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[jamsat-news:1606] ANS 292
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS 292
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.
ANS is first released worldwide via the AMSAT ANS e-mail reflector,
followed by a live radiocast on the AMSAT-NA 20-meter net held each
Sunday on 14.282 MHz. Pre-net operations start at 18:00 UTC, with
current ANS bulletins transmitted to the eastern U.S. at 19:00 UTC and
to the western U.S. at 19:30 UTC.
Information on AMSAT-NA is available at the following URL:
http://www.amsat.org <http://www.amsat.org/ (or from)
AMSAT-NA
850 Sligo Avenue, Suite 600
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910-4703
Voice: 301-589-6062
FAX: 301-608-3410
Currently, AMSAT-NA supports the following (free) mailing lists:
* AMSAT News Service (ANS)
* General satellite discussion (AMSAT-BB)
* Orbit data (KEPS)
* Manned space missions (SAREX)
* District of Columbia area (AMSAT-DC)
* New England area (AMSAT-NE)
* AMSAT Educational Liaison mailing list (AMSAT-EDU)
* AMSAT K-12 Educational Liaison mailing list (AMSAT-K12)
A daily digest version is available for each list.
To subscribe, or for more list information, visit the following URL:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/listserv/menu.html
In addition to regular membership, AMSAT-NA 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.
Initially, there will two levels for donations - Gold and Silver.
Application forms are available from the AMSAT-NA Office.
This edition of ANS is dedicated to the memory of noted DXer Pete
Billon, K6JG, who died October 7th following a long illness. He was 80.
[ANS thanks the ARRL for this information]
ANS is always dedicated to the memory of past ANS editor 'BJ'
Arts, WT0N, and to the memory of long-time AMSAT supporters
Werner Haas, DJ5KQ, and Dennis Kitchen, G0FCL.
ANS salutes John Kraus, W8JK, a well-known authority on radio
astronomy, antennas; and the inventor of the famous W8JK
antenna. Kraus is among the inaugural group of 50 inductees into the
CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. [ANS thanks CQ Amateur Radio
magazine, published by CQ Communications, Inc. for this information]
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292.01
AO-40 UPDATE
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 292.01 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 19, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-292.01
Maxim Memorial Station W1AW is now 100% AO-40 ready as the
League recently completed the installation of new satellite antennas
Along with an az-el rotator system atop the center tower at the W1AW
antenna farm. The array consists of a 2-meter 20-element crossed Yagi,
a 70-cm 15-element crossed Yagi, a 23-cm 23-element Yagi and a
13-cm 17-turn helix.
W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, told ANS he's been able
to copy downlink telemetry from AO-40.
AO-40 activity continues.
Amato, I6PNN, repots that he has detected AO-40's 24 GHZ beacon,
using a 60-cm dish. I6PNN told ANS that the beacon peaked an
S-unit above the noise with a large amount of fading.
AO-40 is currently in a long period during which the Earth eclipses
the Sun near perigee. These actually began about August 28th, and
will rapidly increase in length. The will continue well into June 2002.
For the current transponder operating schedule visit:
http://www.amsat-dl.org/journal/adlj-p3d.htm
Stay tuned to ANS, the official source of AO-40 information.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA and the ARRL for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292.02
OCTOBER 2001 PRESIDENT'S LETTER
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 292.02 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 19, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-292.02
The following is the October 2001 President's Letter from
AMSAT-NA President, Robin Haighton VE3FRH.
The 2001 AMSAT-NA Symposium and Annual Meeting in Atlanta is now
over, but I would like to pass a few comments to our membership
concerning our get-together.
First, it was a great pleasure to meet so many of you in Atlanta and to
listen to your views and ideas about AMSAT. It is your participation that
makes AMSAT a strong and vibrant organization.
Following the terrible incidents of September 11th, I was worried that
some of you may decide to cancel your reservations and that we would
have a smaller gathering - but no! The numbers of registrants continued
to rise and we had a very good turn out, comparable with other years.
For me, this showed the true resolve of our members not to be
intimidated, and may I thank each and every one of you who attended.
In addition, I would like to publicly thank our hosts, Diana and Steve
Diggs, who provided excellent services and ran a great Symposium.
and Annual Meeting. One day, we shall return to Atlanta again.
Another great aspect of the Atlanta meeting was the Space Symposium,
with 17 excellent presentations made, including a group presentation on
our next satellite project and another on the status of AO-40.
