[jamsat-news:2723] ANS-256 AMSAT Weekly Bulletins

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-256

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

**********************************************************************
* 2009 AMSAT Space Symposium and Annual General Meeting October 9-11 *
*   Four Points Sheraton Hotel at the Baltimore Washington Airport   *
*  Details - http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/symposium/2009/index.php *
**********************************************************************

In this edition:
* Sumbandilasat Launch on Track
* September 2009 AO-51 Schedule
* AMSAT Symposium Breaking News: Low Cost Airfare
* Special Event Coinciding with AMSAT Symposium
* Dutch Authorities Propose Rebanding D-STAR Into 70cm Satellite Band
* ARRL/TAPR DCC (Digital Communications Conference) Forum Schedule Announced
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* ARISS Status - 7 September 2009

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256.01
Sumbandilasat Launch on Track

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256.01
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 13, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-256.01

The latest information on the SA AMSAT web page says that the launch
of SumbandilaSat is on track for 15 September 2009. Monitor the web
pages at http://www.amsatsa.org.za/index.htm for the latest infor-
mation.

In an interview with SA AMSAT, Johan Erasmus, SunSpace systems engineer
speaking from Baikonur, said that the satellite travelled well and that
all system performed to specification during the testing phase. Tests
were carried out in the clean room at the Baikonur launch facility in
Kazakhstan. "All payloads operated well and we were able to test the
amateur payload from a little distance away. The parrot, voice repeater
and the voice beacon responded well"

The voice beacon message was recorded by Anton Coetzee, at the time a
learner at the Technical High School Kimberley. His message was select-
ed from entries in a competition to find the best message with which
to launch SumbandilaSat. It reads: "This is ZSOSUM in space.  I am the
voice of the South African youth.  We are knocking on the door of
opportunity, marking our place in the orbit of space research and
communication. Hear us!" You can preview the audio message on-line:
http://www.amsatsa.org.za/Anton%20Cotezzee%20Sumbandila%20Sat%20Message.mp3

During the week the butane propulsion system tank was filled and the
batteries were charged. On Wednesday 2 September SumbandilaSat was inte-
grated with the launch platform. The main payload, a Russian weather
satellite, has also arrived at Baikonur and is currently being integrat-
ed into the launch structure. Next week the launch structure will be
transported to the launch site and integrated with the Soyuz rocket.
"With all now in place we can expect a launch on 15 September", Johan
Erasmus said.

A few members of the SunSpace team will remain behind to give the
batteries a final charge so that when SumbandilaSat is separated from
the final stage of the rocket the batteries are in a healthy state and
to remove the last of the protective covers. The focus is now shifting
to the ground station at the University of Stellenbosch where the
satellite will be commanded approximately 30 minutes after separation
and three hours into the flight.

An intensive period of payload qualification will follow during which
each system will be tested. This is expected to take up to 3 months
after which the command will shift to the CSIR's Satellite Application
Centre at Hartebeeshoek, north of Pretoria.

Once the main payload, a Multi-spectral imager which has a 6.25m
Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) with 6 spectral bands and is supported
by an on-board storage of 24 Giga byte of memory and a main downlink
of 72 Mb/s is fully put into service,  will a schedule be set up
according to which the various experimental payloads on board will
be operated.

FREQUENCIES Mode VU FM voice Transponder and Parrot

Uplink       145.880 MHz
Downlink     435.350 MHz

Voice Beacon 435.300 MHz


AMATEUR OPERATION OF ZS0SUM PAYLOAD

+ The details of the CTCSS tones will be made available after the
   payload has been commissioned.

+ On receipt of a "X" CTCSS tone the control unit will command the
   satellite in the transponder mode.

+ On receipt of a "Y" CTCSS tone the control unit will command the
   satellite in the parrot mode.

+ If for a period no tones are received, the system will activate a
   voice beacon.

