[jamsat-news:745] ANS-018 WEEKLY BULLETINS

["BJ Arts" <bjarts@the-bridge.net>]

BJ Arts, WT0N, Amsat News Service editor 
WT0N's Homepage http://www.qsl.net/wt0n
Daniel (Dan) James, NN0DJ, Amsat News Service Assistant editor

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-018.01
MORE HOUSTON AMSAT NET

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 018.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 18, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-018.01

On Tuesday January 6th, the Houston AMSAT Net celebrated its 200th airing.
Featured in this observance were guest appearance by Bill Tynan, W3XO,
AMSAT-NA President, Executive Vice President Keith Baker, KB1SF, Manned
Space Vice President Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, Stan Wood, WA4NFY, Vice President
for Engineering and Lou McFadin who supervises the activity at the Phase
3D Laboratory in Orlando.  

Bill Tynan, W3XO, discussed means being looked into to support the Orlando
facility after completion of Phase 3D.  He said these may include doing
work for a fee for others.  He emphasized that Orlando cannot be kept going
without some kind of financial support.  He stressed that AMSAT-NA cannot
maintain it on regular revenues.   And he expressed doubt that the amateur
community would be ready to support another major campaign for financial
contributions right after supporting Phase 3D so generously.  At the same
time, he expressed his belief that to have Orlando available gives AMSAT
more options as to what it might want to take on as a new amateur project
in a few years. 

Tynan said that one of the projects being considered involves a cooperative
effort with the Canadian MOST proposal. This is an astronomy satellite
being proposed to the Canadian government by the University of Toronto and
others in Canada.  He said the project's sponsors have "promised a
significant financial donation" in exchange for  AMSAT participates in the
project, assuming it's eventually funded by the Canadian government.

AMSAT-NA Executive Vice President Keith Baker, KB1SF, echoed Tynan's 
concerns. Baker, who also was interviewed for the Houston AMSAT Net, said 
that one lesson learned from Phase 3D is that AMSAT can no longer "stand
on the corner with our hands out" to fund future endeavors. Baker said
AMSAT-NA wants to pursue additional revenue sources "without damaging or
putting into jeopardy the volunteer spirit of AMSAT."

Phase 3D Integration Lab Manager Lou McFadin, W5DID, said most of the 
modules for the spacecraft have been installed. Technicians now are 
installing the rest of the electronic components.

Also on the Net, AMSAT Vice President of Manned Space Flight Frank Bauer,
KA3HDO, discussed ham radio equipment aboard the International Space 
Station. Bauer said the first ham gear aboard the ISS later this year will
include H-Ts for 2 meters and 70 cm, a packet radio system, and a 
"digi-talker" that's being developed by hams in Germany.

Bruce Paige, KK5DO, moderates the Houston AMSAT Net. A RealAudio 
transcription of the entire 200th Houston AMSAT Net, and other net
sessions is available at http://www.amsatnet.com.--AMSAT News Service via
Bruce Paige, KK5DO

[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO,  and the ARRL for this news report.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-018.02
VK5MIR RECIPROCAL LICENSE 

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 018.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 18, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-018.02

An Australian reciprocal license with a Special Event callsign has been 
provided for use by Dr. Andrew Thomas, KC5CHF while aboard the space 
station Mir. It is anticipated that Dr. Thomas will join 
the Mir space station on or about January 22, 1998.

Based on a suggestion from Peter VK2EMU, the South Australian Division of
the Wireless Institute of Australia (WIA) negotiated with the Australian 
Communications Authority (ACA) for issue of the license under 
reciprocal agreement based on Andy's USA Technician Class license.

Ian Hunt, VK5QX, President of the WIA South Australia Division has stated
the ACA officers with whom he dealt had been most cooperative in handling
the requests placed before them.

The special callsign allocated, VK5MIR, is taken from the block of callsigns
from which novice calls are usually assigned.  However in this instance, it
has been issued with Australian Intermediate class license privileges 
as being the equivalent to the USA technician class license.

