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[jamsat-news:971] ANS 326
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS 326
ANS is a weekly news and information service of AMSAT, 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.
The AMSAT News Service mailing list (ANS) is from the
AMSAT.ORG system administered by AMSAT-NA.
Currently, AMSAT-NA mailing lists cover the following topics:
* General satellite discussion (AMSAT-BB)
* Orbit data (KEPS)
* Manned space missions (SAREX)
* District of Columbia area (AMSAT-DC)
* New England (AMSAT-NE)
More information is available at the following URL:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/listserv/menu.html
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-326.01
THANK YOU FROM ANS
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 326.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 22, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-326.01
Later this week in the United States, many citizens, some of them
Amateur Radio satellite operators, will celebrate a national holiday
called Thanksgiving. For our international audience, Thanksgiving is a
time when we give 'thanks' for the important things in our lives, such as
family and friends.
Our ANS editor would also like to reflect on the many satellite operators
and organizations that have become close friends with ANS through the
weekly ANS bulletin activities. Many, many stations worldwide continue
to send satellite news and reports that in turn become the main body of
information and data presented each week in ANS. Without the help of
such dedicated individuals and national/international organizations, ANS
would simply not exist.
From ANS, happy Thanksgiving and thank you one and all!
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-326.02
ISS UNDERWAY
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 326.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 22, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-326.02
The first module for the new International Space Station was
successfully launched on the morning of November 20, 1998, aboard a
Russian Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
The successful liftoff took place under overcast skies and strong winds.
The Zarya module --which reached orbit less than 10 minutes after
launch-- will serve as a space propulsion engine and power station
during the early stages of the ISS project, providing propulsion, power
and space-to-ground communications. Later modules will take over
these functions and Zarya will eventually serve as a storage facility,
holding fuel and other needed supplies.
The module does not currently have any life-support systems such as
oxygen, plumbing or any of the other essentials for living in space.
Astronauts will be able to move around inside (without spacesuits) only
after the living quarters are attached to one of the three docking ports.
Using the published construction schedule, the living quarters are to be
installed in July 1999.
Zarya (Russian for 'daybreak') is a cylinder-shaped module just over 41
feet long and almost 14 feet wide with solar panels extending some 35
feet on both sides of the exterior. The module weighs 42,600 pounds
and is actually based on a modified and updated design of the earlier
Soviet Salyut space stations.
The International Space Station, scheduled to be completed in 2004, will
be the largest complex structure in space, sprawling across an area the
size of a football field. ISS construction activities will start with the
STS-88 shuttle launch from the Kennedy Space Center on December
3rd.
Amateur Radio aboard ISS begins with final flight qualification of the
ARISS interim station expected to be completed in December. This
station will allow the crew to operate on voice, packet and digital voice
beacons at the beginning of station habitation.
Ken, N2WWD, has posted orbital data for the Zarya module and the
upcoming STS-88 mission on the AMSAT Shuttle Orbital Information
web page at the following URL:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sarex/orbit.html
[ANS thanks ESA, NASA, and Ken Ernandes, N2WWD, for this
information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-326.03
LEONIDS AFTERMATH
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 326.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 22, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-326.03
Although successfully viewed across many parts of the globe, all reports
are pointing to the Leonid meteor shower peaking ahead of schedule,
with the highest rates apparently about 15 hours earlier than expected.
European observers may have had the best show as dazzling fireballs
came every few seconds -- sometimes several at the same time. Clear
skies in Ichon, South Korea gave crowds in that location very good seats
for the spectacle.
Based on dozens of reports from observers and satellite operators
throughout the United States, meteor watchers under clear skies were
not disappointed on the nights of November 16-17, but rates were
markedly lower then had been hoped for.
No damage to any Earth-orbiting satellites has been reported to ANS.
Late night operation and long early morning hours was a small sacrifice
to the many VHF and UHF enthusiasts who got the thrill of a lifetime
working meteor scatter during the event. Larry, NW7N, told ANS his
group was treated to "excellent visual conditions in southern Arizona,"
adding, "we saw between 1000 to 1500 meteors during the first night".
