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[jamsat-news:906] ANS 221


AMSAT NEWS SERVICE	
ANS 221	

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-221.01
TMSAT-1 AND TECHSAT-1B STATUS

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 221.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 9, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-221.01

Amateurs radio's two newest satellites, TMSAT-1 and TechSat-1B, are doing 
very well after reaching one full month in space following a successful 
(joint) launch from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome last July.

Both satellites are still undergoing initial loading of flight software.

Chris Jackson, G7UPN / ZL2TPO, tells ANS that TMSAT commissioning is 
proceeding rather slowly due to a number of reasons.  Jackson says ground 
control stations have been operating the downlink transmitter only over 
certain parts of the globe, mainly Bangkok and Surrey. The satellite is 
also performing a number of new tasks that have not previously been used 
before, and this is taking some time to get fully operational in orbit.

On Friday, August 7th the TMSAT gravity gradient boom was deployed 
following a command from HS0AM, the Bangkok control station. Telemetry data 
from the deployment showed that the 6.2-meter boom deployed perfectly with 
less than 1.5 degrees of oscillation from vertical.

Currently, the attitude will continue to be improved and testing of the 
spacecraft payloads will commence.

Shlomo Menuhin, 4X1AS reports TechSat-1B is also responding well to ground 
control commands. 4X1AS tells ANS the satellite recently took its first 
picture from space, centered over the French Riviera near San Tropez. The 
image is available for viewing on the worldwide web using the following 
URL:

ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/images/TechSat/Cam2.jpg

Both satellites are expected to be available for general amateur use 
shortly.

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO and Shlomo Menuhin, 4X1AS
for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-221.02
TMSAT and TECHSAT RECEIVE OSCAR NUMBERS

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 221.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 9, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-221.02

Responding to a question from Keith Baker, KB1SF, Executive Vice President 
of AMSAT-NA, both the TMSAT and TECHSAT teams have answered they wished 
OSCAR numbers to help designate their new spacecraft. KB1SF also passed 
along congratulations from all AMSAT-NA members to both teams on their 
outstanding success.

The assignment of consecutive OSCAR numbers to new Amateur Radio spacecraft 
is a tradition that dates from the launch of the very first Amateur Radio 
Satellite -- OSCAR 1. In order for an OSCAR number to be assigned, the 
satellite must successfully achieve orbit and one or more transmitters must 
be successfully activated in the Amateur Radio bands. Then, the 
builders/owners of the satellite must formally request that a consecutive 
OSCAR number be assigned to their satellite once the first two requirements 
are accomplished.

Speaking for the TMSAT team, Chris Jackson G7UPN / ZL2TPO, said that "I 
have spoken with our Thai colleagues and they are happy for TMSAT to be 
named TMSAT-OSCAR-31."

Likewise, Shlomo Menuhin, 4X1AS, speaking on behalf of the TECHSAT team 
said  "we at the TECHSAT project agree to all the terms and would be glad 
if the TECHSAT-1A will have the OSCAR number GO-32.
The letter G stands for GURWIN."

KB1SF has informed ANS that, in the light of this information, it is now 
appropriate to refer to the two new amateur satellites as 'TMSAT-OSCAR-31' 
(or simply TO-31') and 'GURWIN-OSCAR-32' (or simply 'GO-32') respectively.

[ANS thanks Keith Baker, KB1SF, AMSAT-NA Executive Vice President, for the 
information that went into this bulletin]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-221.03
16TH AMSAT-NA ANNUAL MEETING AND SPACE SYMPOSIUM

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 221.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 9, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-221.03

ANS is pleased to report the registration form and agenda for the upcoming 
AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting and Space Symposium is now available on the 
worldwide web. Point your browser to the following URL:

http://pages.prodigy.com/DXHF93A

This site is also linked with the AMSAT-NA page.