Ian VK5QX was able to meet Andy and personally present him his license 
together with various forms of briefing materials regarding Australian 
Amateur Radio stations know to be well equipped for contact in connection
with space operations. Recent copies of Amateur Radio, the official journal
of the WIA were included in the provided materials.

[ANS  thanks Ian Hunt, VK5QX., for this news update.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-018.03
LUSAT QSL 8TH ANNIVERSARY

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 018.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 18, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-018.03

To celebrate LUSAT 8th anniversary during the week of  Jan-19 to Jan-25 , 
AMSAT Argentina will perform a one contact QSL confirmation QSO
contest. AMSAT Argentina members using LU7AA (AMSAT Argentina) will 
operate on or around 3,700 KHz, 7,157 KHz and 28,350 KHz.

Any participant confirming QSO with own QSL card and SASE, stating
"LUSAT Eight Anniversary", sent  to CC 187, (1401) Buenos Aires, Argentina,
will receive a special and colorful QSL commemorating this special event
as well as a booklet on how easy & fun is to operate Amateur
Satellites.
 
[ANS thanks Victor Mormandi, LU4BAW, AMSAT Argentina for this
information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-018.04
MICROSATS 8TH ANNIVERSARY

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 018.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 18, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-018.04

AMSAT Argentina is proud to have been part on historical launch at Kouru
on Jan-22, 1990 of first ever, and still operational after 8 years,
Microsats. Special greetings to AMSAT-NA for his PACSAT (AO-16), to AMSAT 
Brazil, for his DOVE (DO-17), to Weber University for his WO-18, to AMSAT-UK
for their UO-14 & UO-15, from their brother LO-19, LUSAT (LO-19), from AMSAT
Argentina.

Let this 8th anniversary, be a get together hams and satellite fans
of the world, and a well deserved recognition to worldwide cooperation
and AMSATs that brought marvel of Microsats for everybody to enjoy.

[ANS thanks Pedro Converso, LU7ABF, AMSAT Argentina for this message.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-018.05
SATELLITE CHAT ROOM AVAILABLE

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 018.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 18, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-018.05

Satellite operators who have an Internet connection and have installed
IP (Internet phone) software will be interested in the Bob Jett, W7KPW 
web site. Bob has provided several conference 'chat' rooms, including
one labeled 'AMSAT'. Clicking on the AMSAT button will automatically 
start the IP connection, and your name will appear in the 'room'. You
are now in a round table conference mode and can talk to anyone else who 
may also be connected. This works completely throughout the world wide 
web and is a great way to exchange ideas on OSCAR satellites, operating,
antennas, software and other satellite topics when your favorite
satellite may not be available. 

To obtain  Internet Phone 4.X or 5.0 programs, Bob has
provided a link to download the correct software. In addition to the AMSAT 
chat room, W7KPW also lists Ham, Ham Radio and Ham Radio Repeater Link chat 
rooms on his site, along with links to the KB9PZA and KA4TAR chat rooms.

The W7KPW web site is available at the following URL: 

http://www.vvm.com/~rjett/iphone.html 

[ANS thanks Walter Keller, W6GGM, and Bob Jett ,W7KPW, for this information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-018.06
1998 ESA ACTIVITIES RELEASED

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 018.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 18, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-018.06

According to a recent European Space Agency press release, ESA will be 
involved in a series of space activities both at the European and
international level in 1998. One of the main events in the European space 
calendar is the third launch of Ariane 5 (A503), from Kourou, French Guiana.
The launch is currently scheduled for late May. At this time the only 
announced payload is the Automatic Reentry Demonstrator (ARD). According to 
the release, any remaining payload is "to be determined". 

ESA also states that the dates of certain events, especially those
related to launches, very much depend on various parameters such as the 
readiness of spacecraft and of the launch vehicle, and thus will remain to 
be confirmed at a future date and time. 

