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[jamsat-news:832] ANS Bulletins


AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS 144

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-144.01
LEAGUE CALLS MEMBERS TO ACTION ON 70 CM PETITION

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 144.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 24, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-144.01

The ARRL says the recent Land Mobile Communications Council petition
seeking access to 70 cm is "incompatible with continued amateur use of
the
band" and urges members to comment in opposition--not only to the FCC
but
to the LMCC's members. The LMCC has petitioned the FCC for immediate
reallocation of 420 to 430 MHz and 440 to 450 MHz from the federal
government to the Private Mobile Radio Service. Amateur Radio enjoys the

use of 70 cm on a secondary basis to government radiolocation (military
radar). The LMCC has proposed to share the two subbands with Amateur
Radio,
but has not said how sharing would be possible. The LMCC also seeks
additional UHF reallocations in the intermediate and long term.

For those planning to file comments, specific information and
recommendations plus a copy of the LMCC petition and a list of LMCC
members
are available on the ARRL web page at the following URL:

 http://www.arrl.org/

Amateurs sending comments should explain how the loss of access to 420
to
430 and 440 to 450 MHz would affect them personally and how it would
affect
the ability of hams to provide needed public service. "Even if you do
not
 use these segments yourself, it is likely that loss of access would
result in more crowding and interference in the part of the band, or in
another band, that you do use," said ARRL Executive Vice President David

Sumner, K1ZZ. "Don't overlook the fact that if you use linked voice or
packet systems, it is quite likely that some of the links you rely on
are
in either or both of these segments."

Additionally, amateurs involved in public service communication can ask
the
government and nongovernment agencies they assist for written statements
of
support. Hams also should urge Amateur Radio organizations, especially
those with interests in the 420 to 450 MHz band, to comment as well.

The LMCC, a nonprofit association, includes several well-known
organizations such as the American Automobile Association, the American
Petroleum Institute, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and
the
Association of Public Safety Communications Officials-International
(APCO),
a frequent Amateur Radio supporter. The League suggests that ARRL
members
who also belong to one of the LMCC member organizations consider writing
to
inform the organization that the LMCC is acting contrary to your
interests
and requesting them to disavow the LMCC petition insofar as it affects
Amateur Radio.

Sumner says ARRL members should not complain to members of Congress nor
write angry letters to the FCC. "The LMCC petition is a private-sector
initiative, not a government proposal," Sumner said. "By law, the FCC
has
to put the petition on public notice and invite comment. That's all the
FCC
has done with it." Sumner says that criticizing the FCC at this stage
would
be "inappropriate and counterproductive."

Sumner reminds members that nothing is going to happen overnight with
the
LMCC petition, and there will be at least one more opportunity for
public
comment." "Before the FCC can take the next step to reallocate this
spectrum, it must get the federal government to agree," he explained,
because the government is the primary occupant. Then, the FCC would have
to
issue a Notice of Proposed Rule Making and solicit public comments on
its
proposal.

The FCC is accepting only written comments in response to RM-9267.
Comments
are due by June 1, and reply comments are due by June 15. Address
comments
to RM-9267, Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 1919 M St NW,
Washington, DC 20554. Formal comments must be submitted with an original

and four copies.

[ANS thanks the ARRL for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-144.02
MIR SCHOOL CONTACTS CONTINUE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 144.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 24, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-144.02

Astronaut Andy Thomas, KD5CHF, has been busy recently, making several
successful school contacts as he also prepares for his return flight
home.
in a few weeks. Thomas spoke with students at Hampstead Academy in
Hampstead, New
Hampshire. Father-and-son team Tony Callendrello, N1QGR, and Casey
Callendrello, N1QGQ, managed the ground station. The contact began on 70

cm, but a problem arose and the QSO moved to the 2-meter backup
frequency
and continued. "Their crew did an outstanding job with this contact as
did
the school and school district. I suspect the school will remember this
high noon contact for a long time," said AMSAT mentor Charlie Sufana,
AJ9N.
"After the contact Tony and his radio ground crew were mobbed by the
school
kids." Nine students got to ask questions as a "spellbound" audience of
nearly 200 looked on and many others listened in.