According to NW7N, the meteors came in all sizes, many emitting a
green glow and leaving visible ionization trails.
"For nearly all radio operators, it was spectacular," said Shelby, W8WN,
"this was the year of the fireballs." W8WN and others also seem to
agree that this was also the year for long-distance contacts, possibly a
few record-setting ones. "My biggest thrill was working Vermont on
2-meters, which is over 1400 miles away," said Larry, N0LL, who lives in
northern Kansas. He said he encountered one "burn"--or trail-that
lasted nine minutes, during which he was able to work 11 different
stations.
Several e-mail reflectors were busy with Leonid reports and information,
including the AMSAT bulletin board. W4WHN, PA2CHR, KO0U, WZ1V,
VE6BPR, K5NRK, WB4APR, GW6KZZ, N2NRD, K7RR, N0JK, N1LTV,
PE1OGF, WA9JML, WB8ELK, N1JEZ and DF9CY all posted reports or
information about Leonid operation for others to see and read.
The Leonids balloon launched from Marshall Space Flight Center in
Alabama was located a day after landing in Georgia. Real Video from
the flight camera is available at the following URL:
http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast17nov98_1.htm
[ANS thanks Sky and Telescope, Morrock News, the ARRL, and Larry
Brown, NW7N, for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-326.04
ANS IN BRIEF
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 326.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 22, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-326.04
ANS news in brief this week includes the following:
** WD8LAQ reminds ANS the 30th anniversary of AMSAT will take
place in March 1999. He invites satellite operators to start thinking of
ways to commemorate the event. --Pat, WD8LAQ
** CNN recently aired the 8th segment of 'Cold War' in which Roy,
W0SL, was interviewed about monitoring the original Sputnik signal.
In a 30 second segment, Roy discussed how he assembled his station
and listened/recorded the Sputnik signal. --Russ, K5NRK
** From Sweden, Lars, SM0TGU, tells ANS that the AMSAT-SM
web site has been updated with new information in English.
Check it out at http://www.amsat.org/amsat-sm. --Lars, SM0TGU
** Jerry, K5OE, recently posted a message on the AMSAT-BB looking
for contacts with the 4 states he still needed for satellite WAS. The
response was nothing short of terrific, with KE0VN, AL7JK, KK7AG and
N9GG responding to the request and then providing the much needed
contacts. The end result -- K5OE got his satellite WAS. Congratulations
to all stations involved! --AMSAT-BB
** Several reports of received SEDSAT-1 telemetry continue to be sent
to SEDSAT controllers as they continue to work on establishing an
uplink with the new spacecraft. Mineo, JE9PEL, and John,
N6YLT/G0ORX, have provided the latest received data. --AMSAT-BB
** Wayne, K9SLQ, is once again asking for new photographs of Amateur
Radio satellite operators from around the globe. Send in your photo - to
be placed on the 'Operator Album' page of the K9SLQ web site - which
is located at http://www.parlorcity.com/k9slq. --AMSAT-BB
** This first image of the asteroid Eros was recently acquired by the
multispectral imager on the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR)
Spacecraft, at a distance of 2.5 million miles from the asteroid.
--Japan Space List
** FYI: The Hubble space telescope operates around 2150 MHz in a
spread-spectrum transmission mode. The signals are directed to the
Tracking and Data Relay (TDRS) satellites. Only the engineering
telemetry is transmitted continuously, the science data (pictures) are
stored on a solid state recorder and dumped at 1 megabit-per-second
three or four times a day. --AMSAT-BB
** R. L. Drake Company has announced it no longer will provide factory
service for most of its older Amateur Radio and marine equipment. The
list includes much--but not all--of its popular 4-Line equipment.