To automatically receive ESA Press Release and/or ESA
Information Notes by e-mail, you can do so by subscribing to the ESA
distribution service. Follow the instructions posted at ESA web site: 

http://www.esrin.esa.it/press.html

[ANS thanks ESA for this information.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-018.07
AO-10 UPDATE 

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 018.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 18, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-018.07

Stacey Mills, W4SM,  reports to the Amsat News Service that
AO-10 is currently at least partially functional. However, observations
over several weeks strongly suggest that AO-10 is no longer stable in
its Z-axis (the normal axis of spin) and is slowly tumbling or "wobbling".
This conclusion is based on several findings.

1. For some time, it has been noted that the spin rate of AO-10 had become
quite slow, on the order of 1-1.5 rpm or less. At these slow speeds,
gyroscopic stability is quite low and the nutation dampers are much less
functional. At some point the satellite must become Z-axis unstable.

2. For the last two "sleep" cycles, AO-10's beacon never completely went
dead, though it did show long deep fades. Given the range of probable
ALON/ALAT's if AO-10 were Z-axis stable, at some time during these periods,
the solar angle should have gone to 90 degs (illumination = 0) and the S/C
should have gone completely dead for a week or more.

3. At the present time, AO-10 goes through several long, deep periods of
QSB with a cycle measured in the range of 15-20 minutes. During this time,
W4SM has observed a cycle of two deep fades without FM'ing, followed by one
deep fade with strong FM'ing, sounding almost like an eclipse onset. The
only explanation that Stacey has for the non-FM'ing fades is a change in
antenna orientation, which requires non-Z-axis motion (ie, wobble or
tumble). As these fades been noted at multiple points in the orbit, both
before and after perigee, masking of the antenna due to the rotation of an
otherwise Z-axis stable three-lobed S/C would not seem to account for this
effect at diverse points in the orbit. The FM'ing fade could be due to the
functional loss of one or more solar panels such that during slow rotation
the power output drops. However, given the above, Mills' suspects that the
FM'ing fades represent a component of the wobble/tumble during which the
solar angle increases to a point where the power level drops significantly.

If the above is true, then the ability to predict AO-10's functional status
over long periods of time (months) will be nonexistent. The satellite will
simply continue to show periods of slow QSB, followed by periods of rather
strong signals over a cycle of multiple minutes.

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

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-018.08
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 018.08 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 18, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-018.08

MIR 
American astronaut David Wolf, KC5VPF, will be replaced by Andy Thomas,
KD5CHF, During the January STS-89 Mission. The PMS 2-meter radio station was
temporarily moved from the core module and installed in the Priroda Module. 
This move was performed to take advantage of the backup antenna. 
The crew also installed a new modem a few weeks ago. But due to the crews
heavy work load, all of the TNC parameters have not been properly 
configured. Mirex would like the stations monitoring the PMS to please
be patient while they make adjustments. The PMS is NOT fully operational at
this time.

During the recent space walk, the crew was planning on examining the
primary PMS antenna located on the Mir-core module, If time permits. 
The crew suspects there may be a loose coax cable to the primary
PMS antenna. If the antenna checks out fine, the crew will still leave the
PMS station connected to the backup antenna until the March time frame. 
This is because the crew will be very busy with many other experiments and 
will not have much time for a low priority experiment such as the PMS. 

The only limitation they have with the current backup antenna, is the
Diplexor filter which is required for the SAFEX and PMS to share the same
antenna. This would prevent any 70 cm experimentation from the Kenwood
TM-733.
[ANS thanks the MIREX team for this information]

SAFEX, MIR 70 cm Repeater (Uplink 435.750 MHz FM, Downlink 437.950 MHz
FM, subaudible tone 141.3 Hz)
During last weeks momentary Mir attitude control computer shut-down. The
Mir crew temporarily shutdown the Amateur Radio station for a few days. 
The PMS system was turned back on, but it is not known when the crew plans 
on turning on the SAFEX Repeater.

MIREX has created an Internet Web page containing information regarding Mir
and the various Amateur Radio experiments taking place from the space
station. The pages are still "under construction", but some good information
can be gathered from what has been put together. URLs include the
following:

http://www.ik1sld.org/mirex.htm OR
http://www.ik1sld.org/mirex

http://www.geocities.com/~ik1sld/mirex.htm OR
http://www.geocities.com/~ik1sld/mirex
[ANS thanks the MIREX team for this information]

RS-12
(Uplink, 21.21-21.25 MHz and 145.91-145.95
MHz, CW/SSB, Downlink 29.41-29.45 MHz, CW/SSB .
The 15m ROBOT uplink is on as well.
Operational, now in mode KA. 

