[jamsat-news:1375] ANS 331

[Dan James <DanJ@marvin.com>]

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS 331

ANS is a free, weekly, news and information service of AMSAT North
America, the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation. ANS reports on the
activities of a worldwide group of Amateur Radio operators who share an
active interest in designing, building, launching and communicating
through analog and digital Amateur Radio satellites.

ANS is first released via the AMSAT-NA 20-meter net held each Sunday
on 14.282 MHz. Pre-net operations start at 18:00 UTC, with current ANS
bulletins transmitted to the western U.S. at 19:00 UTC and to the eastern
U.S. at 19:30 UTC. ANS is also released worldwide via the AMSAT ANS
e-mail reflector.

AMSAT-NA is pleased to announce that recent and future development
in Amateur Radio satellites will take place in Atlanta, Georgia at the
19th Space Symposium and AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting. Stay tuned
to ANS for date, agenda and other details on the 2001 Symposium!

Information on AMSAT-NA is available at the following URL:

http://www.amsat.org (or from)

AMSAT-NA
850 Sligo Avenue, Suite 600
Silver Spring, Maryland
20910-4703

Voice: 301-589-6062
FAX: 301-608-3410

Currently, AMSAT-NA supports the following (free) mailing lists:

* AMSAT News Service (ANS)
* General satellite discussion (AMSAT-BB)
* Orbit data (KEPS)
* Manned space missions (SAREX)
* District of Columbia area (AMSAT-DC)
* New England area (AMSAT-NE)
* AMSAT Educational Liaison mailing list (AMSAT-EDU)
* AMSAT K-12 Educational Liaison mailing list (AMSAT-K12)

A daily digest version is available for each list.

To subscribe, or for more list information, visit the following URL:

http://www.amsat.org/amsat/listserv/menu.html

This edition of ANS is dedicated to the memory of Piero Moroni, I5TDJ,
a well-known figure in the moonbounce community, who died November
14th after a lengthy illness. He was 66. An electronic engineer, he had
been licensed since 1952 and had been active in EME work since the
mid-1970s, operating mainly on 432 MHz. [ANS thanks the ARRL for
this information]

ANS is also dedicated to the memory of past ANS editor 'BJ' Arts,
WT0N, and to the memory of long-time AMSAT supporter Werner
Haas, DJ5KQ.

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.01
PHASE 3D/AO-40 UPDATE

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 26, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.01

As previously announced in ANS-327.01, AO-40 command stations
have been quite busy lately as general housekeeping tasks have been
underway to verify the health of the many complex systems onboard
AMSAT OSCAR-40 - all with very good results.

P3D Project leader Dr. Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, informed ANS that
following the successful launch and injection into nominal orbit, initial
telemetry from the satellite was expected on 70-cm at about the
3-hour mission mark. This did not happen and consequently the
spacecraft was switched to use the 144 MHz middle beacon as the
main telemetry downlink. This required a new program to be uploaded
into P3D's IHU-2 system.

After new software, communication was established and the health
of AO-40 was analyzed and tested. DJ4ZC happily reported "except
for the UHF transmitter, everything was found to be nominal and
working fine." The attitude control system was then calibrated and
torque reorientation operations started, which are still underway.
Both 2400 MHz transmitters were successfully operated and pictures
from the separation sequence are now being downloaded and will
posted on the AMSAT-DL web site. Currently, there are photos and
a separation sequence of the conical adapter (which was above P3D)
just before Phase 3D was released. View this information at:

http://www.amsat-dl.org/

The first planned orbit change will soon take place and that should result
in a 50,000 km apogee. This will allow a thorough study of the 70-cm 
transmitter problem using P3D's hi-gain antennas (which) would
then be available.

After the first orbit change is completed a test the electric propulsion
Arcjet system will take place (and) if successful, it will be used to
further
increase the apogee of AO-40.

AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, told ANS that "plans
are in place to make AO-40 available for a limited period of general
Amateur Radio use possibly within a week or two." This provisional
operation would involve "one or two bands at a time," said VE3FRH.
Details of the limited test period will be announced by an official
AMSAT ANS bulletin and via the AO-40 telemetry beacon.

Currently, AO-40 is downlinking data on the V-band omni-directional
antenna located on the bottom of the spacecraft. The V-band transmitter
is at 50 watts (and is adjustable). The spacecraft is spinning, which is
necessary for the use of the 400N bi-propellant engine. However, spinning
reduces the total solar power available. Substantially more solar power will
be available after AO-40 reached its final orbit configuration and the solar
panels are deployed.