Many of you may know that "Project JJ" was so named after the two
proponents of the technology that we are developing - but they have
asked for a name change! So, the hunt for a new name has started.
Please send your suggestions to me by e-mail < ve3frh@amsat.org >
by November 30th. A group has been established to review them and
announce a decision. The person who proposes the chosen name will
receive free admission to the Dayton AMSAT 2002 Dinner. In case of
a tie, the earliest entry will be declared the winner.
One last thought, before Atlanta we had only 5 members of the
President's Club, We now we have 16, including members from Japan
and the United Kingdom. PC membership is growing - will you join?
Details can be found on the AMSAT-NA web site under "Join the
President's Club." Thank you for your continued support of AMSAT.
More next month, see ya' on the birds.
73,
Robin Haighton VE3FRH
President AMSAT-NA
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292.03
SATELLITE INTERFERENCE
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 292.03 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 19, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-292.03
Unauthorized operation in the amateur VHF and UHF bands, especially
144 MHz and 70-cm, is a growing problem in many countries. When
such operation takes place on satellite uplink frequencies, it may cause
harmful interference to amateurs thousands of miles distant. Among the
sources of interference which have been documented are taxicabs and
other unlicensed individuals in and around the state of Sonora, Mexico.
Unfortunately, there are many others.
The recent IARU Region 2 General Assembly in Guatemala City urged
all amateurs who experience interference to satellite uplinks from
non-amateur stations to document their observations and to report them,
to their national governments (through their national society's monitoring
service coordinator).
If the source is domestic, your government may take action directly. If it
is foreign, your government may report it to the country of origin via
diplomatic channels. It is very important to keep the reports coming. A
consistent flow of reports has often proven very helpful in resolving
these problems.
Interference reports should include your name, call sign and contact
information, the date, time, duration, mode and frequency on which
interference was observed, and any information that may help to identify
the source. Recordings are particularly helpful.
For further information on what and how to report, go to the monitoring
page of the Radio Amateurs of Canada website, at:
http://www.rac.ca/monitor.htm
Send your reports to the monitoring service coordinator of your national
IARU member society. Here in the U.S., that person is Brennan Price,
N4QX, e-mail Brennan at < bprice@arrl.org >. In Canada, your contact is
Don Moman, VE6JY. Don's e-mail is < ve6jy@rac.ca. >.
If you live in a country that has no monitoring service coordinator, send
your report to your member society's IARU liaison officer. You may find
his or her e-mail address on the IARU web site, http://www.iaru.org.
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA Vice President for International Affairs Ray
Soifer, W2RS, for this information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292.04
ANS IN BRIEF
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 292.04 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 19, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-292.04
ANS news in brief this week includes the following:
** Bruce Paige, KK5DO, the AMSAT Awards Manager, has added a
few digital pictures taken at the recent AMSAT-NA Symposium to his
web page. Visit http://www.amsatnet.com/symposium/pictures.htm
and take a look! In addition, more Symposium pictures (taken by John,
KE4ENI and Steve, W4EPI), are at:
http://www.homestead.com/ke4eni/amsat2001.html. -ANS
** For the 2nd time in its 11-year lifetime, ESA's Ulysses spacecraft
flew over the Sun's North Pole. At the same time, solar and heliospheric
scientists met in California to discuss the latest findings about the
heiosphere - the vast region of space blown out by the sun and moved
by the solar winds. -SpaceDaily
** The ARRL is encouraging members to write their members of
Congress in an effort to build awareness in Congress that private land
use regulations have become a real problem for many Amateur Radio
operators. The ARRL says support from the amateur community will
help to backstop the League's efforts to meet with elected
representatives and staffers on Capitol Hill to discuss possible
legislation.
As condominium complexes and planned communities proliferate,
covenants, conditions and restrictions have become a growing obstacle
to amateurs who want to erect antennas. -Bruce, KK5DO
** Don, KD4APP, reports copies of the presentations from the 24GHz
Working Breakfast at the recent AMSAT-NA Symposium are located at
http://www.sunsunsun.net/ao40/. -ANS
** When NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey spacecraft reaches Mars on
October 23rd, Arizona State University geologist Philip Christensen will
be as nervous as a scientist can be, watching a critical experiment enter
a key phase. He has an important instrument aboard the spacecraft
which is entering a difficult stage in its journey - and all he can do is
sit
and wait for word of success or failure. -SpaceDaily
** A group of from Denmark, Germany and Holland will take part in the
CQ WW SSB contest using the callsign XP1AB. Before and after the
contest they will be QRV on AO-40. For more information visit
http://www.qsl.net/xp1ab. In addition, a group headed to the island of
Malta will be equipment for mode U/S via AO-40. The call 9H0WW has
been allocated to this group. More information is available by e-mail
from g0mrf@aol.com. -ANS
** Martha, AMSAT-NA's Corporate Secretary, reports that "The
Proceedings of the AMSAT-NA 19th Space Symposium and Annual
Meeting" are now available from AMSAT-NA. The following donation
is requested: U.S. ($15), Canada and Mexico ($20), all others ($25).