  [ANS thanks SA AMSAT for the above information and sends our
   congratulations and best wishes for a successful mission]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256.02
September 2009 AO-51 Schedule

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256.02
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 13, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-256.02

All 435.150 repeater downlinks are subject to interruption for
telemetry, generally one AM pass/day over the eastern US

August 31 - September 7 (~1200Z)

FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM

FM Repeater, L/U
Uplink: 1268.700 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM

September 7 - September 13

FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM

9k6 BBS, L/U
Uplink: 1268.700 MHz 9k6 FM
Downlink: 435.150 MHz 9k6 FM

September 14 - September 20

FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM

QRP Only FM Repeater, V/U
(<10 watts and hand held or omni antennas only)
Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM

September 21 - September 27

FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM

9k6 BBS, L/U
Uplink: 1268.700 MHz 9k6 FM
Downlink: 435.150 MHz 9k6 FM

September 28 - October 4

FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM

QRP Only FM Repeater, V/U and College Radio Night (October 1-2)
(<10 watts and hand held or omni antennas only)
Uplink: 145.880 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM

October 5 - October 11 AMSAT Symposium week

FM Repeater, V/U
Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM
Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM

9k6 BBS, L/U
Uplink: 1268.700 MHz 9k6 FM
Downlink: 435.150 MHz 9k6 FM

[ANS thanks Mark,N8MH, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256.03
AMSAT Symposium Breaking News: Low Cost Airfare

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256.03
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 13, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-256.03

The 2009 AMSAT Symposium is rapidly approaching!  And we hope you can join
us..especially given that there are some low-cost airfares out there for
those of us in the US.

  We have an outstanding venue this year at the Four Points Sheraton at the
BWI Airport.  Your symposium committee recently did a walkthrough of this
facility.  The accommodations and meeting rooms are superb.  I do a lot of
traveling and I must say that the rooms are absolutely beautiful.  You will
definitely get a substantial bang for your buck (or Euro, etc) at this
symposium.   And planned 40th Anniversary celebratory events will be truly
memorable.

And to make things even better, Southwest Airlines has a phenomenal
Nationwide (US) fall sale.  $59-109 one-way airfares are available to BWI
until Sept 3.  And remember, with Southwest, there are no baggage fees.

Also, Airtran has a sale to and from BWI until September 17.  $39-119 with a 10
day advance purchase.  Sign up now to get the best fares before they are taken
by others.

Airtran does charge for checked luggage.

We will be posting the Symposium agenda this week.  For planning purposes,
the BoD meeting starts Thursday morning and runs until noon Friday.  The
symposium starts at 1 pm Friday and runs until noon Sunday.  The AMSAT
annual meeting with be Saturday afternoon.  And there will be an ARISS ops
meeting (all are invited) on Sunday.  The 40th anniversary celebration is
Friday night and the Banquet is Saturday night.

So we'd love to see you in "Charm City"-Baltimore Maryland..for the
symposium presentations, 40th anniversary celebrations, poster sessions, and
BoD meeting.

And don't forget to submit a symposium paper to Dan Schultz, N8FGV, ASAP!!

Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, and Janet Bauer
2009 Symposium Co-Chairs

[ANS thanks Frank and Janet for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256.04
Special Event Coinciding with AMSAT Symposium

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256.04
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 13, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-256.04

Those of you into Edgar Allan Poe.there is a special treat if you come to
this year's symposium.  The famous poet is celebrating his 200th birthday
this year.  He lived in Baltimore for several years and died and was buried
in the city.  And there is a Poe Museum at the Baltimore house he lived in
before his death.

The year-long commemoration of Poe will culminate with a recreation of his
funeral that occurs around the Symposium dates.  Poe died on October 7,
1849.  There will be a recreation of a wake for Poe from noon to 11 pm at
the Poe House.  This will be followed up with a mock-funeral for Poe on
Sunday October 11 (12:30 and 4:30).  John Astin (Gomez Addams from the
Addams family fame) will officiate the funeral services.

If you want more information on this, go to the following web sites:

www.nevermore2009.com

www.poebicentennial.com

www.annabelleetavern.com   This "all Poe" tavern was named after one of
Poe's last poems.a virtual shrine to Edgar Allan Poe with his poetry
covering the walls.

www.westminsterhall.org  Where he is buried.and where a mystery man dresses
in black leaves a bottle of cognac and three red roses on Poe's birthday.

If you didn't know it before, now you know why the Baltimore Football team
is called the Ravens...