North American P3D Command Station operator Stacey Mills, W4SM,
has placed a zip file containing his P3D telemetry decoding program
(P3T.exe) as well as some additional supporting files on his web page.
The program will run on Windows 95/98/NT/2000 platforms. W4SM
reports additional programs are under development for Mac and Linux
platforms. The information is available at:

http://www.amsat-dl.org/p3d/

IZ8BLY recently released an AO-40 telemetry decoding program. It is
available at:

http://iz8bly.sysonline.it/P3D/index.htm

The complete Phase 3-D frequency band plan is available at:

http://www.amsat-dl.org/p3dqrg.html

Stay tuned to ANS for additional bulletins from AMSAT, the official
source of information on the Phase 3D satellite.

[ANS thanks AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-NA and the ARRL for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.02
THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 26, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.02

ANS is pleased to introduce a new feature - the President's Letter. The
letter is authored by AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH.
At this time ANS is planning to run this feature on a monthly basis.

To all AMSAT-NA Members,

Following the very successful launch of P3D and it's conversion to
AO-40, I have followed the commissioning of the Satellite with a great
deal of interest, and from the reports that I see on the AMSAT-BB and
elsewhere, so have many of you. Naturally there is a desire to get as
much information as possible on the status of the bird and I encourage
you to follow the commissioning sequence with available telemetry
programs.

Bulletins and pictures are available on the AMSAT-DL web site and
bulletins are also placed on the AMSAT-NA web site. As you are no
doubt aware, the controllers of the satellite are working to commission
AO-40 and nearly all is going to plan. Our only apparent problem is the
U-band/70cm transmitter. At this time the reason for the failure is not
known, but as we progress with the commissioning, it is possible that a
solution may be found.

I have talked at length with the P3D Project Director Karl Meinzer,
DJ4ZC, about issuing regular bulletins about AO-40 -- and although we
both realize that it would be wonderful to do this it is important to note
that there will be periods of time when the best we could report would be
'no significant change'. It may be two weeks or more between significant
events, therefore, status updates two or three times a week are just not
practical.

Rest assured that any significant change will be reported to you by the
AMSAT News Service (ANS) bulletins just as fast as possible, and by
our volunteers.

So far from the received telemetry, all indications are that AO-40 will be
a wonderful satellite and will provide many years of service to the
Amateur Radio community. Between now and when we achieve final
orbit, all of us have a great opportunity to set up and check out our
stations with the equipment needed to work the satellite. Sources for
information include the many articles in the AMSAT Journal and the
many other Amateur Radio magazines, as well as the various AMSAT
publications available from Martha at the AMSAT-NA office.

Best regards,

Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, President AMSAT-NA

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, for
this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.03
ARISS UPDATE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 26, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.03

ARISS spokesman Will Marchant, KC6ROL, reports to ANS that
International Space Station commander William 'Shep' Shepherd,
KD5GSL, has been able to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule
to start general QSO's with the international ham community.

With the recent arrival of a Progress automated cargo craft, the crew's
work pace will redouble. In addition, with the planned launch of STS-97
to ISS on November 30th, the Expedition-1 crew will be working long
hours to prepare for the arrival of space shuttle Endeavor. The shuttle
will carry a large solar panel for ISS.

The planning for school operations is actively underway, and efforts are
being made to have the first several school contacts before the end of
the year.  It is hoped that several school contacts can be accommodated
each month, but the crew will be exceedingly busy and everyone must be
prepared to support more, or possibly, fewer school contacts. The initial
schools have been contacted and efforts are underway to finalize the
details of their contacts.

The ARISS organization is beginning to accept applications for school
contacts; however, the crew workload will determine the amount of time
that passes between accepting an application and when a contact is
scheduled. The ARISS team is asking that we remember these are
very early times for the ISS and we need to remain flexible in pursuing
Amateur Radio operations with the crews.

More information about Amateur Radio on the ISS is available at the
http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/ web pages.

[ANS thanks the ARISS team, Will Marchant, KC6ROL, and the ARRL
for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.04
AO-27 INTERFERENCE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 26, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.04

AMSAT-NA Executive Vice President Ray Soifer, W2RS, reported to
ANS that Martin Potter, VE3OAT, has provided an update on the
AO-27 non-amateur interference situation. VE3OAT is the IARU
Region-2 Monitoring Service coordinator.