Payment must be in U.S. dollars. Contact Martha at (301) 589-6062
for more details. -ANS
** The first detailed global mapping of an asteroid, done on Eros, has
found that most of the larger rocks strewn across the body were ejected
from a single crater in a meteorite collision perhaps over a billion years
ago. -SpaceDaily
** The pending Wisconsin Amateur Radio antenna (PRB-1) bill, AB-368,
was approved by the Wisconsin Assembly October 2nd on a voice vote.
The measure now heads to the Wisconsin Senate. Many Wisconsin hams
reportedly had called or e-mailed their Assembly representatives prior to
the vote. -ARRL Letter
** CQ Communications Inc. is asking all participants in CQ-sponsored
Amateur Radio contests to submit their logs electronically. All logs for the
CQ World Wide DX Contest, the CQ WPX Contest, the CQ World Wide
160-Meter Contest, the CQ World Wide VHF Contest and the CQ/RTTY
Journal RTTY contests should be submitted via e-mail as per instructions
in the rules for each contest. -Richard, W2VU
** Expedition 3 crewmembers climbed into their Soyuz capsule, backed
the Earth return vehicle away from one ISS docking port, and
successfully redocked, using the new PIRS docking port for the first time.
This successful move cleared the way for the arrival of a new Soyuz
Return craft and its taxi crew -- Commander Victor Afanasyev, Flight
Engineer Konstantin Kozeev and French Flight Engineer Claudie
Haignere. The Soyuz launcher successfully on October 21st, headed
for ISS. ESA has informed the ARISS team that Claudie will be allowed
to use Amateur Radio during her free time in orbit.
-NASA/ESA
--ANS BULLETIN END---
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292.05
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 1
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 292.05 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 19, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-292.05
Phase 3D / AMSAT OSCAR 40 / AO-40
Launched: November 16, 2000 aboard an Ariane 5 launcher
from Kourou, French Guiana.
Status: Currently, the U/L-1 to S-2 passband is active.
Uplink U-band 435.550 - 435.800 MHz CW/SSB
L1-band 1269.250 - 1269.500 MHz CW/SSB
L2-band 1268.325 - 1268.575 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 2401.225 - 2401.475 MHz CW/SSB
For the current transponder operating schedule visit:
http://www.amsat-dl.org/journal/adlj-p3d.htm
AO-40 experimental transponder operation started on May 05, 2001 at
approximately 08:00 UTC when the U-band and L1-band uplinks were
connected to the S-2 transmitter passband downlink via the Matrix
switch.
Pieter Tjerk, PA3FWM, recently announced the availability of a new
program for decoding and viewing AO-40 telemetry under the Linux
operating platform, called ao40tlmview.
AO40tlmview can be downloaded from:
http://www.cs.utwente.nl/~ptdeboer/ham/ao40/
[ANS thanks AMSAT-NA, AMSAT-DL and the ARRL for this information]
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/ARISS
Worldwide packet uplink: 145.990 MHz
Region 1 voice uplink: 145.200 MHz
Region 2/3 voice uplink: 144.490 MHz
Worldwide downlink: 145.800 MHz
TNC callsign NOCALL
ARISS initial station launched September 2000 aboard shuttle Atlantis.
ARISS is made up of delegates from major national Amateur Radio
organizations, including AMSAT.
Status: Operational.
Lots of voice activity from ISS recently, centered on the Jamboree
on-the Air event. JOTA is an on-air event that occurs worldwide each
October with the purpose to introduce ham radio to Scouts of all kinds.
This year some of the Scouts made a space-age contact with ISS!
Reports have been received from VK5ZAI, WF1F, W2RS, VA3HAW,
KD4SFF, VE3SJB, KB3DHC, VK2KUR, ON1CAU, CT1ETE, N4BAF,
K5CFW and OZ1MY.