73,  Frank Bauer, KA3HDO
2009 AMSAT Symposium Co-Chair

[ANS thanks Frank, KA3HDO, for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256.05
Dutch Authorities Propose Rebanding D-STAR Into 70cm Satellite Band

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256.05
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 13, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-256.05

Information received from the Netherlands this week indicated a
growing threat to frequencies allocated and used by the Amateur
Satellite Service.

Worldwide, including the Netherlands, amateur use of frequencies
in many portions of the 70cm band are allocated as secondary users.
The threat arises from proposals to move the output frequency band
of terrestrial D-STAR repeaters from the 439-440 MHz range down to
437-438 MHz. Dutch regulators have halted amateur D-STAR repeater
licensing in that country because they plan to reallocate 439.500 MHz
and upward to the Differential GPS (DGPS) service.

Despite protest from Dutch amateur radio operators, amateur clubs in
the surrounding countries, and regulators in nearby countries it seems
as if the Dutch authorities are still planning on this frequency re-
allocation to favor DGPS operation in violation of ITU allocations.

If completed this reallocation of the terrestrial D-STAR repeater
outputs would place them right in the downlink band of the
Amateur Satellite Service. This would have immediate operational
impact on European amateur satellite stations. Longer term it
may open the door for future infringement on satellite operations
in other countries.

[ANS thanks Geert Jan, PE1HZG for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256.06
ARRL/TAPR DCC (Digital Communications Conference) Forum Schedule Announced

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256.06
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 13, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-256.06

TAPR is the premiere national digital organization covering all digital voice &
data technologies and digital techniques such as SDR. More information about
TAPR can be found at: www.tapr.org

TAPR is active throughout the year. At the Dayton Hamvention TAPR sponsors a
digital forum and a joint banquet with AMSAT. TAPR publishes a quarterly
journal, the PSR and develops digital techniques such as SDR. TAPR holds in
conjuntion with the ARRL an annual national Digital Communication Conference.
You can follow TAPR's activities, events & updates regularly
on Twitter at: www.twitter.org/taprdigital

The ARRL/TAPR DCC (Digital Communications Conference) will be held on September
25 - 27, 2009 again in the northwest suburbs of 
Chicago at the Elk Grove Village
Holiday Inn near O'Hare airport with a free hotel shuttle bus.

The DCC has something for everyone from those new to digital modes to those
experienced with digital communications. The DCC has 2 full days of Technical
forums on Friday & Saturday. On Saturday there is 
an additional concurrent track
of Introductory forums. On Sunday morning there is a 1/2 day technical session
which is a deep dive into one or more digital topics, such as SDR.

The DCC is well known for introducing new technologies & concepts. This year
presentations include:

         * Two Ham DTV, Digital Television presentations by Art, WA8RMC & Ken,
	  W6HHC.
         * "Use of Digital Communications at the Marine Corps Marathon in
	  Washington D.C."  by Tom, N4ZPT.
         * "Universal Ham Radio Text Messaging" 
by Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, creator
	   of APRS.


After the Friday night social we plan to have another D-STAR get together.

The Saturday night banquet speaker will be Bill 
Brown, WB8ELK. Bill is a pioneer
in flying BalloonSats, balloons with payloads including amateur radio digital
communication technologies.

You can learn more about the DCC & register on-line at: www.tapr.org/dcc
Registration is preferred prior to September 17th for planning purposes, but
walk-in registrations will be accepted.

If you can't attend the DCC the Proceedings can be purchased at the TAPR web
site at: www.tapr.org/pub_dcc.html

Starting last year, 2008 and continuing this year DCC presentations are being
recorded by Amateur Radio Video News. DVDs of the prresentations are available
at: http://www.arvideonews.com

If you have any questions you can reach the TAPR Office at: taproffice@tapr.org


Look foward to seeing many of you at the DCC.