The good news is (according to XE2BSS who is covering the problem
in Mexico) the original source of interference to the AO-27 uplink has now
been identified and that source has stopped transmitting. The interference
was being generated by a taxi fleet not licensed to use equipment operating
on 144 MHz.

Severe interference from other allegedly unlicensed Spanish-speaking
stations is continuing however, not only on 145.850 but also on
145.825 MHz. These transmissions are also being picked up by UO-14
and SO-35.

The investigation into these interference sources continues.

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Executive Vice President Ray Soifer, W2RS,
for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.05
MIR TO BE DE-ORBITED

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 26, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.05

Several news agencies are reporting the Mir space station will be ditched
this coming February in a controlled descent that will send it hurtling into
a remote area of the Pacific Ocean.

The Russian government had decided to abandon the Mir earlier this year,
but then extended its lifetime after a private company promised to pay for
its operation.

Currently, there is no human habitation aboard the station and the
onboard Amateur Radio equipment has been turned off.

Mir continues on 'autopilot'.

[ANS thanks Florida Today for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.06
ANS IN BRIEF

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 26, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-331.06

ANS news in brief this week includes the following:

** The Experimenters Group Amateur Radio Club in Greenville, South
Carolina, will celebrate the arrival of the Expedition-1 crew aboard ISS
with special event station N4ISS on December 2-3rd. Operation of N4ISS
will be on or about 7.297, 14.297, and 28.497 MHz (along with AO-27). A
certificate will be available. For more information, contact KD4SFF, at
kd4sff@amsat.org. -ANS/ARRL

** Kazakhstan is prepared to extend Russia's lease on the Baikonur
Cosmodrome for another ten years. The announcement came at a
news briefing held at Baikonur on recently. -SpaceDaily

** Nominations are open for the ARRL 2000 Technical Service award.
The award goes each year to a radio amateur whose service to the
amateur community and/or society at large is of the most exemplary
nature within the framework of Amateur Radio technical activities;
such as leadership and service. Nominations must be received by
March 31, 2001. For more information, contact Jean Wolfgang,
WB3IOS, at jwolfgang@arrl.org. -ARRL

** Since the mid-1970s, El Nino events are recurring about three times
more often than they did in the mid-19th century, judging from satellite
analysis by two University of Arizona geologists. -SpaceDaily

** Jim, K6CCC, has placed recordings of several FM satellite passes
(from his station in Los Angeles) on his web site. Check out the
recordings at http://home.earthlink.net/~k6ccc/. -ANS

** John, N8QGC, will be active December 4-11th from the Grand
Cayman Islands (EK99) and Kingston Jamaica (FK28) on UO14 and 
AO27 -- using the callsigns ZF2SE and N8QGC/6Y5. -Bruce, KK5DO

** Willems, ON1CAU, repots to ANS that he has updated his web page
page (http://users.skynet.be/on1cau/) with information on AO-40. Claudio,
IK1SLD, upgraded his web site with an image sequence of the Phase 3D
launch at http://www.ik1sld.org/phase3d_launch.htm. -ANS

** How can a future space shuttle mission to ISS lead to a better
treatment for diseases? Mississippi State University, working with NASA,
have discovered that gravity may be the key. Check out the story at:
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/spacemedicine-00h.html. -SpaceDaily

** Jerry, K5OE, noted increased activity on AO-10 recently and many
stations have noted to K5OE that they have not been on in a long time
(many since AO-13 days). Jerry is calling this the 'AO-40 effect' and
he reports this as being very positive. ANS could not agree more!
-NN0DJ

** Ronald Ross, KE6JAB, is in Antarctica again and sending text and
photos back from the Blue 1 Base in Antarctica via UO-22 satellite. To
view this operation, look at http://www.thistle.org. -Roy, W0SL

--ANS BULLETIN END---

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.07
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 26, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-331.07

Phase 3D / AMSAT OSCAR 40 / AO-40
Beacon:		145.898 MHz
Launched: November 16, 2000 aboard an Ariane 5 launcher
from Kourou, French Guiana. A 50-second video of the launch
can be seen at: http://arianespace.com/interior/v135better.mov

Status: Initial commissioning and housekeeping tasks underway

Uplink/downlink frequency plan: http://www.amsat-dl.org/p3dqrg.html

P3D Project leader Dr. Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, informed ANS that
following the successful launch and injection into nominal orbit,
"except for the UHF transmitter, everything was found to be
nominal and working fine."