In addition to JOTA operation from ISS, a school contact with the
Armand Bayou Elementary School was successful recently. Commander
Frank Culbertson, KD5OPQ's contact with Armand was even more
interesting because KD5OPQ's children attend the school, and
Frank did get to speak to both of them. Along with Armand Bayou,
students at the Holy Spirit School in Grand Rapids, Michigan also
worked KD5OPQ, as did youngsters at the Greenfield Central High
School in Greenfield, Indiana.
The ISS packet station (normally) available for UI packets. The mailbox
and keyboard are currently disabled. Please see the packet section of
the ARISS web page before attempting to first work ISS on packet.
The ISS daily crew schedule (which gives an idea when crew members
have free time and may be available for Amateur Radio operations) can
be found at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/timelines/2001/may/index.html
U.S. callsign: NA1SS
Russian callsigns: RS0ISS, RZ3DZR
The QSL routes for W/VE stations working NA1SS aboard the
International Space Station:
U.S. stations:
Margie Bourgoin, KC1DCO
Attn: ARISS Expedition-1 (or 2) QSL
ARRL, 225 Main Street
Newington, Connecticut 06111
Canadian stations:
Radio Amateurs of Canada
Attn: ARISS Expedition-1 (or 2) QSL
720 Belfast Road, Suite 217
Ottawa, Ontario KEG 0Z5
European stations:
AMSAT-France
16, rue de la Vallee
91360 Epinay sur Orge
France
A self-addressed, stamped envelope is required to get a QSL in return.
The ARISS international group has not yet finalized a QSL card design.
It will be a few months before cards become available. More information
about the project can be found on the ARISS web site at:
http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov
[ANS thanks ARISS team member Will Marchant, KC6ROL, for this
information]
RADIO SPORT RS-12
Uplink 145.910 to 145.950 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 29.410 to 29.450 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 29.408 MHz
Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher
Status: RS-12 was re-activated in mode-A on January 1, 2001
The latest information on RS-12 and RS-13 can be found on the AC5DK
RS-12/13 Satellite Operators page at:
http://www.qsl.net/ac5dk/rs1213/rs1213.html
[ANS thanks Kevin Manzer, AC5DK, for RS-12 information]
RADIO SPORT 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)
SSB meeting frequency 29.380 MHz (unofficial)
Launched: December 26, 1994 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome
Status: Semi-operational, mode-A, using a 2-meter uplink and a
10-meter downlink
Dave, WB6LLO, has operating information for both RS-15 on his
web site. In addition to satellite data, antenna information for
mode-A operation is also featured. The WB6LLO web site URL is:
http://home.san.rr.com/doguimont/uploads
[ANS thanks Dave Guimont, WB6LLO, 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)
Launched: June 16, 1983 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Semi-operational, mode-B. AO-10 has
been locked into a 70-cm uplink and a 2-meter downlink for several
years.
DX continues to be heard and worked on AO-10.
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]
AMRAD AO-27
Uplink 145.850 MHz FM
Downlink 436.795 MHz FM
Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Operational, mode J.
Periodically, AO-27's analog repeater will be turned off for a few days at
a time to enable ground controllers to gather Whole Orbital Data (WOD),
to verify the health of the satellite.
An AO-27 question-and-answer page is available on the AMSAT-NA web
site. The URL is: http://www.amsat.org/amsat/intro/ao27faq.html
AO-27 uses a method called Timed Eclipse Power Regulation (TEPR) to
regulate the on-board batteries. In simple terms, TEPR times how long
the satellite has been in an eclipse (or in the sun) and decides what
subsystems to turn on or off. The AO-27 pages on the AMSAT-NA web
site include an explanation of TEPR AO-27 operations (at):
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/n7hpr/ao27.html
[ANS thanks AMRAD for AO-27 information]
UO-14
Uplink 145.975 MHz FM
Downlink 435.070 MHz FM
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Operational, mode J
Tim, KG8OC, features UO-14 information on the Michigan AMSAT
web site - point your web browser to the following URL:
http://www.qsl.net/kg8oc
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for UO-14 information]
JAS-1b FO-20
Uplink 145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB
Launched: February 07, 1990 by an H1 launcher from the Tanegashima
Space Center in Japan. Status: Operational. FO-20 is in mode JA
continuously
Tak, JA2PKI, reported FO-20 control station operators believe that the
UVC (Under Voltage Controller) now is regulating the transponder. The
controller monitors battery voltage and tries to protect the batteries from
over discharge.