73, Mark, WB9QZB
DCC Local Co-Host
Chicago, IL

The 2009 DCC forum & speaker schedule is attached & is available online at the
TAPR web site at:
http://www.tapr.org/pdf/DCC_2009_Schedule_Preliminary2009-09-08.pdf

[ANS thanks Mark, WB9QZB, for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256.07
Satellite Shorts From All Over

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256.07
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 13, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-256.07

+ FO-29 Control Team operator Yutaka Murata, JA1COU says that data
   analysis and recovery efforts continued this week. The control team
   confirms their suspicion that FO-29's outage is caused by the long
   eclipse periods currently encountered. FO-29 is only commanded on
   when it is over Japan although with luck it may remain on depending
   on illumination of its solar panels and be heard elsewhere. If you
   capture any telemetry from FO-29 over your location please forward
   your data via e-mail to lab (at) jarl.or.jp and include your QTH,
   date and time.

+ Allen, KK4AK plans to active on the FM satellites from the mountains
   of North Carolina (Grid EM96) this coming week.

+ Operating from the Hawaiian Island of Kauai W6ZQ made contact with
   stations in Hawaii, Alaska, and the US mainland via AO-51.

+ Luc, VE2DWE has made available a recording of his experimentation
   using D-STAR through the AO-27 satellite. He reports using an uplink
   frequency of 436.797 MHz and monitored downlink audio on 145.850 MHz.
   The entire recording can be heard at Luc's website:
   http://www.qsl.net/ve2dwe/

+ http://spacesat.blogspot.com/2009/08/uma-noite-memoravel-no-ao-7.html
   is the link to a video of AO-7 DX operations posted by Piraja, PS8RF.

[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-256.08
ARISS Statuts - 7 September 2009

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 256.08
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
September 13, 2009
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-256.08

1. ARISS Contact with Craigmore High School

On Wednesday, September 2, an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) contact was held between Craigmore High School in Blakeview, South
Australia and Expedition 20 Astronaut Frank De Winne, ON1DWN, on the ISS.  An
audience of 40 people gathered for the event and one newspaper provided media
coverage.


2. ESA Astronaut De Winne Speaks with Vrije Basisschool, Belgium

On Thursday, September 3, Frank De Winne, ON1DWN, participated in an Amateur
Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Vrije Basisschool
in De Haan, Belgium via telebridge station VK4HZ 
in Australia. De Winne answered
twenty-two questions posed to him by the students.  Approximately 240 students,
teachers and parents as well as radio, television and newspaper reporters
attended the event.  The audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW
servers.
This was a European Space Agency (ESA) event. Students who participated in the
ARISS contact were chosen through an ESA competition.


3. ARISS Contact with ESA/ESOC Successful

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact was held at
the European Space Agency (ESA)/European Space Operation Centre (ESOC) in
Darmstadt, Germany on Friday, September 4 via telebridge station LU8YY in
Argentina. The contact was held during an open 
day event, “The Long Night of the
Stars.” Students from a local school, “Schuldorf Bergstrasse,” in Seeheim
participated in the contact. Astronauts Robert Thirsk, Frank de Winne and
Christer Fuglesang took turns answering eleven questions posed to them. An
audience of 200 gathered at the stage for the contact and several audio and
video links were provided for all the visitor rooms of the Open Day event at
ESOC, so that an additional 750 visitors could connect to the contact.  The
event was covered by the television station Hessischer Rundfunk HR3, the radio
station HR-Info Radio Hessischer Rundfunk Frankfurt and two newspapers,
Frankfurter Rundschau and Darmstaedter Echo. There was also a live coverage via
the Internet (Kosmologs) and five freelance journalists were present. The audio
was also fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers.


4. Stockholm Students Question Fuglesang via ARISS Contact

On Sunday, September 6, students from Sätraskolan in Skärholmen, Stockholm,
Sweden participated in an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) contact via telebridge station LU8YY in Argentina. STS-128 Mission
Specialist Christer Fuglesang, KE5CGR, answered 14 questions as an audience of
400 gathered for the contact.  Media covered the event and the audio was fed
into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers.


5. Astronaut Training Status

Astronaut Tracy Caldwell is scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS) licensing session on Wednesday, September 9.  Caldwell is
scheduled to fly with Expedition 23 in April 2010.

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, 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 week's ANS Editor,
Lee McLamb, KU4OS
ku4os at amsat dot org


_______________________________________________
Via the ANS mailing list courtesy of AMSAT-NA
http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/ans