Although safely in orbit, there is much work to be done with Phase 3D
before the satellite is opened for general Amateur Radio use. Initial
housekeeping tasks are now underway to verify the health of the many
complex systems onboard - followed by bringing these systems online.
Currently, AO-40 is downlinking data on the V-band omni-directional
antenna located on the bottom of the spacecraft. The V-band beacon is
currently transmitting PSK telemetry on MHz. "P3D is loud," reported
ANS principal satellite investigator N1JEZ, "even at apogee signals at
my QTH are S-9 or better with no detectable QSB." Both S-band
transmitters have been tested and both have been found to work
properly.

North American P3D Command Station operator Stacey Mills, W4SM,
has placed a zip file containing his P3D telemetry decoding program
(P3T.exe) as well as some additional supporting files on his web page.
The program will run on Windows 95/98/NT/2000 platforms. W4SM
reports additional programs are under development for Mac and Linux
platforms. The information is available at:

http://www.amsat-dl.org/p3d/

IZ8BLY recently released an AO-40 telemetry decoding program. It is
available at:

http://iz8bly.sysonline.it/P3D/index.htm

[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA and AMSAT-DL for this information]

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/ARISS
Worldwide packet uplink:	145.990 MHz
Region 1 voice uplink:     	145.200 MHz
Region 2/3 voice uplink:  	144.490 MHz
Worldwide downlink:		145.800 MHz
TNC callsign	      RZ3DZR
ARISS initial station launched September 2000 aboard shuttle Atlantis
Status: Operational (although current ISS workload is limiting operation)

ARISS team member Will Marchant, KC6ROL, reported to ANS that
the crew is exceedingly busy, limiting the amount of time the ISS crew
has for ham activities.

Planning for the deployment and use of the ham system aboard ISS has
been an international effort coordinated by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center. The effort began in 1996 with the formation of the
Amateur Radio International Space Station organization. ARISS is made
up of delegates from major national amateur radio organizations,
including AMSAT.

Two U.S. callsigns have recently been issued for Amateur Radio
operations with ISS. The FCC granted vanity callsigns NA1SS
and NN1SS to the International Space Station Amateur Radio Club
in mid-October. The NA1SS callsign will be used aboard ISS, and
NN1SS will be used for ground-based transmissions from the
Goddard Space Flight Center. Russian callsign RZ3DZR and
German call sign DL0ISS have previously been issued for use
aboard the station. The crew may use their own callsigns (KD5GSL,
U5MIR) or they may use one of the ISS calls. RZ3DZR is also the
callsign entered into the TNC currently onboard Alpha.

More information about the project can be found on the ARISS web site
at http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov.

[ANS thanks ARISS team member Will Marchant, KC6ROL, for this
information]

RADIO SPORT RS-13
Uplink 	           		21.260 to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 		29.460 to 29.500 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 		145.860 to 145.900 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 		145.863 MHz
Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher
Status: Operational, mode T

RS-13 apparently has (apparently) been switched to mode-T recently.
In addition, several stations have also reported that the 29.408 MHz
RS-12 beacon has also recently been activated. The beacon telemetry
indicated that both the 10 and 2-meter receivers aboard RS-12 are
currently off.

Tony, AB2CJ, reports working the RS-13 CW robot recently with good
signals.

More information about RS-12 and RS-13 can be found on the
AC5DK RS-12/13 Satellite Operators page at:

http://www.qsl.net/ac5dk/rs1213/rs1213.html

[ANS thanks Kevin Manzer, AC5DK, for this information]

RADIO SPORT RS-15
Uplink 			145.858 to 145.898 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 		29.354 to 29.394 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 		29.352 MHz (intermittent)
SSB meeting frequency     29.380 MHz (unofficial)
Launched: December 26, 1994 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Semi-operational, mode-A, using a 2-meter uplink and a
10-meter downlink

Dave, WB6LLO, has operating information for both RS-15 (and RS-13)
on his web site. In addition to satellite data, antenna information for
mode-A operation is also featured. The WB6LLO web site URL is:

http://home.san.rr.com/doguimont/uploads

[ANS thanks Dave Guimont, WB6LLO, for this information]

