[jamsat-news:488] ANS-047 WEEKLY BULLETINS

["BJ Arts" <bjarts@uslink.net>]

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-047.01
COMMENTS NEEDED, LITTLE LEO

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 047.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 16, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-047.01

Commercial satellite interests seeking access to bands below 1
Ghz--including amateur allocations at 146 and 430 MHz--now have added
220 MHz to their ''wish list.'' For the first time, Little LEO
(low-earth-orbiting satellite) interests have proposed including
219-225 MHz in their list of desired allocations for the non-voice,
non-geostationary (NVNG) mobile-satellite service (MSS). The move was
contained in the industry's so-called ''flexible allocation proposal,''
delivered at the February 13, 1997, meeting of FCC Informal Working
Group (IWG) 2A. Little LEO targets now include 146 to 148, 219 to 225
and 430 to 450 MHz. The ARRL and AMSAT were among those objecting to
the concept, and the League is urging those who agree with their
position to comment to the FCC by March 4. IWG-2A has been preparing
draft proposals for the 1997 World Radiocommunications Conference
(WRC-97). These will be reviewed during a March 5 meeting of the
FCC's WRC-97 Industry Advisory Committee that is preparing draft
proposals for consideration by the United States as it gets ready for
WRC-97

The ARRL and AMSAT statement said the latest proposal affecting
amateur allocations in the 219 to 225 MHz segment came ''at the last
possible moment'' and ''without any technical support whatsoever.'' The
League and AMSAT pointed out that the little LEO proponents have had
more than a year to complete a technical study of the possibilities
of sharing with the amateur services in the 144 to 148 MHz and 420 to
450 MHz bands. ''They have not demonstrated compatibility for sharing
these amateur bands but over the evolution of their document have
proposed various 'new ideas' for use of these bands.''

The little LEO flexible allocation strategy for WRC-97--submitted as
IWG-2A/86 (Rev. 6)--is to propose broad allocations. The apparent
theory is that most administrations would find reasons to oppose
little LEO use of specific bands in the crowded spectrum below 1 Ghz,
but that a broad allocation would permit different implementations in
different countries depending on local circumstances.

At the February 13 meeting, a coalition of spectrum
interests--including land mobile, amateur, broadcasting, and
military--opposed the flexible allocation concept on three grounds:
that the concept is simply an invention to avoid performing technical
sharing studies that would demonstrate the unfeasibility of sharing;
that it is inconsistent with decades of ITU allocations practices;
and that, if adopted, the concept would be counter to US interests.
The coalition document is identified as IWG-2A/107.

The ARRL and AMSAT submitted a further statement of opposition,
citing the absence of any technical studies that might support
sharing with the amateur service or the amateur-satellite service and
pointing out that the little LEOs have completely mischaracterized
the nature of ITU Resolution 640 regarding the use of certain amateur
bands in the event of natural disasters. The ARRL/AMSAT paper,
revised to reflect opposition to the late proposal to include 219-225
MHz, is identified as IWG-2A/108 (Rev. 1).

Amateurs also might find interesting the comments of the Department
of Defense, identified as IWG-2A/101 (Rev. 1). These address the 430
to 450 MHz segment the Little LEOs seek to share.

Anyone wishing to register support for the ARRL/AMSAT submission
should send a brief e-mail message to wrc97fcc.gov. The Subject line
should say ''Reference No. ISP-96-005 IWG-2A.'' A simple statement to
this effect, ''I support the ARRL/AMSAT opposition to the NVNG MSS
flexible allocation proposal,'' will be included in the public record
and will help to drive home the point that there is broad-based
opposition to poorly conceived sharing proposals.

Please note. The proposals the League opposes are not FCC proposals,
nor are they endorsed by any other branch of the government. They are
industry proposals. The League's objective is to demonstrate there is
broad citizen opposition to the industry proposals, so the government
will not adopt them as US proposals. So, please don't ''flame'' the FCC
if you comment.

Additional arguments or evidence also is welcome. Important. Comments
should reach the FCC no later than March 4, 1997.

