[jamsat-news:1974] ANS-361 AMSAT Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE

ANS-361

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.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: 

ans-editor@amsat.org

In this edition:
* Start 2005 with SKN and AO-51 Kid's Day
* AMSAT at the Ft. Meyers, FL Hamfest
* Two Marine Mobile stations QSO on AO-51
* AO-51 Operating Schedule Thru Jan 2005
* ARISS Status - 25 Oct 2004
* Central Florida FUNSat Workshop


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-361.01
Start 2005 with SKN and AO-51 Kid's Day

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 361.01
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 26, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-361.01

2005 will be getting off to an excellent start for satellite operators
with both a returning favorite event and something new.

OSCAR SKN 2005 will run for 24 hours, 0000-2400 UTC, on 1 January 2005.
It's very simple: no rules, no scoring, and no need to send in a log.
Just operate CW through any OSCAR satellite using a straight hand key,
working as many other SKN participants as you can. Contacts via the moon
(OSCAR Zero) count too.  As in past years, all participants are
requested to nominate one of the operators they worked for "Best Fist"
recognition. Your nominee need not have the best fist of those you
heard, just of those you worked. Please send all nominations to Ray
Soifer at w2rs@amsat.org.

Amsat Kids Day on AO-51
To coincide with the ARRLs Kids Day on January 2, 2004, Amsat-NA will
sponsor Kids Day on AO-51. The event will run from approximately 1600
UTC 02 Jan to 0345 UTC 03 Jan. We ask that all amateur radio stations
give this short time window to promote satellite operations with kids.
If not actually showing a kid how to make contacts via AO-51, then
providing a station to contact, or stepping aside to allow others to
make contacts with the kids. 

AO-51 will be configured in the following mode during the event. Please
note the change in the uplink frequency for the event.

Uplink: 145.880 mhz FM voice, 67hz tone
Downlink: 435.300 mhz FM voice

[ANS thanks Ray, W2RS and Mike, KE4AZN for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-361.02
AMSAT at the Ft. Meyers, FL Hamfest

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 361.02
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 26, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-361.02

AMSAT has been asked to attend the Ft. Myers, Florida hamfest on January
8, 2005.  There with a booth and hopefully several satellite
demonstrations. This is a medium sized hamfest, but with lots of
satellite interest. 

If you are an AMSAT member and plan on attending, please consider 
volunteering some of your time to help out with the AMSAT activities. 
Volunteers are mainly needed to man the booth during demonstrations
(easy job!). 

Please contact Drew, KO4MA, ko4ma@amsat.org, with something about the
hamfest in the subject so it'll stand out. 

[ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-361.03
Two Marine Mobile stations QSO on AO-51

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 361.03
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 26, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-361.03

Congratulations to Allen, N5AFV and John, N8QGC for the first reported
Marine Mobile to Marine Mobile Contact via AO-51.  Allen operating
N5AFV/VP9 MM  contacted John operating N8QGC/PA MM 
for their ship to ship contact via AO-51 during their cruises.

[ANS thanks Mike, KE4AZN for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-361.04
AO-51 Operating Schedule Thru Jan 2005

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 361.04
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 26, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-361.04

January 2004 AO-51 (Amsat Echo) Schedule
Updated 23 Dec 2004

All dates are UTC. The mode change occurs normally between 0100 and 0400
utc on the date shown. The mode will be active from the date shown until
the next Mode Change date listed. Mode Configurations are listed below
the schedule. If for some unplanned reason we need to work with Echo and
deviate from the plan I will post a note to the this Echo page on
AMSAT.ORG.

Dec 23
FM Repeater, V/U, ON
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS, OPEN for Users

Dec 29
Experimenters Wednesday
FM Repeater, V/S, ON, Using 67hz Tone on the Input
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS OFF, TXA OFF
We will use the tone as a test to clear the QRM. The 67hz PL Tone will
be needed or you uplink signal to pass your signal through the
Satellites IFC. The transmitter will not be PTT'd.

Dec 30
FM Repeater, V/U, High Power Mode ON
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS OFF, TXA OFF

Jan 2 Kid's Day on Amsat Echo
Uplink: 145.880 mhz FM voice, 67hz tone
Downlink: 435.300 mhz FM voice
The event will run from approximately 1600 UTC 02 Jan to 0345 UTC 03
Jan. We ask that all amateur radio stations give this short time window
to promote satellite operations with kids. If not actually showing a kid
how to make contacts via AO-51, then providing a station to contact, or
stepping aside to allow others to make contacts with the kids. During
the event please limit contacts to stations that are operating with kids
at the microphone.

Jan 3
FM Repeater, V/U, High Power Mode ON
--Uplink: 145.920 mhz FM, 67 hz PL Tone
--Downlink 435.300 mhz FM, Output 2.3+ watts
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS OFF, TXA OFF

Jan 5
Experimenters Wednesday
FM Repeater, L/S, ON
--Uplink: 1268.700 mhz FM, No PL Tone
--Downlink 2401.200 mhz FM
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS OFF, TXA OFF

Jan 6
FM Repeater, V/S, ON
--Uplink: 145.920 mhz FM, No PL Tone
--Downlink 2401.200 mhz FM
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS OFF, TXA OFF

Jan 12
Experimenters Wednesday
38k4 Digital Downlink, V/U Mode
--Uplink: 145.860 mhz FM, 9k6 PBP Digital
--Downlink: 435.150 mhz FM, 38k4 PBP Digital, 1 watt
FM repeater OFF

Jan 13
FM Repeater, V/U, ON
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS, OPEN for Users

Jan 19
Experimenters Wednesday
9k6 Digital, V/U, High Power, PBP BBS
FM repeater OFF

Jan 20
FM Repeater, V/U, ON
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS, OPEN for Users

Jan 26
Experimenters Wednesday QRP Mode
--Uplink: 145.880 mhz FM voice, 67hz tone
--Downlink: 435.300 mhz FM voice
Limitied to QRP stations only. See the QRP requirments noted below.