RS-15
(Uplink 145.858-145.898 MHz CW/SSB, Downlink 29.354-29.394 MHz CW/SSB) 
Operational. 

RS-16
At this time only the beacons are on.
Transponder information on RS-16. 
 Uplink = 145.915 - 145.948 MHz
 Downlink = 29.415 - 29.448 MHz
 Beacons = 29.408 and 29.451 MHz
 Pwr 29 MHz Down = 1.2 W /4 W

 Beacon 1 = 435.504 MHz
 Beacon 2 = 435.548 MHz
 Pwr 435 MHz Beacons = 1.6 W

RS-17
Not Operational. RS-17 has been officially declared
dead. New Sputnik-40 QSL Address QSL Information is as follows:
QSL Information for SWL (Short Wave Listener)

Sergey Samburov (RV3DR)
P.O. Box 73
Korolev-10 City
141070, Russia

There is another address given for QSLing on the Sputnik home page
(http://www.oceanes.fr/~fr5fc/angspoutnik.html , the English
language version), which states under "Listeners" and I quote: "PSE send
your reports (envelope + IRC) at FR5KJ radio club. FR5KJ
radio club will send you back a diploma.

FR5KJ radio club
College Jules Reydellet
103 rue de la Republique
97 489 Saint Denis Cedex
Reunion Island.

[ANS thanks the MIREX team for this information]

AO-10
(Uplink 435.030-435.18 MHz CW/LSB, Downlink 145.975-145.825 MHz
CW/USB)
Operational. See accompanying bulletin's information.

AO-27
(Uplink 145.85 MHz FM, Downlink 436.792 MHz FM)
Operational
[ANS thanks Michael Wyrick, N4USI, AO-27 Control-op, for this update]

FO-20
(Uplink 145.9-146.0 MHz CW/LSB, Downlink 435.8-435.9 MHz CW/USB)
Operational. FO-20 in mode JA continuously.
[ANS Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for this report]

FO-29
Voice/CW Mode JA
(Uplink 145.9-146.0 MHz CW/LSB, Downlink 435.8-435.9 MHz CW/USB)
Digital Mode JD
(Uplink 145.85, 145.87, 145.910 MHz FM, Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600
baud BPSK)
Operational.
Jan. 9 07:14z JD1200
Jan .23 08:30z JA
Jan. 30 07:24z JD9600
Feb. 6 08:00z JA
Feb. 20 07:34z Digi-talker
Feb. 27 08:13z JA
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for this report.]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-018.09
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2

HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 018.09 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, JANUARY 18, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-018.09

KO-23
(Uplink 145.85, 145.9 MHz FM, Downlink 435.175 MHz FM,
9600 Baud FSK)
KO-23 operating normally.
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for this report]

KO-25
(Uplink 145.980 MHz FM, Downlink 436.5 MHz FM, 9600 Baud FSK.)
KO-25 operating normally.
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for this report]

OSCAR-11
(Downlink 145.825 MHz. FM, 1200 Baud PSK. Beacon 2401.500 MHz)
Operating normally. 
OSCAR-11 REPORT 14 January 1998
During the period 16 December 1997 to January 14 1998 the satellite
has continued to provide good signals on its 145.826 MHz. beacon,
although occasional interference has been caused by DOVE, which
transmits near this frequency.

Interest in the mode-S beacon continues, as stations prepare for P3D.
Four reports have been received. Stacey W4SM reported S3-4 signals
compared to an S2 noise level. Dove was S8. He uses a two foot
diameter G3RUH dish with 2.5t helix, and SSB converter. Manfred
XE1ZBO in Mexico City has received strong signals, using a Conifer
partial dish, and SSB converter. Mark KE7NS reports good signals,
above an S7 noise level. He uses a 21 element beam, Aircom pre-amp,
and Drake converter. Many thanks for those reports.