On May 8, Thomas chatted with students in South Africa during a QSO
arranged especially to coincide with the Africa Telecom 98 conference.
Nine
students asked questions. The entire contact took place on 2 meters.

Thomas is the last US astronaut scheduled for a tour of duty aboard Mir.
In
the short time remaining before his return to Earth, the Space Amateur
Radio EXperiment, SAREX, is lining up as many Mir-school contacts as
possible, with schools in Texas, Tennessee, Connecticut, and Australia
on
the list. SAREX still hopes to fit in additional schools prior to
Thomas'
ride home currenly scheduled for early June.

[ANS thanks the ARRL and SAREX for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-144.03
FLY YOUR QSL CARD CAMPAIGN CONTINUES

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 144.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 24, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-144.03

The 'Fly Your QSL Card on P3D' campaign continues. As ANS previously
reported, AMSAT-NA is collecting QSL cards, which will be scanned and
converted into digital images. These images will then be saved onto a
computer CD-ROM, which will be secured to the Phase 3D spacecraft and
launched with it.

AMSAT-NA Vice President Keith Baker, KB1SF, calls the program "a unique
and
relatively inexpensive way to encourage people who haven't already
donated
to the Phase 3D project to do so. Participants are also welcome to contr

ibute more than the suggested minimum, " Baker said, adding, "we'd be
most
grateful for the support."

Joe, KA0YOS, is one of the latest to send in his QSL and check, noting
"this is a great idea! "

More information on the 'Fly Your QSL Card on P3D' is available at the
AMSAT-NA web site, using the following URL:

http://www.amsat.org.

If you want to fly your QSL card on Phase 3D, send your QSL card along
with
a minimum donation of twenty-five dollars ($25 US) to:

Fly Your QSL on Phase 3D,
c/o AMSAT-NA
850 Sligo Avenue
Suite 600
Silver Spring, MD  20910-4703

[AMSAT-NA thanks all those who have participated in this fund raising
event]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-144.04
SKYQUEST BALLOON LAUNCH

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 144.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 24, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-144.04

Hank Riley, N1LTV, tells ANS a "ham radio equipped weather balloon will
be
launched from the upcoming National Weather Service Open House in
Taunton,
Massachusetts, on Saturday, May 30, 1998. In case of a postponement,
we'll
try again on Sunday, May 31st."

The SkyQuest hamradiosonde will transmit on 145.610 MHz FM. During the
flight, it should be able to be heard over eastern Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, southern New Hampshire and northeastern Connecticut, using
nothing
more than a simple VHF receiver, such as a scanner radio.  After gaining

height, N1LTV hopes amateur radio operators with more sensitive
receivers
and directive antennas will be able to hear the radiosonde from as far
away
as southern Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Vermont, northern New
Hampshire and Maine.

Two temperature channels reporting inside and outside temperature along
with altitude measurements will be transmitted continuously by means of
audio tones. The tones will be heard for the duration of the flight,
going
up and down in frequency as the transmitter switches among the three
channels.

There is some preliminary information available at the North American
balloon launch web site, and the SkyQuest mailing list will be active
leading up to the launch, updating the latest conditions.

[ANS thanks Hank Riley, N1LTV, and SkyQuest, for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-144.05
ANS IN BRIEF

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 144.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 24, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-144.05

ANS satellite news in brief this week includes the following:

** Several stations have reported recent difficulty with the 2 meter
side
of RS-12. Kevin, AC5DK, tells ANS that on a local pass with a 74 degree
elevation, he was unable to hear his signal coming back on the 10 meter
downlink. Bob, W7LRD, also reported problems, saying, "the downlink on
RS-12 has been distorted, but the beacon has been perfectly clear."
Yann,
F1NGP, has also noticed that all 15 meter uplink stations have good
downlink signals, but not stations using a VHF uplink. Russ, K5NRK,
concurs
with these findings. Richard, G3RWL, offers a possible explanation -
"the
parent spacecraft is a NavSat which transmits around 150 MHz. It's not
uncommon for an in-orbit spare to be turned on and this may be what has
happened. The 150 MHz transmitter is so close to the 146 MHz receiver,
it
may be causing the problem." -AMSAT BB