OSCAR 10 AO-10
Uplink 		435.030 to 435.180 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 	145.975 to 145.825 MHz CW/USB
Beacon 	145.810 MHz (unmodulated carrier)
Launched: June 16, 1983 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Semi-operational, mode-B. AO-10 has been locked into a
70-cm uplink and a 2-meter downlink for several years

DX continues to be worked (and heard) on AO-10. John, K6YK, reports
JA6BX, FO5QS, PY4AJ, LU8MB, TF3MLT, CT1DOP, ZL2VBV, LU1VD,
KP3A, EA6LT, EA8/DJ9PC and PY3BZM have been active along with
many U.S. stations heard/worked during the week. Jerry, K5OE, reports
lots of DX recently including LU, F, I, G, PA and PE stations. "QSB was
mild and signals were strong," said K5OE.

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]

AMRAD AO-27
Uplink 		145.850 MHz FM
Downlink 	436.795 MHz FM
Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Operational, mode J

Periodically, AO-27's analog repeater will be turned off for a few days
at a time to enable ground controllers to gather Whole Orbital Data
(WOD), to verify the health of the satellite.

An AO-27 question-and-answer page is available on the AMSAT-NA
web site. The URL is: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/intro/ao27faq.html.

AO-27 uses a method called Timed Eclipse Power Regulation (TEPR)
to regulate the on-board batteries. In simple terms, TEPR times how
long the satellite has been in an eclipse (or in the sun) and decides
what subsystems to turn on or off. The current TEPR settings (as of
November 25, 2000) are:

TEPR 4   18	TEPR 5   36

The AO-27 pages on the AMSAT-NA web site include an
explanation of TEPR AO-27 operations (at):

http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/ao27.html

[ANS thanks AMRAD for AO-27 information]

UO-14
Uplink 		145.975 MHz FM
Downlink 	435.070 MHz FM
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Operational, mode J

John, K6YK, reports recent UO-14 activity includes K5ATM on a grid
expedition to Montana/North Dakota, N0ZHE/mobile in Kansas and
Oklahoma and KD5FBA in south Texas.

Tim, KG8OC, has updated the Michigan AMSAT Information site
to include UO-14 information -- point your web browser to the
following URL:

http://www.qsl.net/kg8oc

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for UO-14 information]

SUNSAT SO-35
Mode J Uplink:	       	145.825 MHz FM
Mode J Downlink:	436.250 MHz FM

Mode B Uplink:		436.291 MHz FM
Mode B Downlink:	145.825 MHz FM
Launched: February 23, 1999 by a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg
Air Force Base in California
Status: Operational.

SunSat is currently transmitting a greeting to AO-40:

'Greetings AMSAT OSCAR-40, 73 from SunSat OSCAR-35'

The SunSat package includes 1200 and 9600 baud digital
store-and-forward capability and a voice 'parrot' repeater system
that will be used primarily for educational demonstrations in addition
to Mode B/J operation. The satellite has two VHF and two UHF
transmit-receive systems.

For more information on SunSat, visit the following URL:

http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za

A summary of the active modes and frequency allocations for
SunSat is available at the following URL:

http://esl.ee.sun.ac.za/~lochner/sunsat/modes.html

[ANS thanks Garth Milne, ZR1AFH, for this information]

JAS-1b FO-20
Uplink 		145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 	435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB
Launched: February 07, 1990 by an H1 launcher from the
Tanegashima Space Center in Japan
Status: Operational. FO-20 is in mode JA continuously

Tak, JA2PKI, reported the FO-20 control station operators believe
that the UVC (Under Voltage Controller) now is regulating the
transponder. The UVC monitors battery voltage and tries to protect the
batteries from over discharge. Tak notes that FO-20, launched in 1990,
is now over 10 years old.

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-20 status reports]

JAS-2 FO-29
Launched: August 17, 1996, by an H-2 launcher from the
Tanegashima Space Center in Japan
Status: Operational

Voice/CW Mode JA
Uplink 		145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 	435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB

Digital Mode JD
Uplink 		145.850 145.870 145.910 MHz FM
Downlink 	435.910 MHz 1200 baud BPSK or 9600 baud FSK
Callsign		8J1JCS
Digitalker 	435.910 MHz

The JARL FO-29 command station has announced the following
operation schedule of FO-29:

Nov. 27 - Dec. 7th	JA
The schedule showed JD 1200 baud digital operation before November
27th, but the satellite remained in mode JA.