Jan 27
FM Repeater, V/U, ON
9k6 Digital, V/U, PBP BBS, OPEN for Users


AO-51 ECHO LOW POWER STATION (QRP) REQUIRMENTS:

To attempt to keep this simple a low power station will be defined as a
station which can deliver no more than 10 watts to a vertical or
handheld
antenna.

Some examples of Low Power Stations:
1) Using an HT (barefoot, no amplifier) with 10 watts or less output
into
any type of vertical whip antenna (rubber duck, etc) or handheld beam
antenna (arrow type).
2) Using a mobile station with 10 watts or less output into car mounted
mobile whip antenna(s).
3) Using a base station at 10 watts output into a vertical
omnidirectional
antenna on the side of the house.

Examples that are NOT Low Power Stations:
1) Any type of high gain beam antenna, KLM, M2, Cushcraft, etc.
2) Any station transmitting over 10 watts into any type of antenna.

How well we operate the satellite within these guidelines will determine
how much we can run this mode in the future. So lets try and do this
right!


[ANS thanks Mike, KE4AZN for the above information]

/EX
        

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-361.05
ARISS Status - 20 Dec 2004

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 361.05
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 26, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS 
BID: $ANS-361.05

1.  ESA Ireland Contact Successful

On Friday, December 17, the winners of the ESA sponsored educational
competition met at the University College Cork in Ireland. The students
had the opportunity to ask 10 questions of Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, while an
audience of 300 students, teachers, and VIPs looked on.  The contact was
made via the telebridge station, VK5ZAI, in Australia, and the Internet
Radio Linking Project (IRLP), and Echolink were successfully used for
this event. Media coverage included the Irish national radio, TV, and
some newspapers. 

The ARISS-Europe website has posted photos and audio of the event. 
Go to: 
http://ariss.uba.be/2004_12_17.htm 

The University College Cork¡Çs website has a write up on the contact. 
See:
http://www.ucc.ie/en/NewsandEvents/PressReleases/Headline,704,en.html


2. Upcoming School Contacts

Students  from the 92 Grupo de Escoteiro Caio Viana Martins, in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil will also speak to Leroy Chiao. The contact has been
scheduled for Monday, December 27, 2004 at 13:01 UTC.


3. Expedition 9 Crew Debriefing 
 
On Wednesday, December 15, Expedition 9 crew member Mike Fincke, KE5AIT,
answered questions asked by Kenneth Ransom at JSC.  Items covered
included the Phase 1 and Phase 2 hardware, and school contacts.  Mike
had a very favorable impression of the ARISS program, was highly
appreciative of all the ARISS volunteer support he received during his
flight, and gave some suggestions for improvement.


4. ARRL Article on Ottawa School Contact

The ARRL ran a web story covering the Manordale Public School contact in
Ottawa, Ontario. The article entitled, ¡ÈPrime Minister's Wife on Hand
for ARISS School Group QSO,¡É can be found at:
http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/12/14/3/?nc=1


5. ARRL Working 3rd Party Issues for Future Contacts
Rosalie White has been working with the ARRL General Counsel
interpreting the Belgian telecommunications law to support future school
contacts with the ARISS newly installed Belgian bridge station.   With
the recent World Radio Conference changes to the third party rules, it
is not clear whether Belgium has a third party agreement with the U.S.
to allow unlicensed students to talk on the radio.

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-361.06
Central Florida FUNSat Workshop

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 361.06
>From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
December 26, 2004
To All RADIO AMATEURS 
BID: $ANS-361.06

The Florida Space Grant Consortium (FSGC) through a NASA Workforce
Training Program has developed a student satellite design competition.
This competition requires students to design and build an engineering
model of a satellite, in the CubeSat configuration, in a school year.
Then the finalist will be supported for construction and launch costs. 

Earlier this December designs were received from three different Florida
Universities.  It is hoped that this competition can be expanded into
other states and geographical areas in the coming years. A workshop to
fulfill the aforementioned goals is being planned, to provide a platform
for the presentation of the accomplishments of this competition, and to
help spread current state-of-the-art technologies and techniques of the
CubeSat community. 

This workshop will be held on the morning of January 21, 2005 at Kennedy
Space Center (KSC), FL. The workshop will start at 9:00 AM, with light 
refreshments beforehand, and will last into the afternoon, depending on
the  number of presenters. Lunch will be provided to the attendees. 
There is also the possibility of a tour of KSC facilities immediately
following the workshop for those that might be interested. Please RSVP
by January 7th if your group would like to attend or give a brief
presentation. Please direct any questions or requests to
funsat@mail.ucf.edu.

Also, if your university is interested in the possibility of extending
this competition outside of Florida please let the FUNSat team know and
they would be happy to discuss that possibility for next years
competition. 

[ANS thanks Team FUNSat for the above information]

/EX


In addition to regular membership, AMSAT offers membership in the
President's Club. Members of the President's Club, as sustaining
donors to AMSAT Project Funds, will be eligible to receive additional
benefits. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office.

-- 
73,
This weeks ANS Editor,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS
ku4os at amsat dot org
----
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