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[jamsat-news:784] ANS-067 WEEKLY BULLETINS
Daniel (Dan) James NN0DJ
AMSAT News Service Editor
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.01
NY TIMES ARTICLE
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 067.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 8, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-067.01
As announced in ANS Special Bulletin 064.01, AMSAT was included in a
feature article about Amateur Radio and the Internet in the Thursday, March
5th edition of the New York Times newspaper.
The article was centered around AMSAT-NA Executive Vice President Keith
Baker, KB1SF, and written by John Verity, a New York Times feature writer. The
story examined the links between the Amateur Radio hobby and the Internet, and
how Amateur Radio and AMSAT have both expanded and exploited those links
over the years. The AMSAT Web Site was included (along with others) as a
source of information on the amateur radio satellites.
The AMSAT-NA bulletin board was active with comments about the story, several
excerpts of which are included here;
Mark, K0MDJ - "congratulations to Keith Baker who was featured in an excellent
and large story on Amateur Radio. Great press for ham radio in general and for
AMSAT in particular. The story was well-written, almost completely accurate, and
exceptionally positive." Jim, K4PYT - "I was amazed at the author's journalistic
skill and research. I think the article reflects the various facets and developments
in ham radio today, and was especially positive about the satellite side of the
hobby." Eric, W3DQ - "very nice job."
The story is still available (as of this bulletin release) at the following URL:
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/98/03/circuits/articles/05ham-radio.html
[ANS congratulates AMSAT-NA Executive Vice President Keith Baker, KB1SF,
and thanks all those who commented on the article]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.02
MIREX APRS TEST
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 067.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 8, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-067.02
The MIR International Amateur Radio Experiment team (MIREX) would like to
announce an Automatic Packet/Positioning Reporting System (APRS) test
on March 10, 1998 beginning at 1455 UTC, ending at 1655 UTC. During those
times APRS stations are encouraged to use the Digital Repeater (R0MIR)
aboard the Russian space station.
This two hour experiment will cover approximately 99% of North America on
the two selected orbits of the spacecraft.
MIREX is hoping that amateur radio stations and schools across the nation will
join in the experiment. Schools and amateur stations without APRS can still
participate. As an example, school students could plot the reported positions
on a paper map or wall plot by using the Internet Web site. Using the Internet,
students will see APRS beaconing stations across the country, available at the
following URL:
http://www.aprs.net/mirex.html
MIREX reports this experiment has been in the planning stage for some time and
the team hopes it will serve as a step for other experiments.
MIR PMS Frequency: 145.985 MHz FM Simplex.
MIR Digital Repeater callsign: R0MIR
MIREX requests that after the experiment has concluded APRS packet
transmissions should not be used via MIR until further notice.
[ANS thanks Dr. Dave Larsen, N6CO, MIREX President and MIR QSL
Manager, Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, and Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO,
AMSAT VP for Manned Space Programs for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.03
WASHINGTON DC AREA AMSAT TO MEET
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 067.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 8, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-067.03
Satellite operators and space enthusiasts are invited to the Maryland-DC area
AMSAT Meeting and Space Seminar. The gathering will take place on Sunday,
April 19, 1998, starting at 1:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the newly remodeled
Visitor Center at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The keynote speaker will be Dr. Rick Fleeter, WA8VGK, founder and CEO of
AeroAstro, a small satellite and space transportation company.
All topics at the seminar relate to amateur radio and the amateur space
program, as well as high altitude balloon and aerospace experiments. The format
is a combination of presentations, informal 'show 'n' tell' demonstrations and a
social hour. The first presentation on the agenda and the keynote address are
especially valuable to beginners. The entire afternoon will be great fun!
As a special bonus, just before the main program begins, Martin Davidoff, K2UBC,
author of the highly acclaimed Satellite Experimenter's Handbook, will be
on hand to sign copies!
