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[jamsat-news:948] * SpaceNews 19-Oct-98 *
SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC1019
* SpaceNews 19-Oct-98 *
BID: $SPC1019
=========
SpaceNews
=========
MONDAY OCTOBER 19, 1998
SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It
is published every week and is made available for non-commercial use.
* NEW MIR QSL ADDRESS *
=======================
Dr. Dave Larsen, N6CO, reports that there is now a new address for those
wishing to confirm 2-way contact with the amateur radio station on-board
the Mir space station. QSLs should be sent to:
N6CO
PO Box 311
Pine Grove, California 95665
USA
A business-sized SASE should be included with your request. If using IRCs,
please make certain that they are dated 1998 and have a cancel stamp in the
right place on the IRC.
[Info via Dave Larsen, N6CO]
* OSCAR-11 NEWS *
=================
During the period 15-September to 14-October, good signals have been
received from OSCAR-11's 145.826 MHz beacon. Telemetry is nominal. The
battery voltage has continued to improve, averaging 13.9 volts, with
values ranging from 13.6 to 14.0 volts observed.
The internal temperatures have continued to increase and may have reached
a peak of 9.6C and 7.8C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively,
showing an increase of about 3C during the month. This is due to the decrease
in solar eclipse times, which is improving the power budget, without creating
excessive internal temperatures.
The Z-axis magnetometer counter reached its limit of 1024 around 03-October.
However, the spin period was rather low at around 305 seconds and remained
near that value until the counters were reset on 09-October by ground control.
The single WOD survey, of channels 1, 2, 3, 61 (magnetometers) dated
01-July-1998, starting at 16:24:09 UTC has continued to be transmitted for
most of the period. A new WOD of the same channels dated 10-October-1998
at 00:00:05 UTC has just started.
A report of the OSCAR-11 Mode-S beacon has been received from Jack, W9JIU, of
Tucson, Arizona, who commented that the signals were weaker than in the
Spring.
The operating schedule remains 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 ASCII bulletin is currently a static message, detailing modes and
frequencies of all the amateur radio satellites.
There are additional status blocks after each bulletin is transmitted, and
between ASCII TLM and WOD.
The Mode-S beacon is ON, transmitting an unmodulated carrier, but telemetry
indicates that it has partially failed, and delivering half power. This
beacon is a useful test source for those testing Mode-S converters, prior
to the launch of P3-D. It is considerably weaker than DOVE, which should
be used for initial testing. Any reports of reception on 2401 MHz would
be most welcome, and should be directed to Clive Wallis: 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 (ie. within range of
Guildford, UK). When the 435 MHz beacon is transmitting, the 145 MHz beacon
is normally OFF. The data transmitted is mainly binary.
Listeners to OSCAR-11 may be interested in visiting Clive's web site. The
web site contains details of hardware required and some software for capturing
data, and decoding ASCII telemetry and WOD. There is an archive of raw data
(mainly WOD) for analysis, which is continually being expanded as new data is
captured. Also included are some audio files, examples of each type of data
transmitted by OSCAR-11. Each one plays for about ten seconds. There are
also examples of Mode-S reception. All the audio files are zipped so that
they can be played off-line. These should help listeners identify the various
types of data, and give an indication of the signal quality required for
successful decoding.
The URL is: http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/
[Info via Clive Wallis, G3CWV]
* SATELLITE EXPEDITION *
========================
Mike Gilchrist, KF4FDJ, will activate rare grid square EL86 on Sanibel
and Captiva Islands in Southwest Florida during the midday passes of
AO-27 on Sunday October 25, 1998. The first pass will find Mike on
Sanibel Island. He will move to Captiva Island for the second pass.
QSL to KF4FDJ, P.O. Box 763, Fort Myers, FL 33902. A full color QSL has
been designed for the expedition. Please include a $0.20 stamp for the
postcard QSL. Contact Mike at: kf4fdj@amsat.org.
[Info via Mike Gilchrist, KF4FDJ]
* AMSAT ITALY WEB PAGE *
========================
Paolo Pitacco, IW3QBN, the President of AMSAT-Italy has announced that his
organization now has an Internet Web Site that may be found at the following
URL:
http://www.amsat-i.org/
The web site contains satellite information in Italian as well as English,
and contains links to other AMSAT sites as well as information on the ARISS
Project.
[Info via Paolo Pitacco, IW3QBN (President AMSAT-I)]
* FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED *
===========================
Comments and input for SpaceNews should be directed to the editor
(John, KD2BD) via any of the paths listed below:
WWW : http://www.njin.net/~magliaco/
PACKET : KD2BD @ KS4HR.NJ.USA.NA
INTERNET : kd2bd@amsat.org, magliaco@email.njin.net
SATELLITE : AMSAT-OSCAR-16, KITSAT-OSCAR-25
<<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>>
<<=- Serving the planet (and beyond) since 1987 -=>>
/EX
--
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- John A. Magliacane, KD2BD -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Internet : kd2bd@amsat.org | Voice : +1.732.224.2948
Satellite : AO-16, LO-19, KO-25 | Morse : -.- -.. ..--- -... -..
Packet : KD2BD @ KS4HR.NJ.USA.NA | WWW : http://www.njin.net/~magliaco/
Video : 426.250 MHz/439.250 MHz | FAX : +1.732.224.2060
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