The complete ARRL/AMSAT opposition statement and other comments will
be posted by February 15 on the ARRLWeb page, http://www.arrl.org/
under Band Threat News.

[ANS thanks the ARRL for this news report.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-047.02
AO-10 KEP HINT

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 047.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 16, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-047.02

Stacey E. Mills, W4SM, reports two short-term fixes that may be used with
the last NORAD keps for AO-10 from 1996/day 299 list:

Decay: -3.05e-06 rev/day^2 (-0.00000305)
Epoch time:  96299.11613815

Note the negative decay which means orbital energy was APPARENTLY
increasing and mean motion was APPARENTLY decreasing.  Negative decays are
usually short-term "blips" due in part to NORAD's short-term
fitting/fudging of vector data. Apparent negative decays don't last very
long, and disappear if one smoothes over a large set of elements. After
all,
energy isn't REALLY flowing into the orbit.  

The fact that the last rather old set of AO-10 keps includes one of these
negative decay "blips" that has gone unrevised for quite a while is the
source of the current problem with tracking AO-10.  

Stacey had previously found that subtracting 0.02 days from epoch time gave
keps that worked pretty well. Mills received a note from Jeff Garrett that
he, Ian Ashley and others in New Zealand did some ranging measurements on
AO-10 and determined that changing the Decay (drag) value to:

0.0000001 (+1.0 e-07) 

resulted in keps that were very close to their ranging values.  So this is
probably the easiest and best change to make...leave Epoch Time alone and
change the old decay of -3.05e-06 to +1.0 e-07. Some tracking programs
won't go to the precision of e-07 and will treat decay as "0", that's
fine and still much better than the old value.

On Mills' WISP software, this has the effect of adding about 10 MA units to
the orbit, which is in close agreement with his Epoch-time altered keps
(subtracting 0.02 days from Epoch time adds 10.5 MA).  So either way works
short-term, but altering the decay produces keps that will stay accurate
longer, which is the better approach.

[ANS  thanks Stacey E. Mills, W4SM, for this update.]

Don DeJarnette, KC4YRT, reports that the decay correction
Stacey E. Mills, W4SM, supplied for AO-10 seems to work quite well. KC4YRT
tried it with Plan 13 and SGP/SDP on NOVA. The results were very similar.
Both produced good aiming results and good downlinks.

[ANS thanks Don DeJarnette, KC4YRT, for this information.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-047.03
UO-11 BULLETIN # 100

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 047.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 16, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-047.03

Back in June 1991 the UO11 news service resumed under the editorship of
Richard W L Limebear, G3RWL,. Over time the service has waxed and waned
according to various priorities but, at last, here is bulletin number ONE
HUNDRED. G3RWL tried to service listeners who were unable to receive
amateur
satellite news by any other method; but perhaps there aren't any more
listeners to UO-11 in this age of digital satellites and internet.

Bulletin number two (14 June 1991) gave advance information about UoSat-F
which went on to become UO-22. Since then, to mention just a few, G3RWL on
UO-11 has covered the following subjects:

All current, and up-coming, satellites; AMSAT-UK -NA and other annual
meetings; Kepler algorithms; Project Moonray; EME for OSCAR users; Ariane
launches; visual sightings; MIR; orbits; large donations; Short Bursts;
honors; IARU; Shuttle >< Mir; Amsat-NA BoD nominations; software; telemetry
formats; Internet information sources; DXpeditions; Mars Observer;
world-time change; Silent Keys; Straight-Key-Night; new Amsat groups;
awards; International Space Station; anniversaries and newsflashes. Sources
have largely been SpaceNews and ANS who G3RWL thanks for their dedication.

Bulletin size is limited, by UO-11's available memory, to a maximum of 3000
bytes but the UO11 news service has managed to fit everything in.

