 145.858 to 145.898 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.354 to 29.394 MHz CW/SSB
Semi-operational.
A listing on the 'DX Summit' web site showed RS-15 DX activity recently
from F6IXC, OE3JIS and 9A3ST.
RS-16
The 435 MHz beacon is operational. The 29 MHz beacon has not been
operational for some time. Recent attempts to command the Mode A
transponder on have been unsuccessful.
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
Semi-operational.
Stacey Mills, W4SM, reports solar illumination on AO-10 appears to be
way down and the satellite is nearly "comatose." W4SM can hear the
beacon (with FMing) and can hear his downlink as well, but the signals
are very, very weak. Things will probably continue to get worse during
May and probably will not be any better by Field Day. However, the
satellite should improve again later in the summer and peak in August.
Scott, VE6ITV, reports working N9NJY and W3JUZ recently on SSB with 5X5
signals and some fading.
W4SM has more information about the satellite on his AO-10 web page, using
the following URL:
http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/AO-10.html
[ANS thanks Stacey Mills, W4SM for his AO-10 status information and web
site]
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 his FO-20 status reports]
FO-29
Voice/CW Mode JA
Uplink 145.900 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB
Operational.
Digital Mode JD
Uplink 145.850 145.870 145.910 MHz FM
Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK
Not operational, the satellite is in JA (voice) mode.
Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, tells ANS that FO-29 was switched into mode JA
because of 2 bit errors detected in the digital operation of the
on-board-computer. Resetting and reloading software into the OBC will
resume. FO-29 will stay in mode JA until a further notice. An updated
status announcement is expected soon.
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for this report]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-130.08
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 130.08 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 10, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-130.08
KO-23
Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM
Operational.
Jim, AA7KC, reports the satellite is operating normally.
[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 the satellite is 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.
The 145.826 MHz beacon is active.
The 435.025 MHz beacon is normally off.
The mode-S beacon is on, transmitting an unmodulated carrier, but telemetry
indicates that it has partially failed, delivering half output power.
Beacon reception reports should be sent to: g3cwv@amsat.org.
[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 Sun May 03 22:16:23 1998 uptime is 1323/16:45:06.
Baseplt Temp 0.603 D RC PSK BP Temp -4.842 D
RC PSK HPA Tmp -5.448 D +Y Array Temp -26.021 D
PSK TX HPA Tmp -5.448 D +Z Array Temp -18.760 D
RC PSK TX Out 0.286 W (*)
Total Array C= 0.368 Bat Ch Cur= 0.081 Ifb=-0.054 I+10V= 0.321
TX:0109 BCR:79 PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:3E
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.
The 145.825 MHz and 2401.220 MHz downlinks are off the air. Command
stations are working on the problem.
[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. Additional
information is not available at this time.
[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.
Time is Sun May 03 11:44:07 1998 uptime is 1047/21:38:57
+X (RX) Temp 0.692 D RX Temp -0.430 D
RC PSK BP Temp 2.935 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 4.057 D
+Y Array Temp -2.674 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 2.374 D
+Z Array Temp 3.496 D RC PSK TX Out 0.881 W
Total Array C= 0.134 Bat Ch Cur=-0.015 Ifb= 0.050 I+10V= 0.164
TX:019 BCR:7E PWRC:36E BT:3C WC: 0
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.
The satellite 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.
Telemetry is being 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