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-20 status reports]
JAS-2 FO-29
Launched: August 17, 1996, by an H-2 launcher from the Tanegashima
Space Center in Japan. Status: Operational
Voice/CW Mode JA
Uplink 145.90 to 146.00 MHz CW/LSB
Downlink 435.80 to 435.90 MHz CW/USB
Digital Mode JD
Uplink 145.850 145.870 145.910 MHz FM
Downlink 435.910 MHz 1200-baud BPSK or 9600-baud FSK
Callsign 8J1JCS
Digitalker 435.910 MHz
Last reported, the JARL FO-29 command station announced the
operation schedule of FO-29 through December 3, 2001 - is
mode JA
Mineo, JE9PEL, has a FO-29 satellite telemetry analysis program that
will automatically analyze all digital telemetry from the satellite (such as
current, voltage and temperature). The JE9PEL FO-29/shareware is
available at the following URL:
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hamradio/je9pel/
[ANS thanks Kazu Sakamoto, JJ1WTK, for the FO-29 status reports]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292.06
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 2
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 292.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 19, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-292.06
TIUNGSAT-1
Uplink 145.850 or 145.925 MHz 9600-baud FSK
Downlink 437.325 MHz
Broadcast callsign MYSAT3-11
BBS MYSAT3-12
Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Status: Operational at
38k4-baud FSK
Chris, G7UPN, tells ANS that TiungSat-1 has been operating at a data
rate of 38k4. Data recovery at 38k4 is reported to be extremely good with
efficiencies near 100%. The output power is at 8-watts "which should
provide a very good downlink," said Chris, adding "the downside is that
with the high power transmitter operating, the power budget is negative
so we can't support continuous operation."
According to G7UPN, TiungSat-1 now requires the Amateur Radio
station to switch the downlink 'on' when the satellite comes into range.
The way this works is for the ground station software to send a request
to the spacecraft to switch the downlink on. The spacecraft receives this
request and checks the battery voltage to see if it can support the
operation, and if it can it will activate the downlink.
TiungSat-1 is Malaysia's first micro-satellite and in addition to
commercial land and weather imaging payloads offers FM and FSK
Amateur Radio communication.
TiungSat-1, named after the mynah bird of Malaysia, was developed as
a collaborative effort between the Malaysian government and Surrey
Satellite Technology Ltd.
For more information on TiungSat-1, visit the following URL:
http://www.yellowpages.com.my/tiungsat/tiung_main.htm
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for this information]
KITSAT KO-25
Uplink 145.980 MHz FM (9600-baud FSK)
Downlink 436.500 MHz FM
Broadcast Callsign HL02-11
BBS HL02-12
Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Operational
Jim, AA7KC, reported KO-25 operational with very low downlink
efficiency and little traffic. AA7KC thinks that perhaps the latest
orbit data may be off concerning KO-25. The lack of traffic and low
downlink (3%) efficiency indicates a problem.
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for this information]
UOSAT UO-22
Uplink 145.900 or 145.975 MHz FM 9600-baud FSK
Downlink 435.120 MHz FM
Broadcast Callsign UOSAT5-11
BBS UOSAT5-12
Launched: July 17, 1991 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Operational
Jim, AA7KC, reports UO-22 is operational with moderate to heavy
traffic. Downlink efficiency is in the 60% range.
UoSAT command station G7UPN reports to ANS that UO-22 had
been closed for amateur activity for a short duration while command
stations assess the state of the RAM disk. Over the past few weeks
there have been increasing difficulties downloading larger files from
the spacecraft. The store and forward communications system has
been reloaded.
More information on the satellite is available at the following URL:
http://www.sstl.co.uk/
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for UO-22 information
and Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, for status information]
OSCAR-11
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM (1200-baud AFSK)
Mode-S Beacon 2401.500 MHz
Launched: March 1, 1984 by a Delta-Thor rocket from Vandenberg Air
Force Base in California. Status: Operational
During the period 15-September to 16-August, consistent signals have
been received from the 145 MHz beacon. The internal temperatures
have continued to increase as the solar eclipse times decrease. A further
rise of 2.5 degree C has been noted. These temperatures are now 5.8C
and 4.0C for battery and telemetry electronics respectively.
The battery voltage observed during daylight passes has increased.