Ever since day-one, the UO11 news service, has been asking for feedback, 
especially from schools and educators; sadly few people respond to the
plea. 
Guest and educational bulletins were also invited, but none came. 
Richard W L Limebear, G3RWL can't help wondering if anyone 
is listening to UO-11 any more; perhaps this news service should
cease; has anyone any suggestions for something of deeper interest ?
Richard can be reached at the following e-mail address.
g3rwl@amsat.org

[ANS thanks Richard W L Limebear, G3RWL, for this news item.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-047.04
KANEOHE, OAHU, HAWAII ON

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 047.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 16, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-047.04

Greg  Greenwood , WB6FZH/KH6, reports on planned operations
from the Edge of Kaneohe Bay-21.25N/157.48W   Kaneohe, Oahu,
Hawaii. The Koolau Mountains with Honolulu on the other side are behind me.
Horizon clear North 315-0-80 degrees, rising to 55 degrees behind QTH.
Antennas are 25' above sea level.

Equipment: EB-432/preamp/50' 9913/Hamtronics RX converter/
FRG-8800 RX (28-30mhz)  EB-144/Yaesu FV-250 Xvtr, FT-101E
xcvr. 100W amp if required.  TM-251a used for FM  Voice TX, and 1200 pkt to
MIR BBS.

Satellites Frequented:  
FO-20  USB/CW  435.87/.88 
RS-10 USB/CW   29.38/.39
RS-15  USB/CW  29.374/.384
AO-27  FM   436.8

Hours of Operation: 1800 UTC (0800 Local)0800 UTC (2200 Local)    
Everyday-Subject to work interruptions- Note: Sundays Operation
will be  2300 to 0800 (1300 to 2200 Local)

Expect to be active here on these satellites for next several weeks
no exact date known, subject to return to N.CA for work, etc. but
will be back again after a couple of weeks.   

Other information:  The Eggbeater antennas, and poor 10Mtr propagation make
downlink reception poor.  Greg will do the best he can to make KH6 contacts
for those that need it.  QSL to callbook address last 25 yrs.. OK. Greg is
new to Satellites,  and will do the best he can.  Considering construction
of 435 CP antenna for reception improvement if circumstance permit.  LSASE
for QSL, map and photo of Kaneohe Bay.  Watch 14.060 QRP CW too.. 

[ANS thanks Greg  Greenwood , WB6FZH/KH6, for the DX news.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-047.05
R0MIR ON SAFEX

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 047.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 16, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-047.05

In a rare occurrence, on the MIR  70 cm repeater SAFEX
John  O'Hara KB8TJX, in Ohio, while working BJ Arts, WT0N, 
heard a CQ from MIR Commander R0MIR. John answered with a call to R0MIR,
Valeri. R0MIR answered and  had a QSO with John verifying the Soyous
docking
and his soon departure and trip earth. R0MIR'S  next QSO was with
Mike Sequin ,N1JEZ, in Vermont. Mike worked Valeri and recorded 
the last two QSO's  with R0MIR. The last station to work Valeri was
BJ Arts,  WT0N, in Minnesota, who KB8TJX was talking to when R0MIR
came on SAFEX. What a unique experience these three had talking with 
Valeri on the 70 cm repeater. R0MIR talked about coming back to earth
and what a joy it has been to talk with all the HAM radio operators
all over the world. To Valeri and Alexander, have a safe trip HOME.
It has been a pleasure to work  the MIR crew.

[ANS thanks John  O'Hara KB8TJX, and Mike Sequin ,N1JEZ,
for this story.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-047.06
2400 MHZ RECEIVER CONVERTER

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 047.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 16, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-047.06

The URL address that was run in Dallas Taylor's 2400 MHz Receiver
Converter article that appeared in the January/February issue of The
AMSAT Journal has been changed.  The new address is: 

http://www.dove.net.au/~markl/sa_vhf/sa_vhf.html

[ANS thanks Russ Tillman, KC5JVB, AMSAT Journal Editor
for this information.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-047.07
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 047.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 16, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-047.07

FO-29 
Voice/CW
(Uplink 145.9-146.0MHz CW/LSB, Downlink 435.8-435.9MHz CW/USB) 
Digital
(Uplink 145.85, 145.87, 145.910 MHz FM, Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600
baud BPSK)
FO-29 is in  digital mode at the current time.