** The Houston AMSAT Net will be changing transponders. The Net will be
remaining on Hughes SBS 6, but moving to either Transponder 7 or
Transponder 15 Horizontal, 12068 D/L, 1318 LNB (6.2 MHz audio). This
move
was due to the W0KIE Network changing transponders, related to the
recent
problems with the Galaxy G-4 satellite. The 220th Houston AMSAT Net will

take place on Tuesday, May 26th -KK5DO

** The AMSAT-NA office will be closed on Monday, May 25th, in honor of
the
Memorial Day holiday. -AMSAT-BB

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-144.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 144.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 24, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-144.06

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.

All operations on R0MIR-1 are normal. The PBBS is running a Kantronics
KPC-9612 + V.8.1 TNC. The commands a similar to most PBBS and BBS
systems.

Tony, VK5ZAI, reports during a recent QSO with Mir, Andy Thomas talked
about the undocking of the old supply module and the fact that he has
started preparing for his return trip home, packing around 30 bags!
Rick,
KB0VBZ, recently heard Mir on 145.825 MHz, noting "Andy was talking to
the
W5RRR club station."

[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.

John, K6YK, reports fair activity on both CW and SSB. The warbling
signals
appear to be caused only on 2 meter uplink signals, and is thought to be

caused by a commercial transponder operating on the spacecraft. The 21
MHz
uplink and beacon do not appear to be affected.

RS-15
Uplink 145.858 to 145.898 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.354 to 29.394 MHz CW/SSB
Semi-operational.

John, K6YK, reports signals for the most part are weak, with SSB being
unreadable at times. CW appears to be the most successful mode on RS-15.

RS-16
The 435 MHz beacon (only) is operational. 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 at present. W4SM's best guess is that conditions will probably
continue to get worse leading up to Field Day. However, the satellite
should improve again later in the summer and peak in August.

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.

The satellite is very active, both on weekday and 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. A status announcement will be on released soon.

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

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-144.07
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 144.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, May 24, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-144.07

KO-23
Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM
Operational.

KO-25
Uplink 145.980 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Downlink 436.50 MHz FM
Operational.

John, KD2BD, reports that KO-25 has gone temporarily deaf. During a
descending pass over the Atlantic the satellite PB queue was "empty" for

the entire pass, John says "all attempts to enter the queue and upload
files failed."  Wally, K4OGT, also reports a strong signal but with PB
empty and no data is going up or down.

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

Beacon reception reports should be sent to:  g3cwv@amsat.org.

In response to many requests for information about methods of decoding
OSCAR-11 signals, a package of hardware information has been added to
the
satellite web site. The site also contains some software for capturing
data, decoding ASCII telemetry and WOD information.
The URL is  http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/

[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 May 15 23:03:55 1998 uptime is 1335/17:31:56
Bat 1= 1.244 V  Bat 2= 1.253 V
Bat 3= 1.249 V  Bat 4= 1.264 V
Bat 5= 1.242 V  Bat 6= 1.259 V
Bat 7= 1.253 V  Bat 8= 1.276 V
+10V Bus=       10.175 V

Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.261 Ifb= 0.253 I+10V= 0.029
TX:0109 BCR:1E PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:F7

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. 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 Fri May 15 22:07:03 1998 uptime is 1060/08:01:53
Bat 1= 1.279 V  Bat 2= 1.273 V
Bat 3= 1.299 V  Bat 4= 1.287 V
Bat 5= 1.290 V  Bat 6= 1.287 V
Bat 7= 1.297 V  Bat 8= 1.265 V
+10V Bus=       10.200 V (*)

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
Semi-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 reports 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