Mike, KF4FDJ, has put together a very informative document on FO-29,
addressing the analog, digital and digi-talker modes. To obtain a copy
e-mail Mike at: kf4fdj@amsat.org.

Mineo, JE9PEL, has a FO-29 satellite telemetry analysis program that
will automatically analyze all digital telemetry from the satellite (such as
current, voltage and temperature). The JE9PEL FO-29/shareware is
available at the following URL:

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/

[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-29 status reports]

SAUDISAT-1A
Uplink		to be released
Downlink	437.075 MHz 
Broadcast Callsign	SASAT1-11
BBS 			SASAT1-12
Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Commissioning stage, initial housekeeping tasks underway

SaudiSat-1A will operate as 9600 baud digital store-and-forward
systems as well analog FM repeater mode capability. One of two
new ham satellites from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia built by the
Space Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and
Technology.

SAUDISAT-1B
Uplink		to be released
Downlink	436.775 MHz
Broadcast Callsign	SASAT2-11
BBS			SASAT2-12
Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Commissioning stage, initial housekeeping tasks underway

SaudiSat-1B will operate as 9600 baud digital store-and-forward
systems as well analog FM repeater mode capability. One of two
new ham satellites from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia built by the
Space Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and
Technology.

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.08
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.08 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 26, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-331.08

TIUNGSAT-1
Uplink		145.850  or 145.925 MHz 9600 baud FSK
Downlink	437.325 MHz
Broadcast callsign	MYSAT3-11
BBS			MYSAT3-12
NUP			MYSAT3-10
Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Operational in digital mode, currently at 9600 baud FSK

TiungSat-1 is Malaysia's first micro-satellite and in addition to
commercial land and weather imaging payloads offers FM and FSK
Amateur Radio communication.

TiungSat-1, named after the mynah bird of Malaysia, was developed as
a collaborative effort between the Malaysian government and Surrey
Satellite Technology Ltd.

For more information on TiungSat-1, visit the following URL:

http://www.yellowpages.com.my/tiungsat/tiung_main.htm

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

KITSAT KO-25
Uplink 		145.980 MHz FM (9600 baud FSK)
Downlink 	436.500 MHz FM
Broadcast Callsign	HL02-11
BBS 			HL02-12
Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Operational

Jim, AA7KC, now reports nominal KO-25 operation, with traffic increased
to a moderate level.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for KO-25 status information]

UOSAT UO-22
Uplink 		145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600 baud FSK
Downlink 	435.120 MHz FM
Broadcast Callsign	UOSAT5-11
BBS			UOSAT5-12
Launched: July 17, 1991 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Operational

Jim, AA7KC, reports nominal UO-22 operation with heavy traffic and
continuing major sat-gate operation.

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

http://www.sstl.co.uk/

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for UO-22 status
information]

OSCAR-11
Downlink 	   145.825 MHz FM (1200 baud AFSK)
Mode-S Beacon    2401.500 MHz
Launched: March 1, 1984 by a Delta-Thor rocket from Vandenberg
Air Force Base in California
Status: Operational

OSCAR-11 celebrated its sixteenth birthday in space on March 1, 2000.

During the period through November 14, 2000 good signals have been
received from the 145 MHz beacon as the satellite is currently seeing
good solar conditions which should continue until the end of the year.
Ground control stations have reset the magnetorquer counters, the spin
period has varied between 217 and 276 seconds. The battery voltage
observed during daylight passes is unchanged with an average value of
14.0, with a range of 13.9 to 14.1 volts. Internal temperatures have
increased slightly and are probably near maximum value. They are now
6.6 	C and 4.8 C for battery and telemetry electronics. A single WOD
survey of dated 06-October-2000, has been transmitted. The mode-S
beacon is transmitting an unmodulated carrier. The beacon is a useful
test source for mode-S converters. The 435.025 MHz beacon is normally
off but can sometimes be heard when the satellite is being commanded
by ground control.

The operating schedule is as follows:

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 active amateur radio satellites.

More information on OSCAR-11 is available at the following URL:

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

[ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for OSCAR-11 status information]

LUSAT LO-19
Uplink 		 	145.84 145.86 145.88 145.90 MHz FM
				(using 1200 baud Manchester FSK)
CW downlink 	 	437.125 MHz
Digital downlink  	437.150 MHz SSB (RC-BPSK 1200 baud PSK)
Broadcast Callsign	LUSAT-11
BBS 			LUSAT-12
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Semi-operational. The CW beacon is sending eight telemetry
channels and one status channel on 437.136 MHz. No BBS service is
available. The digipeater is not active.