[ANS thanks, Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK  for this update.]

MIR: 
(New frequencies implemented 1 January 1997:
Uplink 145.2 MHz FM
Downlink  145.8MHz FM) 
Note, the above split is used for both packet and voice operation.
Astronaut Jerry Linenger, KC5HBR,  was reported  to
have worked several stations on Friday 1/31/97 at 1030 UTC, as 
MIR passed over North America. Valery, R0MIR his working 
voice daily on night passes over EU.

[ANS thanks Francisco Costa, CT1EAT, for this report.]

SAFEX, MIR 70cm Repeater
(Uplink 435.750MHz FM, Downlink 437.950MHz FM, 
Subaudible tone 141.3 Hz)
The repeater is back up again and active.

RS-12: 
(Uplink 21.21-21.25MHz CW/SSB, Downlink 29.41-29.45MHz or
145.91-145.95Mhz CW/SSB) 
The sat is giving extremely good downlink signals on 2 meters. In
this period of poor propagation on 15 m, the T-mode is providing  very
easy access to the satellite. Interesting DX activity has been spotted 
in Europe with stations in Egypt, Crete, Cameroon, etc.

[ANS thanks Stefano Badessi, PA3FWP, for this report.]

RS-10: 
(Uplink 145.865-145.905MHz CW/SSB, Downlink 29.36-29.4MHz CW/SSB) 
Operating normally. Very busy with lots of QSOs heard over
north America and Europe.

RS-15
(Uplink 145.858-145.898MHz CW/SSB, Downlink 29.354-29.394MHz CW/SSB) 
Be aware that RS-15 has battery charging problems. When the satellite is
in the dark it has low output power..

[ANS thanks Geoff Perry  for this report.]
(Hint: If SSB doesn't work for you, try CW. CW is very easy
to hear on the downlink!)

KO-23 
(Uplink 145.85, 145.9MHz FM, Downlink 435.175MHz FM,
9600 Baud FSK.) 
KO-23 operating normally. 

KO-25:
(Uplink 145.87MHz FM, Downlink 436.5MHz FM,
9600 Baud FSK.)
KO-25 operating normally.
KO-25 returned to full service on 1/7/97. 

[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for his reports on
KO-25 and KO-23.]
 
AO-27:
(Uplink 145.85MHz FM, Downlink 436.8MHz FM) 
Feb-08-97 11:38 UTC) It is working normally in its orbits 
on Europe. It's downlink is being copied well in many 
European countries like Germany, France, Spain,
and  the Canary Islands (EA8), etc.

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

As of NOV 2, the AO-27 schedule is as follows:
  TEPR 4 = 16 = 8 Minutes in Length
  TEPR 5 = 52 = 18 Minutes in Length

  TX-3 is on Mid Power during TEPR 5.

This will have the TX turn on 8 Minutes after the satellite
enters the sun for a duration of 18 Minutes. This is a "back to US
Latitudes"operation.

N4USI, AO-27's current Command Station sends his thanks all for
their messages about the satellite turning on later than expected. He
reports he's deliberately letting the "turn on" time drift later
(for about 4-5 Minutes) so stations in the southern latitudes can also
have a chance to work AO-27.  Every few months he will be letting the
turn on time drift like this to give more stations a chance to make
contacts thru the satellite.

[ANS thanks  Michael, N4USI , AO-27 Control-op, for this
update.]

AO-10:
(Uplink 435.030-435.18MHz CW/LSB, Downlink 145.975-145.825MHz 
CW/USB) 
Operational 
QRP DX on AO-10   Frank G3MZU  worked DL6MBX  recently  on phone 
when AO-10 was at a range of 40,000Km.  Frank made the QSO with just 
25 Watts to a 23 element long yagi.  For the downlink 6El Quad and a
pre-amp.   

[ANS thanks John Heath, G7HIA,  Net Controller. For this report.]