Veteran Drake Service Manager Bill Frost, WD8DFP, says it's getting
harder to get parts for the older Drake units. "The big switches, you
just can't buy those things anymore," he said. --ARRL Letter
** WD8LAQ reports that he has updated the AMSAT-DC web page.
Check out the changes at the following URL:
http://garc.gsfc.nasa.gov/~simsat/ssamsatdc.html. --Pat, WD8LAQ
** Looking for stateside HF AMSAT Nets, including times and
frequencies? AMSAT's KB5MU suggests checking this URL:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/activity.html#hf. --AMSAT-BB
** Some Thanksgiving doorstep astronomy: Jupiter's moon IO emerges
from eclipse out of Jupiter's shadow a little east of the planet each
evening, followed by Europa also emerging from eclipse a bit later. A
2.4-inch telescope is all you need to watch. --Sky and Telescope
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-326.05
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 1
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 326.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 22, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-326.05
MIR/SAFEX
SAFEX II 70 cm Repeater
Uplink 435.750 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 141.3 Hz
Downlink 437.950 MHz FM
Semi-operational.
SAFEX II 70 cm QSO Mode
Uplink 435.725 MHz FM w/subaudible tone 151.4 Hz
Downlink 437.925 MHz FM
Semi-operational.
PMS
Uplink/Downlink 145.985 MHz FM 1200 Baud AFSK
Operational.
The PBBS is running a Kantronics KPC-9612 + V.8.1 TNC. The
commands are similar to most PBBS and BBS systems.
Jeff, KF4KGQ, reports Mir digi operation is again active. Jeff made
unproto contacts with N5WUP and WB9JEJ recently.
November, 1998 marks the 10th year of Amateur Radio activity from
Mir. ANS congratulates MIREX and everyone associated with the
wonderful experience of ham radio activity aboard the Mir space station.
MIREX has announced an on going APRS School Days Test. MIREX is
allowing schools to use APRS for position and status reports via R0MIR.
Non-school stations are asked to refrain from using APRS type
transmissions or beacons via R0MIR.
Scott, WA6LIE, has a set of instructions on how to work the Mir space
station. Copies of the instructions are available from Scott by e-mail at
wa6lie@juno.com, or by packet at wa6lie@wa6lie.#wcca.ca.usa.noam.
[ANS thanks Scott Avery, WA6LIE, and the MIREX team for Mir status
information]
RS-12
Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB
Uplink 21.210 to 21.250 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 29.408 MHz
Robot Uplink 21.129 MHz Downlink 29.454 MHz
Last reported to be semi-operational, beacon only.
RS-13
Uplink 21.260 MHz to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB
Uplink 145.960 MHz to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.460 MHz to 29.500 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 145.960 to 146.000 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 29.504 MHz
Robot Uplink 21.140 MHz Downlink 29.458 MHz
Last reported in mode K (from Jerry, K5OE).
Cristi, YO3FFF, has been active on RS-12/13 recently, reporting RS-13
is now in mode K. Marco, IK5NTE, worked W8TRX and heard N0IBT
and W3QFK on RS-13. Marco will continue to look for stateside stations.
The RS-12/13 satellite has seen many recent changes in operation
during the past weeks. Modes K, T, KT and simultaneous RS-13
operation have all been reported by a number of stations.
No official word from the satellite controllers has been received.
ANS recommends monitoring each satellite carefully to determine the
transponder in operation and which mode it is operating in.
RS-12/13 command is now in the hands of Alex Papkov, in
Kaluga City, Russia.
RS-15
Uplink 145.858 to 145.898 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.354 to 29.394 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 29.352 MHz (intermittent)
Semi-operational, mode A, using a 2-meter uplink and a 10-meter
downlink.
Dave, WB6LLO, reports he has prepared a "quick and dirty" set of
operating instructions for RS-15 at the following URL:
http://users.aol.com/dguimont
RS-18/Sputnik 41
Downlink 145.812 MHz FM
Russian cosmonauts successfully launched RS-18/Sputnik 41 on
November 10, 1998, during a spacewalk from the Mir space station.