The symposium will be held October 16-18, 1998 at the Battlefield Inn in 
Vicksburg, Mississippi. Presentations will be given on a diverse range of 
amateur radio satellite topics including:

* The History of the Amateur Radio Satellite Program
   by Martin Davidoff, K2UBC

* Antarctica and Amateur Radio
   by Ron Ross, KE6JAB

* Working Satellites From Over 100 Grid Squares
   by Chuck Duey, KI0AG

* Intermediate Circular Orbits for Amateur Radio Satellites
   by Ken Ernandes, N2WWD

* The Year 2000 Transition - Your PC and AMSAT Software
   by Roy Welch, W0SL

* J-Station - An Update
   by John Melton, G0ORX

* A Self-Phasing Turnstile for Mode J Satellite Reception
   by Tony Monteiro, AA2TX

* TRACKNET: An AMSAT Mobile Satellite System
   by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR

* Development of Yet Another Housekeeping Unit for Phase 3D
   by James Miller, G3RUH

* SETI on the Cheap: Affording the Ultimate DX
   by Paul Shuch, N6TX

* An EZ-Sat Update
  by Fred Winter, N2XOU and Ken Ernandes, N2WWD

* The Citizen Explorer Mission
   by Jeff Baltrush

* SAPPHIRE: Stanford's First Amateur Radio Satellite
  by Bob Twiggs, KE6QMD

* The MOST Space Astronomy Mission
   by Kieran Carroll, Robert Zee, and Jaymie Matthews

* JAWSAT Update
   by Randolph Kohlwey, N7SFI

* International Space Station Status
   by Will Marchant, KC6RCL

*The P3D Spacecraft Thermal Design
  by Dick Jansson, WD4FAB and Keith Baker, KB1SF

Other (numerous) activities are planned during the symposium including 
sessions devoted to Phase 3D and an introduction to amateur radio 
satellites. This beginner's session on amateur radio satellites will be 
held on Friday evening and will be open to participation by the general 
public.

Many diverse activities are planned for the Saturday evening banquet 
including the traditional prize drawing.

The featured guest speaker for the banquet will be ARRL Vice President, 
Joel Harrison, W5ZN.

An AMSAT Area Coordinator breakfast is scheduled for Sunday morning. Later 
that morning, all participants can take a field trip to the US Army 
Engineers Waterways Experiment Station.

The following options are available for traveling between the Jackson 
International Airport (JAN) and the Battlefield Inn in Vicksburg:

1) The Battlefield Inn has established the following scheduled shuttle 
runs:

Jackson International Airport to Battlefield Inn:
* Thursday, 15 OCT 98: 1400, 1700, 2000 CDT
* Friday, 16 OCT 98: 1000, 1400 CDT

Battlefield Inn to Jackson International Airport:
* Sunday, 18 OCT 98: 0700, 1130, 1500 CDT

The fare is $9.00 per person each way and is payable during check-in to the 
Battlefield Inn.

2) The Gofer Girls (601-634-2574) provide airport transportation between 
Jackson and Vicksburg on an as-needed basis. The fare is $18.00 each way.

3) A variety of rental car agencies (Avis, Hertz, Budget, etc.) provide 
rental service from the Jackson International Airport. The rental cost will 
vary.

The Jackson Amateur Radio Club will host an AMSAT Welcome Table at the 
Jackson International Airport on Thursday and Friday to help assist with 
transportation needs.
		
The deadline for early-bird registration is September 15, 1998. For 
additional information about the annual meeting and symposium contact Eddie 
Pettis, N5JGK at:

n5jgk@amsat.org

The entire gang in Vicksburg says "see ya'all this October! "

[ANS thanks Eddie Pettis, N5JGK and the entire Symposium Working Group for 
their hard work and dedication]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-221.04
ANS IN BRIEF

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 221.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 9, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-221.04

ANS news in brief this week includes the following:

** Retired NBC science reporter and SAREX Working Group Chairman, Roy Neal, 
K6DUE, got to know astronaut Alan Shepard very well in the early days of 
the space program. As reported by ANS, Shepard --the first US astronaut 
launched into space-- died recently at age 74. While Shepard never was 
interested in ham radio, Neal says he was very aware of radio and 
communication. "I was the Pool Producer for his Mercury flight," he said. 
"The combined networks built a special mobile unit to feed some 100 
networks worldwide." Neal said NASA had the networks fire up its broadcast 
system to make sure it would not generate RFI that could affect Shepard's 
spacecraft. It was clean. "Later that day, Shepard accosted me. 'Are we 
compatible?' he asked. I retorted, 'If you mean RF, yes we are. Socially 
I'm not so sure!'  Neal said network employees who were hams used that 
background to advantage. "The coverage from the [aircraft] carrier was 
provided by a pair of Collins KWM-2s, which the Navy let us install," Neal 
recalled. "When President Kennedy preempted all Navy circuits to talk to 
Shepard aboard the carrier, we had a great exclusive. The whole world, 
including NASA, had to turn to the radio-TV pool to find out what was going 
on!"  --ARRL Letter