The average value observed was 14.05 with a range of 14.0 to 14.1
volts. The improved battery voltage is also a result of decreasing
solar eclipse times, and this trend is expected to continue for
several months.
Users of OSCAR-11 should note that the hardware generated time in
The ASCII telemetry is now 15.5 minutes ahead of UTC, and the date
is 3 days advanced.
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)
The ASCII bulletin is currently a static message, detailing modes and
frequencies of all active Amateur Radio satellites.
More information on OSCAR-11 is available at the following URL:
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/clivew/
[ANS thanks Clive Wallis, G3CWV, for OSCAR-11 status information]
PACSAT AO-16
Uplink 145.90 145.92 145.94 145.96 MHz FM
(using 1200-baud Manchester FSK)
Downlink 437.025 MHz SSB (RC-BPSK 1200-baud PSK)
Mode-S Beacon 2401.1428 MHz
Broadcast Callsign: PACSAT-11
BBS PACSAT-12
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Semi-operational, the digipeater command is on.
Telemetry is as follows:
uptime is 607/17:59:22. Time is Fri Oct 12 21:36:26 2001
+10V Bus 10.100 V PSK TX RF Out 1.535 W
+X (RX) Temp -7.263 D RX Temp 6.654 D
Bat 1 V 1.210 V Bat 2 V 1.182 V
Bat 3 V 1.187 V Bat 4 V 1.234 V
Bat 5 V 1.199 V Bat 6 V 1.194 V
Bat 7 V 1.208 V Bat 8 V 1.236 V
Bat 1 Temp 5.444 D Bat 2 Temp 5.444 D
Baseplt Temp 4.839 D +Y Array Temp -22.390 D
PSK TX HPA Tmp 0.603 D +Z Array Temp -12.709 D
Total Array C= 0.000 Bat Ch Cur=-0.444 Ifb= 0.190 I+10V= 0.269
TX:1009 BCR:1E PWRC:36D BT:1E WC:25 EDAC:1A
A new WOD collection of current graphics along with general
Information and telemetry samples can be found at:
www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu
[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for AO-16 status information]
ITAMSAT IO-26
Uplink 145.875 145.900 145.925 145.950 MHz FM (1200-baud)
Downlink 435.822 MHz SSB
Broadcast Callsign ITMSAT-11
BBS ITMSAT-12
Launched: September 26, 1993 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Semi-operational, the digipeater function is on
and open for APRS users.
[ANS thanks ITAMSAT Project Manager Alberto E. Zagni, I2KBD, for
IO-26 information]
/EX
SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-292.07
WEEKLY SATELLITE REPORT PART 3
AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 292.06 FROM AMSAT HQ
SILVER SPRING, MD, OCTOBER 19, 2001
TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-292.07
THE FOLLOWING ARE IN ORBIT BUT ARE NON-OPERATIONAL
AT THIS TIME:
UoSAT-12 UO-36
Uplink 145.960 MHz (9600-baud FSK)
Downlink 437.025 MHz 437.400 MHz
Broadcast Callsign UO121-11
BBS UO121-12
Launched: April 21, 1999 by a Russian launcher from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome. Status: Unknown
UO-36 carries a number of imaging payloads, digital store-and-forward
communications and mode L/S transponders.
Paul, KB2SHU, tells ANS that UO-36 has not been operational (over
North America) since late July.
The VK5HI viewer shareware for UO-36 is available on the AMSAT-NA
web site at the following URL:
ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/display/ccddsp97-119.zip
Further information on UO-36 is available from: http://www.sstl.co.uk/
[ANS thanks Chris G7UPN/ZL2TPO, and the University of Surrey for
UO-36 information]
TMSAT-1 TO-31
Uplink 145.925 MHz (9600-baud FSK)
Downlink 436.925 MHz (9600-baud FSK)
Broadcast Callsign: TMSAT1-11
BBS TMSAT1-12
Launched: July 10, 1998 by a Zenit rocket from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome. Status: Non-operational, no data downlinked
since December 18, 2000.
Chris G7UPN, (UoSAT operations manager) reports the
following to ANS:
The TO-31 downlink will be off over most areas, with the exception of
Europe and Thailand. This is required to allow control stations to
recondition the battery with minimum power drain.
ProcMail V2.00G has been released by G7UPN. This software permits
the processing of image files from TO-31. It has been posted to the
AMSAT-NA FTP site at the following URL:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/software/win32/wisp
Many of the high-resolution color images transmitted by TMSAT are
Compressed using a UoSAT compression format. This format is
supported by the VK5HI CCD display program.