The spacecraft is just under 8 inches in diameter, weighs almost 9
pounds and carries a 200-mW transmitter. RS-18 has no solar cells and
its expected operational lifetime is approximately 30 days.
Recent RS-18 reception reports have been received from KC8CMQ,
KC8CUC, KB5SZO, N7UIE, NU3S, KE6ZGP, W2RS, KE4TIE, TA2NC,
9H1IF, KH2PM, KD9KC, SP6QKP, NU0C and EA4EKH.
Sputnik 41 information is available at the following URL:
http://www.ccr.jussieu.fr/physio/f6bvp/
A computer .wav file of the actual received signal can also be found at:
http://www.ik1sld.org/sputnik41.htm
Gerard, F6FAO, suggests the following address for RS-18 QSL
requests:
AMSAT-France
RS-18 QSL Manager
14 bis rue des Gourlis
92 500 Rueil-Malmaison
France
RS-18 temperature reports are being requested by F6FAO. Date, UTC
time, frequency of tone, name and grid square location should be
included in the report. Stations may e-mail this information to:
f6fao@amsat.org
[ANS thanks Gerard Auvray, F6FAO, for this information]
OSCAR 10 AO-10
Uplink 435.030 to 435.180 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 145.975 to 145.825 MHz CW/USB
Beacon 145.810 MHz (unmodulated carrier)
Semi-operational, mode B, currently in 'sleep' mode.
AO-10 is locked into a 70-cm uplink and a 2-meter downlink.
Tony, AB2CJ, reports good signals from AO-10 with the beacon peaking
5X5 and the satellite at 34,000 km. Tony worked I6DH and KW9M.
Waldis, VK1WJ, reports good signals and no FMing, working YB0ARA/9
during a perigee pass. Kamal, 4S7AB, reports his first AO-10 contact--
with Dom, I8CVS.
W4SM tells ANS that he has, using ranging software (and hardware)
developed by James Miller, G3RUH, recently made ranging
measurements on AO-10 and have fed these measurements into an
algorithm which generates modified Keplerian elements from a "seed"
set of elements.
The Keplerian elements generated appear to be accurate within
16-25 km. More ranging measurements are being obtained from different
Phase 3 command stations, and W4SM will update the AO-10
measurements as that data becomes available.
Satellite: AO-10
Catalog number: 14129
Epoch time: 98318.86783
Inclination: 26.7600 deg
RA of node: 58.4820 deg
Eccentricity: 0.59972
Arg of perigee: 265.8370 deg
Mean anomaly: 216.5650 deg
Mean motion: 2.05838221 rev/day
Decay rate: 0.00 rev/day^2
W4SM has more information about the satellite at the following URL:
http://www.cstone.net/~w4sm/AO-10.html
[ANS thanks Stacey Mills, W4SM, for his AO-10 status information and
web site]
AO-27
Uplink 145.850 MHz FM
Downlink 436.792 MHz FM
Operational, mode J.
Mike, N1JEZ, reports that the TEPR settings of AO-27 were recently
reset by Chuck, KM4NZ. The new settings now reflect the Earth's
position during the northern fall/winter season, and should provide more
satellite 'on' time for AO-27 during each pass.
[ANS thanks Michael Wyrick, N4USI, for AO-27 information]
JAS-1b FO-20
Uplink 145.900 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB
Operational. FO-20 is in mode JA continuously.
Al, N2YAC, reports a nice QSO with Paul, WB9IGB, on a recent FO-20
morning pass.
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-20 status reports]
JAS-2 FO-29
Voice/CW Mode JA
Uplink 145.900 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB
Operational.
Digital Mode JD
Uplink 145.850 145.870 145.910 MHz FM
Downlink 435.910 MHz FM 9600 baud BPSK
Not operational, the satellite is in JA (voice) mode.
Kazu, JJ1WTK, tells ANS that the FO-29 Command Team has released
the following announcement concerning FO-29 status:
The present JA mode of operation will continue to investigate the
frequency of bit errors in the on-board-computer. Reports from Amateurs
on the value of channel 2A are appreciated. The position of 2A is the
fifth item after 'HI HI' in CW telemetry. The normal value is '00'. Reports
should be sent to lab@jarl.or.jp.