** Russian space officials said recently that they have indefinitely 
postponed plans to orbit a huge space-mirror that would illuminate Siberia 
and other areas of the Earth during long northern nights. The space agency 
doesn't have the funds a spokesman said. Long-range plans had called for 
multiple orbiting mirrors to provide permanent artificial moonlight. -- 
Morrock News Service

** The real time data flow from the primary space weather GOES-9 spacecraft 
has been terminated following the arrival of the new GOES-10 spacecraft to 
the GOES-9 location. This change was required in order to replace the 
ailing GOES-9 spacecraft, which was suffering from attitude control 
problems caused by wearing and excessively high bearing temperatures. -- 
NLRS Reflector and WB1HBU

** NASA's Jennifer McCarter tells ANS that the Johnson Space Center has 
modified its contract with United Space Alliance (USA) of Houston to 
include more than $900 million in work on the Space Shuttle's solid rocket 
booster and other shuttle elements. -- ANS

** Love it or hate it, the ARRL's recent license restructuring plan 
certainly has generated considerable debate and controversy within the 
Amateur Radio community and gotten licensees thinking about what's good and 
what's not so good about the current system. ARRL Directors report they're 
getting lots of e-mail on both sides.  -- ARRL Letter

** Call for papers: The ARRL seeks articles for the next volume of the very 
popular 'The ARRL Antenna Compendium' series. An article should be 
previously unpublished and should deal with antennas, transmission lines 
and/or propagation. Submit articles (or solid ideas for possible articles) 
to Dean Straw, N6BV, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 or via e-mail 
to n6bv@arrl.org. --ARRL Letter

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-221.05
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 221.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 9, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-221.05

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.

Mike, N1JEZ reports the MIR/SAFEX repeater has been active recently.

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 current crew onboard Mir are Talgat Musabayev and Nikolai Budarin. They 
speak and read Russian only. Any messages addressed as personal to R0MIR 
will not be understood unless it is in Russian. MIREX is again allowing 
R0MIR-1 for store-and-forward message traffic.

WA6LIE reminds all stations that in order to send Personal Mail to other 
stations you must address it to a valid callsign. Any personal mail 
addressed to a non-amateur callsign can not be read by anyone and is a 
waste of TNC memory. WA6LIE asks all stations to please read your TNC 
manual on how to address messages.

The PBBS is running a Kantronics KPC-9612 + V.8.1 TNC. The commands are 
similar to most PBBS and BBS systems.

MIREX has announced an on going APRS School Days Test. MIREX is allowing 
schools to use APRS for position and status reports via R0MIR. Non-school 
stations are asked to refrain from using APRS type transmissions or beacons 
via R0MIR.

[ANS thanks Scott Avery, WA6LIE, and the MIREX team for Mir status 
information]

RS-12
Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB Uplink 21.210 to 21.250 MHz CW/SSB	
Downlink 29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB	
Operational, mode KA.

RS-12 continues to be the most popular of the current RS 'easy sat' series.

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

The RS-15 TLM beacon has apparently started working again, although
intermittently.

RS-16
The 435 MHz beacon (only) is operational. Attempts to command the Mode A 
transponder on have been unsuccessful.

AO-10
Uplink 435.030 to 435.180 MHz CW/LSB	
Downlink 145.975 to 145.825 MHz CW/USB	
Operational.

Stacey Mills, W4SM reports another sleep phase appears to be beginning.
"I suspect that the rotational speed is so slow as to be incapable of 
holding
a stable attitude heading. Hence, we may be entering a time of chaotic
useful periods and sleep periods which cannot be predicted.

W4SM has more information about the satellite at 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.

AO-27 TEPR States are currently:
    4  = 36 = 18 Minutes
    5  = 72 = 36 Minutes

This means AO-27's transmitter turns on 18 minutes after entering the Sun 
and stays on for 18 minutes. AO-27's transmitter is turned off at all other 
times during the orbit. N4USI reminds stations that this happens on every 
orbit, approximately 14.2 times a day. The current TEPR settings will cause 
the satellite to be on during the daytime at northern latitudes.