The GSFC Visitor Center will be open to the public during this event between
9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Visitors can enjoy a NASCOM and Hubble Space
Telescope Control Center tour starting at 11:00 a.m., or the model rocket
launches at 1:00 p.m. The new Educator's Resource Center (ERC) is also
available to those gathering material(s) for students.
Directions and other information is available using the following URL's:
http://pao.gsfc.nasa.gov/vc/vc.htm (or)
http://garc.gsfc.nasa.gov/~simsat/ssamsat.html
Volunteers are needed to help make the event a success, including repeater
talk-in, sign-in table, official photographer, secretary, video and more. Contact
the event host, Pat Kilroy, wd8laq@amsat.org, for more information.
Donations will be accepted to offset the associated seminar costs.
[ANS thanks Pat Kilroy, WD8LAQ, MDC AMSAT Area Coordinator, for this
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.04
CALL FOR PAPERS
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 067.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 8, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-067.04
The 16th Annual AMSAT Meeting and Space Symposium will be held
October 16-18, 1998 at the Park Inn International Hotel in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
This is the first call to authors who wish to present papers at the Symposium
and be printed in the official Proceedings document. The subject matter should be
topics of interest to the amateur radio satellite community.
One page abstracts are due no later than June 1, 1998, and authors will be
advised by June 15th regarding whether their paper has been accepted.
Camera ready copies of the accepted papers are due no later than August 15,
1998.
Papers will only be superficially edited and will generally be printed as submitted.
Authors are requested to provide an electronic file, preferably in any version of
Word or WordPerfect.
Abstracts can be sent to:
Malcolm Keown, W5XX,
14 Lake Circle Drive
Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180.
Malcolm is also available via e-mail at the following address:
w5xx@magnolia.net
Proceedings of the Symposium will be printed by the ARRL and made available
at, and after, the event.
Information regarding Vicksburg area attractions and details on arrangements
for the 16th Space Symposium and AMSAT Annual Meeting can be found at the
following URL:
http://pages.pordigy.com/DXHF93A
For additional information please contact:
Eddie Pettis, N5JGK
114 Terrace St.
Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180
Eddie is also available via e-mail at the following address:
n5jgk@amsat.org
[ANS thanks Eddie Pettis, N5JGK, for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.05
W2T SPECIAL EVENT STATION
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 067.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 8, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-067.05
As part of the 5th anniversary of 'This Week In Amateur Radio', special event
station W2T will be active. Bruce Paige, KK5DO, has been authorized to use
the special callsign for satellite operation during a 24 hour period on
Saturday, March 14, 1998.
According to Bruce, it has been several years since he was a contributor to
'This Week In Amateur Radio', sharing the 'EZ-SATS' portion of the show.
"I feel honored to be able to help my friends at TWIAR during their celebration
and I will be active on all the analog satellites I can work during the 24 hour time
period," said Bruce.
Stations making successful contact with W2T via satellite should QSL to
K2SMA.
[ANS thanks Bruce Paige, KK5DO, Houston AMSAT Area Coordinator for this
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.06
INTERNET PHOTO PAGE
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 067.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 8, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-067.06
Wayne Grove, K9SLQ, of Bluffton, Indiana, tells ANS that he has started
a digital 'photo album' of many of the active satellite operators on his
Internet Web site. Wayne, who has an extensive background in SSTV,
already had an established Internet site when he first thought about adding
more satellite information. With his love for slow scan television, adding
digital pictures of satellite operators was something K9SLQ felt very
comfortable in doing.
Wayne invites all operators to view the photo Web site using the
following URL:
http://www.parlorcity.com/k9slq
In addition, Wayne invites all satellite operators to submit a .GIF (or) .JPEG
format photo via e-mail to K9SLQ at the following e-mail address:
k9slq@parlorcity.com
Wayne reports if stations do not have the means to capture a computer
graphic file, they can send a snap shot print to K9SLQ and he will scan the
image. He asks all operators who send electronic or regular mail to him to
please include name, callsign and e-mail address. If mailed photographs are
to be returned, please include sufficient return postage.