FO-29 is still in 'full sun illumination'; this should end in December.
The on-board-computer (OBC) did accept commands from ground
control before full illumination began. The FO-29 Command Team says
digital (JD) mode operation may be available in December. Digi-talker
operation is also being planned. The next announcement is expected
November 20th.
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for this report]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-326.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 2
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 326.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 22, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-326.06
KITSAT KO-23
Uplink 145.900 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Downlink 435.175 MHz FM
Operational.
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and Richard Limebear,
G3RWL, for this report]
KITSAT KO-25
Uplink 145.980 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Downlink 436.50 MHz FM
Inoperative. The satellite is not currently accepting uplinked data.
Ken, N1QQV, reports KO-25 was not broadcasting a directory or
answering uplink requests recently. Ken says the 'PB:Empty' message
did not change during the pass, although there was a line in quote
marks after the HIT sequence -- "testing for checkout."
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for KO-25 status information]
UO-22
Uplink 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600 Baud FSK
Downlink 435.120 MHz FM
Operational.
More information on the satellite is available at the following URL:
http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/EE/CSER/UOSAT/
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, Operations Manager of
UO-22 for this report]
OSCAR-11
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM, 1200 Baud AFSK
Beacon 2401.500 MHz
Operational.
Clive, G3CWV, reports an uneventful month for OSCAR-11. During the
period of 14-October to 15-November, reasonable signals have been
received from the 145.826 MHz beacon.
Telemetry has been nominal.
Battery voltage is nominally 13.9 VDC. The internal temperatures have
been almost constant and are now 10.2 and 8.0 degrees Celsius for
battery and telemetry electronics respectively. These values appear to
have reached a maximum value and are now expected to fall slowly.
The present length of solar eclipses appears optimum for the satellite,
maintaining an adequate power budget and not allowing internal
temperatures to rise to excessive levels.
Magnetorquer spin correction counters have been of interest. Normally,
the negative spin counter increments are at roughly half the rate of the
Z-axis counter. Over the last two months there have been very few spin
counter increments, although the spin period is nominal.
The ASCII bulletin is currently a static message, detailing modes and
frequencies of the current amateur radio satellites.
The mode-S beacon is on, transmitting an unmodulated carrier, however
telemetry indicates that it has partially failed -- delivering half power.
This beacon is a useful test source for those testing mode-S converters
prior to the launch of P3D. The 435.025 MHz beacon is normally off.
Two new WOD software packages have recently added to the Oscar 11
web site. The first package enables various WOD channels to be
compared with the solar eclipse status of the satellite. The second
package compares measured and calculated magnetic fields
encountered by Oscar 11. Both packages are of an advanced nature,
users will need experience using the other WOD packages on the web
site along with a spreadsheet program.
The URL is http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/
Beacon reception reports should be sent to g3cwv@amsat.org.
[ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for this information]
PACSAT AO-16
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
Operating normally.
The AO-16 command team has authorized an APRS experiment on
AO-16 to explore the use of the 1200-baud PACSAT for APRS
position/status reporting. Test periods will run each Tuesday from
0000 to 2359 UTC.
The telemetry is nominal.
Time is Sat Nov 21 23:49:57 1998 uptime is 1525/18:14:28
+10V Bus 10.500 V RC PSK TX Out 0.566 W
Bat 1 V 1.263 V Bat 2 V 1.309 V
Bat 3 V 1.274 V Bat 4 V 1.287 V
Bat 5 V 1.267 V Bat 6 V 1.259 V
Bat 7 V 1.276 V Bat 8 V 1.282 V
Baseplt Temp 4.839 D +Z Array Temp -12.104 D
RC PSK BP Temp -1.817 D RC PSK HPA Tmp -0.002 D
+Y Array Temp -21.180 D PSK TX HPA Tmp -1.212 D
+Z Array Temp -12.104 D
Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.439 Ifb= 0.250 I+10V= 0.216
TX:010B BCR:1E PWRC:59E BT: A WC:25 EDAC:B4
General information and telemetry WOD files can be found at:
http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu
A graphic summary of the October WOD survey transmitted by
AO-16, including spin-rate, rotation, voltage, current and other
parameters -- can be found at:
http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/wod1998.zip
[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report]
LUSAT LO-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
Currently semi-operational.