The telemetry is nominal. Internal temperatures have continued to
fall, and at the present time are 6.4C and 4.2C for battery and
telemetry electronics respectively. This fall in temperature is due
to increasing solar eclipse times, which are expected to reach a
maximum in early February.

Two WOD surveys have been transmitted during the period. Both are of
channels 10, 20, 30, 40 ( +Y, -X, +X array currents, array voltage),
and are dated 14 December, and 06 January respectively. They show
the effect of solar eclipses, on array currents, and voltage.

The new format AMSAT-UK bulletin, No. 114, is now being transmitted.
This contains details of amateur satellite frequencies and modes of
operation. It is intended to be a 'fixed' message, which won't
become out of date too quickly. It may however be changed from time
to time, possibly at monthly or greater intervals. Regular listeners
will note that the new bulletin makes a different sound compared to
previous bulletins, rather like a new form of binary data. This is
because the bulletin contains regularly placed blocks of spaces,
instead of random text characters.

The operating schedule is 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)

There are also 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. Please e-mail
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 beacon is transmitting,
the 145 beacon is normally OFF. The data transmitted is mainly
binary.

OSCAR-11 users are welcome to visit my web site. It contains 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. The URL is -

http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/
[ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for this information]

AMSAT-OSCAR-16 (PACSAT)
(Uplink 145.9, 145.92, 145.94, 145.86 MHz FM, 1200 bps Manchester FSK
Downlink 437.0513 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK 1200 Baud PSK.
Beacon 2401.1428 MHz.)
Operating normally. AO-16 S band transmitter is off.

Information about telemetry values and WOD files can be found at
http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/wod.htm
[ANS thanks Miguel A. Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report]

DO-17(DOVE)
(Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 Baud AFSK. Beacon 2401.220 MHz)
Operational.
The DOVE S band beacon is on. The frequency is 2401.220 MHz. The 2 meter
transmitter is also on, 145.825 MHz. Telemetry is being sent about every
30 seconds. A scanned image of the Dove's QSL at 425DXNews Web Site:
http://www-dx.deis.unibo.it/htdx/
[ANS thanks Jim White, WD0E, for this update]

WEBERSAT (WO-18)
(Downlink 437.104 MHz SSB, 1200 Baud PSK AX.25)
Bob Argyle, KB7KCL reports that WEBERSAT-OSCAR-18 is gathering and sending
Whole Orbit Data. 
[ANS thanks Bob Argyle, KB7KCL, and SpaceNews for
this update.]

LUSAT-OSCAR-19
(Uplink 1200 bps Manchester FSK Uplinks: 145.84, 145.86, 145.88, 
145.90 MHz FM, Downlink 437.125 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK.)
Operating normally.

General information and telemetry samples can be found at:
http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/lo19.htm
[ANS thanks Miguel A. Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report]

UO-22
(Uplink: 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM. Downlink 435.120 MHz FM
9600 Baud FSK)
UO-22 is operating normally.
On January 6th, Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, Ground station and 
Operations Manager of UO-22, said the BBS had been shut for maintenance 
and should be opened again after few hours.

[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, Ground station and 
Operations Manager of UO-22, for this report]

IO-26 ( ITAMSAT)
Uplink 145.875, 145.900, 145.925, 145.950 MHz FM, Downlink 435.822 MHz
SSB, 1200 Baud PSK)
No report at this time.

[Please send your Satellite or News reports to ANS Editor BJ Arts,
WT0N, via e-mail, at bjarts@the-bridge.net or to wt0n@amsat.org
or visit WT0N's Homepage http://www.qsl.net/wt0n ]

/EX

BJ Arts  
Amateur callsign: WT0N  
ARMY MARS callsign: AAR5EL
Grid Square EN-37mk
Hibbing, Minnesota. U.S.A. 
e-mail bjarts@the-bridge.net or wt0n@amsat.org
Homepage http://www.qsl.net/wt0n/
Amsat News Service Bulletin Editor