Mail your photograph to:
Wayne Grove, K9SLQ
1025 W. Lancaster St.
Bluffton, Indiana 46714
[ANS thanks Wayne Grove, K9SLQ for this report]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.07
KC5HBR RETIRES FROM ASTRONAUT CORPS
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 067.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 8, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-067.07
US astronaut Jerry Linenger, KC5HBR, who was aboard the MIR space station
for 122 days, has retired from the astronaut corps, according to NASA sources.
Linenger will pursue private interests.
KC5HBR was aboard the space station when a fire broke out just over one
year ago, ignited by oxygen-generating 'candles' used on the spacecraft.
The fire, a collision with a Progress supply rocket last summer, several
computer failures, and other problems made international news and led some
officials to question sending additional US astronauts to train aboard MIR.
Linenger, a physician and a captain in the US Navy, was aboard the Russian
space station from January to May 1997.
[ANS thanks NASA and the ARRL for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.08
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 067.08 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 8, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-067.08
MIR/SAFEX
SAFEX II 70 cm Repeater
(Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 141.3 Hz
Downlink 437.950 MHz FM)
Operational. The SAFEX II installation has been utilized recently in QSO
Mode (Uplink 435.725 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 151.4 Hz, Downlink
437.925 MHz FM)
MIR/SAFEX
PMS (145.985 MHz FM, 1200 Baud AFSK)
Operational. The new modem is a Kantronics KPC-9612 Plus, Revision 8.1.
Please note the command set for this TNC is different than the previous MIR
TNC. MIREX suggests a copy of the KPC-9612 manual may help in
understanding the changes.
An APRS test is scheduled for March 10, 1998 beginning at 1455 UTC,
ending at 1655 UTC.
MIREX has created an Internet Web page containing information regarding
MIR and the various ham radio experiments taking place from the space
station. Please check out the pages for pending and proposed projects.
URLs are:
http://www.ik1sld.org/mirex.htm
http://www.geocities.com/~ik1sld/mirex.htm
[ANS thanks the MIREX team for this information]
RS-12
(Uplink, 21.210-21.250 MHz and 145.910-145.950 MHz, CW/SSB
Downlink 29.410-29.450 MHz, CW/SSB).
Operational, mode KA. The 15m ROBOT is operational.
RS-15 has been seeing recent heavy activity and good DX possibilities.
RS-15
(Uplink 145.858-145.898 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.354-29.394 MHz CW/SSB)
Operational. CW appears to be the most successful mode on RS-15.
RS-16
At this time only the beacons are operational.
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 = 1.2W /4W
Beacon 1 = 435.504 MHz
Beacon 2 = 435.548 MHz
Pwr 435 MHz Beacons = 1.6W
AO-10
(Uplink 435.030-435.180 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 145.975-145.825 MHz CW/USB)
Operational. Despite brief moments of deep QSB, AO-10's downlink
signals have been excellent (even at apogee), with heavy stateside
and DX activity. Now is the time to be active on this bird. Jon, N0JK
reports working VR98LC on March 4th for his first ever Hong Kong
QSO via satellite. Mike, N1JEZ worked special event station
ON50CRB and also reports a QSO with GD0TEP.
AO-10's apogee has continued to move into the northern hemisphere.
Apogee will continue to rise higher to the north for the rest of 1998,
peaking in December.
W4SM has updated his AO-10 web page, use the following URL:
http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/AO-10.html
[ANS thanks Stacey Mills, W4SM, Jon Jones, N0JK, and Mike Seguin,
N1JEZ, for this update]
AO-27
(Uplink 145.850 MHz FM
Downlink 436.792 MHz FM)
Operational. Widely used especially during weekend passes.
[ANS thanks Michael Wyrick, N4USI, AO-27 Control-op for this update]
FO-20
(Uplink 145.900-146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.80-435.90 MHz CW/USB)
Operational. FO-20 in mode JA continuously.