Mineo, JE9PEL, has recorded LO-19 CW and PSK telemetry and
placed the information on his Internet homepage site at:

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/

General information and telemetry samples can be found at:

www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu

[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for LO-19 status information]

PACSAT AO-16
Uplink 			145.90 145.92 145.94 145.96 MHz FM
				(using 1200 baud Manchester FSK)
Downlink		437.025 MHz SSB (RC-BPSK 1200 baud PSK)
Mode-S Beacon   	2401.1428 MHz
Broadcast Callsign:	PACSAT-11
BBS 			PACSAT-12
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Semi-operational

Russ, WJ9F, reported the S-band transmitter is off. The VHF uplink and the
UHF PSK transmitter are operational (TX power at 1.5 watts). The
digipeater command is on.

A new WOD collection of current graphics along with general
information and telemetry samples can be found at:

www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu

[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for AO-16 status information]

TMSAT-1 TO-31
Uplink 		145.925 MHz (9600 baud FSK)
Downlink 	436.925 MHz (9600 baud FSK)
Broadcast Callsign:	TMSAT1-11
BBS 			TMSAT1-12 
Launched: July 10, 1998 by a Zenit rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Operational
Launched: July 10, 1998 by a Zenit rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Operational

Jim, AA7KC, reports nominal TO-31 operation, with moderate traffic and
new graphic files as of November 21, 2000.

ProcMail V2.00G has been released by G7UPN. This software permits
the processing of image files from TO-31. It has been posted to the
AMSAT-NA FTP site at the following URL:

http://www.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/wisp

Many of the high-resolution color images transmitted by TMSAT are
compressed using a UoSAT compression format. This format is
supported by the VK5HI CCD display program.

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for TO-31 status
information]

UoSAT-12 UO-36
Uplink 		145.960 MHz (9600 baud FSK)
Downlink 	437.025 MHz 437.400 MHz
Broadcast Callsign	UOSAT12-11
BBS 			UOSAT12-12
Launched: April 21, 1999 by a Russian launcher from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome
Status: Operational

UO-36 carries a number of imaging payloads, digital store-and-forward
communications and mode L/S transponders.

NASA has demonstrated on UO-36 the ability to use standard Internet
protocols to communicate with an orbiting spacecraft (just like any node
on the Internet). NASA has been developing this project by working with
the commercial payload aboard UoSAT-12.

The BBS is open, although uploading and downloading may be
disabled at times.

The VK5HI viewer shareware for UO-36 is available on the AMSAT-NA
web site at the following URL:

ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/display/ccddsp97-119.zip

Further information on UO-36 is available from: http://www.sstl.co.uk/

[ANS thanks Chris G7UPN/ZL2TPO, and the University of Surrey for
this information]

ITAMSAT IO-26
Uplink 		145.875 145.900 145.925 145.950 MHz FM (1200 baud)
Downlink 	435.822 MHz SSB
Broadcast Callsign	ITMSAT1-11
BBS 			ITMSAT1-12
Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Semi-operational, the digipeater function is on and open for
APRS users

[ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for
IO-26 information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-331.09
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 331.09 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 26, 2000
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-331.09

THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL
AT THIS TIME:

KITSAT KO-23
Uplink 		145.900 MHz FM (9600 baud FSK)
Downlink 	435.170 MHz FM
Broadcast Callsign	HLO1-11
BBS 			HLO1-12
Launched: August 10, 1992 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Intermittent operation with the downlink transmitter operating at
unpredictable intervals

Jim, AA7KC, reports that KO-23's downlink transmitter continues
in non-operational status. Duration of this status is unpredictable.
Last received downlink was on October 28th.

KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, reports (from the KO-23 control team) that part
of the problem with non-operation has been the power budget aboard
the satellite. "We are not sure when the bird might turn off again due to
insufficient power. The capability of the onboard power system has been
less and less," said Kim. HL0ENJ also noted that as of October 30, 2000
the onboard computer was reset and a reboot of operational software is
now underway.