[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 the FO-20 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, JJ1WTK, tells ANS that OBC bit error investigation continues. The 
JARL command recently issued two statements:

1) FO-29 will be stay still in mode JA because the frequency investigation 
of the OBC bit errors. The command team would like reports from radio 
amateurs who can receive the value of TLM channel  5. The information is 
the fifth item after HI HI on CW. The normal value of channel 5 is '00'.

Reports should be sent to lab@jarl.or.jp

2) FO-29 will be in 'full illumination' (always illuminated from the Sun)
starting in mid-August. The operation mode may be changed in
part due to anticipated temperature rise of the satellite.

A new statement will be released from the JARL on August 17th.

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

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-221.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 221.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, AUGUST 9, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-221.06

KO-23
Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK	
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM	
Operational. The telemetry is nominal.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC for this report]

KO-25
Uplink 145.980 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK	
Downlink 436.50 MHz FM	
Operational. The telemetry is nominal.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC for this report]

UO-22
Uplink 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK	
Downlink 435.120 MHz FM	
Operational.

More information on the satellite is available at the following URL:

http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/EE/CSER/UOSAT/

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

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

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/

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 AO-16 command team has authorized an APRS experiment on AO-16 to 
explore the use of the 1200-baud PACSAT for APRS position/status reporting. 
The test periods will run each Tuesday from 0000 to 2359 UTC.

The telemetry is nominal.

Time is Sat Aug 01 12:00:48 1998 uptime is 1413/06:28:01
BCR Set Point  130.254 C  BCR Load Cur     0.328 A	
BCR Input Cur     0.403 A   BCR Output Cur   0.345 A	
Bat 2 Temp          1.209 D   Baseplt Temp      0.603 D	
RC PSK TX Out       0.457  W  RC PSK BP Temp   3.629 D	
RC PSK HPA Tmp   3.629   D  +Y  Array Temp       0.603 D	
PSK TX HPA Tmp   1.814    D  +Z Array Temp      10.285 D	
Total Array C= 0.358 Bat Ch Cur= 0.017 Ifb= 0.045 I+10V= 0.283
TX:010B BCR:86 PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:49

General information and telemetry WOD files can be found at:

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. No
additional information is available at this time.

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. No additional information is 
available at this time.

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 	
Currently non-operational, unknown status.

Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU reports LUSAT/Oscar 19 apparently has stopped
transmitting. Ground control station LU8DYF is attempting to regain 
control.
No additional information is available at this time.

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

ITAMSAT IO-26
Uplink 145.875  145.900  145.925  145.950 MHz  FM 1200 Baud PSK	
Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB	
Semi-operational.

Telemetry is reported as being downloaded on 435.822 MHz at 1200 baud PSK. 
No additional information is available at this time.

TMSAT-1 TO-31
Downlink 436.923 MHz  	

The TMSAT-1 micro-satellite was successfully launched from the Russian 
Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 10, 1998. The satellite is still undergoing 
initial loading of flight software. The satellite is expected to be 
available for general amateur use shortly.

Stations that can capture telemetry from the satellite are asked to
send a report to;

C.Jackson@ee.surrey.ac.uk

A brief overview of the TMSAT satellite and commissioning plan is available 
at the following URL:

http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/EE/CSER/UOSAT/amateur/tmsat/tmsat_commissioni  
ng_plan.html.

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN / ZL2TPO, for this report]

TechSat-1B GO-32
Downlink   435.325    435.225 MHz 	
HDLC telemetry framed so a TNC in KISS mode will decode it 	

The TechSat-1B micro-satellite was successfully launched from the Russian 
Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 10, 1998 The satellite is still undergoing 
initial loading of flight software. The satellite is expected to be 
available for general amateur use shortly.

The satellite does not have a continuos beacon, but does transmit a 
9600-baud burst every 30 seconds (for about 3 seconds in length), currently 
on 435.225 MHz.

The TechSat team has also constructed a home page about TechSat.  To view 
the site, point your web browser to:

http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/

[ANS thanks Shlomo Menuhin, 4X1AS for this information]


--ANS END---


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 EN28iv	
Warroad, Minnesota U.S.A.	
e-mail:  nn0dj@amsat.org	

Michelle Ervin	
AMSAT News Service Assistant Bulletin Editor	
Amateur callsign: KA9FUL	
Grid Square EM89du	
Springfield, Ohio U.S.A.	
e-mail: ka9ful@amsat.org	

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