Miguel, EA1BCU, reports downlink signals show good modulation. The
satellite is transmitting an ASCII message containing the following text:
No BBS service. On Board Computer reload in progress.
Digipeater active. Thank you - Norberto - LU8DYF.
The telemetry is as follows:
Time is Sat Nov 21 23:53:07 1998 uptime is 113/10:15:31
+10V Bus 10.871 V
Baseplt Temp 4.057 D +Z Array Temp -11.087 D
RC PSK BP Temp 5.740 D RC PSK HPA Tmp 4.057 D
+Y Array Temp -13.331 D PSK TX HPA Tmp 5.179 D
RC PSK TX Out 0.644 W
Total Array C= 0.008 Bat Ch Cur=-0.277 Ifb= 0.116 I+10V= 0.167
TX:017 BCR:1E PWRC:62D BT:3C WC: 0
General information and telemetry samples can find at:
http://www.ctv.es/USERS/ea1bcu/lo19.htm
[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for this report]
ITAMSAT IO-26
Uplink 145.875 145.900 145.925 145.950 MHz FM 1200 Baud PSK
Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB
Semi-operational.
Telemetry is reported as being received on 435.822 MHz at 1200 baud
PSK. No additional information is available at this time.
TMSAT-1 TO-31
Downlink 436.923 MHz
The TMSAT-1 micro-satellite was successfully launched from the
Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 10, 1998.
TMSAT commissioning has been completed and shows that most of the
spacecraft systems are operating correctly. A problem was identified
with the downlink transmitter and this is currently limiting the use of the
downlink to periods when the satellite is over Europe and Thailand.
Over the coming months, ground controllers at Surrey and Bangkok will
work to resolve the problem to allow the satellite downlink to be switched
on over other areas. It will then be available to the general amateur
community.
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for this report]
TechSat-1B GO-32
Downlink 435.325 435.225 MHz
HDLC telemetry framed so a TNC in KISS mode will decode it
The TechSat-1B micro-satellite was successfully launched from the
Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 10, 1998. The satellite is
expected to be available for general amateur use in the future.
The satellite does not have a continuos beacon, but does transmit a
9600-baud burst every 30 seconds (for a continuous 3 seconds in
length), currently on 435.225 MHz.
The TechSat team has also constructed a home page about TechSat.
To view the site, point your web browser to:
http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/
[ANS thanks Shlomo Menuhin, 4X1AS, for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-326.07
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PT 3
HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 326.07 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, NOVEMBER 22, 1998
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT
BID: $ANS-326.07
THE FOLLOWING SATELLITES ARE NON-OPERATIONAL AT THIS
TIME:
RS-16
Attempts to command the mode A transponder 'on' have been
unsuccessful to date. At this time the RS-16 transponder is
non-operational. The 435 MHz beacon (only) is operational.
No additional information is available at this time.
DOVE DO-17
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM 1200 Baud AFSK
Beacon 2401.220 MHz
Non-operational.
The 145.825 MHz and 2401.220 MHz downlinks are off the air.
No additional information is available at this time.
WEBERSAT WO-18
Downlink 437.104 MHz SSB 1200 Baud PSK AX.25
Non-operational.
WO-18 is reported to be in MBL mode after a software crash.
No additional information is available at this time.
--ANS END---
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports 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
AMSAT-NA Vice President/Public Affairs
Amateur callsign: NN0DJ
Grid Square EN28iv
Warroad, Minnesota U.S.A.
e-mail: nn0dj@amsat.org
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