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ,
for KO-23 status information]

RADIO SPORT RS-12
Uplink 			21.210 to 21.250 MHz CW/SSB
Uplink 			145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 		29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 		145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 		29.408 MHz
Robot Uplink 		21.129 MHz
Robot Downlink 	29.454 MHz
Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher
Status: Non-operational. No operation in 2000 has been observed
with the exception of the 29.408 MHz RS-12 beacon, which was
activated in November 2000. The beacon telemetry indicated that
both the 10 and 2-meter receivers aboard RS-12 are currently off.

[ANS thanks Kevin Manzer, AC5DK, for this information]

TECHSAT-1B GO-32
Downlink 	435.225 MHz using HDLC telemetry
Launched: July 10, 1998 by a Russian Zenit rocket from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome
Status: Semi-operational

Efforts were reported to be underway to bring GO-32 on line,
however, no information has been received by ANS (the last
report was dated November 1999).

Last reported, the satellite does transmit a 9600-baud burst every
30 seconds (the GO-32 beacon sends one short telemetry status
transmission of 44 bytes) and upon request the complete
telemetry buffer. 

[ANS has no further information]

PANSAT PO-34
Uplink/downlink frequencies have never been released
Launched: October 30, 1998 by the Shuttle Discovery
Status: Unknown

The satellite is not currently available for general uplink transmissions.

PanSat was developed by the Naval Postgraduate School. At the time of
launch, PanSat spread-spectrum digital transponders were promised to
be available to Amateur Radio operators along with software to utilize
this technology. To date, this has not happened.

For more information, visit the official PanSat web site at:

http://www.sp.nps.navy.mil/pansat/

PanSat was the featured cover article on the July/August 1999 issue
of the AMSAT-NA Journal (the story written by KD6DRA and N7HPR).

[ANS has no further information]

MIR SPACE STATION
145.985 MHz (FM) voice and SSTV (Robot 36 Mode)
Launched: February 18, 1986
Status: Unmanned

Currently, there is no human habitation aboard the station and the
onboard Amateur Radio equipment has been turned off. Several
news agencies have reported that Mir in now on 'autopilot'.

Several news agencies are reporting the Mir space station will be ditched
this coming February in a controlled descent that will send it hurtling into
a remote area of the Pacific Ocean.

Stay tuned to ANS for further details.

MIR SAFEX II 70-cm Repeater
Uplink 		435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone of 141.3 Hz
Downlink 	437.950 MHz FM
Status: Not operational. No operation in 1999 or 2000 has been observed

MIR SAFEX II 70-cm QSO Mode
Uplink 		435.725 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 151.4 Hz
Downlink 	437.925 MHz FM
Status: Not operational. No operation in 1999 or 2000 has been observed

[ANS has no further information]

DOVE DO-17
Downlink 	145.825 MHz FM (1200 baud AFSK)
		2401.220 MHz
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Non-operational

DOVE stopped transmitting in March 1998. The 145.825 MHz and
2401.220 MHz downlinks are off the air and the satellite has not
responded to ground station control.

[ANS has no further information]

WEBERSAT WO-18
Downlink 	437.104 MHz SSB (1200 baud PSK AX.25)
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana
Status: Non-operational

WO-18 was last reported to be in MBL mode after a software crash.

[ANS has no further information]

SEDSAT-1 SO-33
Downlink 	437.910 MHz FM (9600 baud FSK)
Launched: October 24, 1998 by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape
Canaveral, Florida
Status: Semi-operational

The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions and
the image and transponder recovery efforts have been unsuccessful.

SedSat-1 signifies Students for the Exploration and Development of
Space (satellite number one).

SedSat-1 has downlinked months worth of telemetry data on the
performance of its electrical power system parameters. The Nickel
Metal Hydride batteries on the spacecraft were experimental and
experienced some abuse due to a power negative situation. This
information has provided NASA with useful information. With the
exception of the imaging system and the use of the transponders,
SedSat-1 has been judged a success.

For more information on SedSat-1 visit the satellite web site at the
following URL:

http://seds.uah.edu/projects/sedsat/sedsat.htm

[ANS has no further information]

/EX

--ANS END---

ANS would like to thank Mike Seguin, N1JEZ, ANS principal satellite
investigator, for helping provide current satellite information.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:

ans-editor@amsat.org

Daniel (Dan) James
AMSAT News Service Bulletin Editor
AMSAT-NA Vice President/Public Affairs
Amateur callsign: NN0DJ
Grid Square EN28iv
Warroad, Minnesota U.S.A.
E-mail: nn0dj@amsat.org


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