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK for this information]
FO-29
Voice/CW Mode JA
(Uplink 145.900-146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.80-435.90 MHz CW/USB)
Digital Mode JD
(Uplink 145.850, 145.870, 145.910 MHz FM
Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK)
Operational. Currently in mode JA. Kazu, JJ1WTK, reports an
error has occurred in the digital operating platform and FO-29
has been returned to JA status for now. No operational schedule
or status update has been listed on the JARL Web site for the
satellite.
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for this report]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-067.09
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 067.09 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, MARCH 8, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-067.09
KO-23
(Uplink 145.850, 145.900 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM)
Operational. HB9AQZ reports some problem with the 145.850 MHz
uplink frequency. The 145.900 MHz uplink remains nominal,
and Jim, AA7KC, reports KO-23 operating normally.
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for this report]
KO-25
(Uplink 145.980 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Downlink 436.50 MHz FM)
Operational. Jim, AA7KC, reports 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
Operational. During the period of January 14th, to February 16, 1998,
Clive, G3CWV, reports good signals have been received from the
145.826 MHz beacon. Any reports of reception of the 2 meter beacon or
on 2401 MHz should be sent to g3cwv@amsat.org.
The telemetry is nominal.
-----------------------------------------------
[ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for this information]
AMSAT-OSCAR-16 (PACSAT)
(Uplink 145.90, 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
Operational. The S band transmitter is off.
Time is Sat Mar 07 11:59:49 1998 uptime is 1266/06:29:43.
Array V 21.092 V +5V Bus 4.968 V
+8.5V Bus 9.034 V +10V Bus 11.300 V
Bat 1 Temp 4.839 D
Bat 2 Temp 7.260 D
RC PSK TX Out 0.442 W
Total Array C= 0.411 Bat Ch Cur= 0.005 Ifb= 0.052 I+10V= 0.292
TX:010B BCR:83 PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:9A
http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/wod.htm
[ANS thanks Miguel 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 2 meter
transmitter is on (145.825 MHz). Telemetry is being sent about
every 30 seconds. A scanned image of Dove's QSL is available
at the 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)
Not operational. WO-18 is in MBL mode after a recent software
crash. Attempts are being made to find and correct the cause of the
suspected seasonal crashes.
[ANS thanks the WO-18 Command Team for this news]
LUSAT-OSCAR-19
(Uplink 145.84, 145.86, 145.88, 145.90 MHz FM 1200 bps Manchester FSK
Downlink 437.125 MHz SSB, 1200 bps RC-BPSK)
Operating normally. The telemetry is nominal.
Time is Sat Mar 07 11:19:14 1998 uptime is 990/21:14:04.
+Z Array V 22.608 V +X (RX) Temp -2.113 D
RX Temp -0.991 D Bat 1 Temp 1.813 D
Bat 2 Temp 1.252 D +Y Array Temp 4.057 D
+Z Array Temp -3.235 D RC PSK TX Out 0.830 W
Total Array C= 0.234 Bat Ch Cur= 0.020 Ifb= 0.023 I+10V= 0.197
TX:019 BCR:81 PWRC:36E BT:3C WC: 0
General information and telemetry samples can be found at:
http://www.arrakis.es/~ea1bcu/lo19.htm
[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report]
UO-22
(Uplink: 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Downlink 435.120 MHz FM)
Operational. Chris, G7UPN reports UO-22 is operating normally.
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, Operations Manager
of UO-22, for this report]
IO-26 (ITAMSAT)
Uplink 145.875, 145.900, 145.925, 145.950 MHz FM 1200 Baud PSK
Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB)
No report is available at this time.
Please send any amateur satellite news or repots to
ans-editor@amsat.org or to ANS Editor Dan James, NN0DJ,
at nn0dj@amsat.org.
/EX
Daniel (Dan) James
AMSAT News Service Bulletin Editor
Amateur callsign: NN0DJ
Grid Square EN-28iv
Warroad, Minnesota U.S.A.
e-mail: nn0dj@amsat.org