/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT  $ANS-047.08
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 047.08 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, FEBRUARY 16, 1997
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-047.08

AMSAT-OSCAR-16 (PACSAT) 
(Uplink 145.9, 145.92, 145.94, 145.86MHz FM, Downlink 437.0513MHz SSB,
1200 Baud PSK.)
PACSAT (AO-16)
AO-16 is working normally in its orbits on Europe.
The WOD files are active again.

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

FO-20 
(Uplink 145.9-146.0MHz CW/LSB, Downlink 435.8-435.9MHz CW/USB) 
Operating normally. Strong downlink signal.

OSCAR-11
(Downlink 145.825MHz. FM, 1200 Baud PSK)
During the past month (18 December - 14 January) good, steady signals
have been received from OSCAR-11 on 145.826 MHz.
Note: 
UO-11 transmits on 145.825 MHz fm with 1200/2400Hz tones in what used to be
known as the Kansas City (CUTS) tone standard. The bulletin has always
included the latest keplerian elements for UO-11 plus other orbital
elements when relevant; a plea for feedback; and electronic and mail
addresses for comment can be sent to Richard W L Limebear, G3RWL, at the
following e-mail address. 
g3rwl@amsat.org

[ANS thanks  Clive Wallis, G3CWV, and Richard W L Limebear, G3RWL,
for this information.]

IO-26 ( ITAMSAT):
(Uplink 145.875, 145.9, 145.925, 145.95MHz FM, Downlink 435.822MHz SSB,
1200 Baud PSK.)
IK2XRO at the ITAMSAT Control Station reported on 28-Jan-97 that IO-26 was
in MBL mode in preparation for the new code upload. The transmitter was off

[ANS thanks Daniele Piercarlo, IK2XRO, ITMSAT Command Station for this
report.]

DO-17(DOVE)
( Downlink 145.825MHz FM, 1200 Baud AFSK.)
>DOVE-1>BRAMST/V [02/06/97 12:50:08]: <UI>:
>DOVE is undergoing tests in preparation for its full commissioning.
>Thank you for your patience
According to Jim White, WD0E, Microsat Command Station,
"This message is hard coded into the DOVE PHT software from 1992.  We load
this version of PHT first because it is solid and proven.  We always change
this message to one more current as part of the startup sequence.  About
two minutes later it was changed to:
"S-band is on.
Power 1 Watt day/night.
DOVE Command Team
(WD0E)"
During the same few minutes we turned on the s-band transmitter, reduced
the 2 meter power from about 3.5W to 1W (to allow continuos support of
s-band), changed the telemetry interval to 30 seconds (also to reduce power
consumption), and set the UTC time."

[ANS thanks Jim White, WD0E, of the DOVE Command Team
for this report.]

LUSAT-OSCAR-19 
(Uplink 145.84, 145.86, 145.88, 145.9MHz FM, Downlink 437.1528MHz SSB,
1200 Baud PSK AX.25.)
LUSAT (LO-19)is  working excellently in its orbits on Europe.
uptime is 598/21:55:00.  Time is Sat Feb 08 12:00:10 1997
PB: HB9SKA\D EA1BCU\D IK1VGG\D F6CEE\D IW1CCH

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

WEBERSAT (WO-18) 
(Downlink 437.104MHz SSB, 1200 Baud PSK AX.25.)
WeberSat (WO-18) is currently in MBL mode after yesterday's system 
crash.  The satellite's transmitter has been reactivated, and appears 
to be good condition broadcasting MBL telemetry.

[ANS thanks Tommy Davis, IK3WVJ,  for this report.]

[Please send your Satellite or News reports to ANS Editor B.J. Arts, WT0N,
via e-mail, at bjarts@uslink.net or to wt0n@amsat.org]

/EX

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BJ Arts  
WT0N in EN-37,  ARMY MARS AAR5EL
Hibbing, Minnesota. U.S.A.
e-mail bjarts@uslink.net or wt0n@amsat.org
Amsat News Service Bulletin Editor