[ANS thanks Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, for TO-31 status
information]
LUSAT LO-19
Uplink 145.84 145.86 145.88 145.90 MHz FM
(using 1200-baud Manchester FSK)
CW downlink 437.125 MHz
Digital downlink 437.150 MHz SSB (RC-BPSK 1200-baud PSK)
Broadcast Callsign LUSAT-11
BBS LUSAT-12
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou, French
Guiana. Status: Beacon only. The CW beacon is sending eight telemetry
channels and one status channel on 437.126 MHz. No BBS service is
available. The digipeater is not active.
Telemetry is as follows:
Time is Fri Sep 28 23:02:00 2001
CW-Code: avt abu aun adv aan a6b ttu aee
5V-reg.: 4.89 V 8.5V-reg: 8.68 V
10V-Bat: 11.01 V 10V-Curr: 116.9 mA
TX-Pwr : 0.938 W TX-Temp.: 2.02 °Ã
+Z-Sol.: 0.30 V Box-Temp: 6.05 °Ã
CW-Code: avt abu ava ada auu a66 tta aee
5V-reg.: 4.89 V 8.5V-reg: 8.68 V
10V-Bat: 11.01 V 10V-Curr: 116.2 mA
TX-Pwr : 0.918 W TX-Temp.: 1.31 °Ã
+Z-Sol.: 0.15 V Box-Temp: 4.98 °Ã
CW-Code: avt aba av4 adt au4 a6e ttu aee
5V-reg.: 4.89 V 8.5V-reg: 8.68 V
10V-Bat: 10.94 V 10V-Curr: 115.5 mA
TX-Pwr : 0.909 W TX-Temp.: 0.25 °Ã
+Z-Sol.: 0.30 V Box-Temp: 4.27 °Ã
General information and telemetry samples can be found at:
www.telecable.es/personales/ea1bcu
[ANS thanks Miguel Menendez, EA1BCU, for LO-19 status information]
SO-41 SAUDISAT-1A
Uplink to be released
Downlink 437.075 MHz
Broadcast Callsign SASAT1-11
BBS SASAT1-12
Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Status: Unknown, this satellite
has been in orbit for almost 8 months. ANS has received no additional
information.
When/if operational, SaudiSat-1A will operate as 9600-baud digital
store-and-forward systems as well analog FM repeater mode capability.
One of two new ham satellites from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia built by
the Space Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and
Technology.
SO-42 SAUDISAT-1B
Uplink to be released
Downlink 436.775 MHz
Broadcast Callsign SASAT2-11
BBS SASAT2-12
Launched: September 26, 2000 aboard a converted Soviet ballistic
missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Status: Unknown, this satellite
has been in orbit for almost 8 months. ANS has received no additional
information.
When/if operational, SaudiSat-1B will operate as 9600-baud digital
store-and-forward systems as well analog FM repeater mode capability.
One of two new ham satellites from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia built by
the Space Research Institute at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and
Technology.
SUNSAT SO-35
Mode J Uplink: 145.825 MHz FM
Mode J Downlink: 436.250 MHz FM
Mode B Uplink: 436.291 MHz FM
Mode B Downlink: 145.825 MHz FM
Launched: February 23, 1999 by a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air
Force Base in California. Status: Non-operational
The SunSat team released the following statement, dated
February 1, 2001:
We regret to announce that the last communication with SunSat from our
ground station at the Electronic Systems Laboratory at Stellenbosch
University took place recently. We are certain, after having performed
several tests since the last contact, that an irreversible, physical failure
has occurred on the satellite. It is therefore unlikely that we will have
any further contact with SunSat, apart from the occasional visual sighting
by telescope!
When it was operational the SunSat package included 1200 and 9600
baud digital store-and-forward capability and a voice 'parrot' repeater
system in addition to Mode B/J operation with two VHF and two UHF
transmit-receive systems.
For more information on SunSat visit the following URL:
http://sunsat.ee.sun.ac.za
[ANS thanks Garth Milne, ZR1AFH, for this information]
RADIO SPORT RS-13
Uplink 21.260 to 21.300 MHz CW/SSB
Downlink 145.860 to 145.900 MHz CW/SSB
Beacon 145.860 MHz
Launched: February 5, 1991 aboard a Russian Cosmos C launcher
Status: non-operational (last operational in mode-T)
RS-12 was re-activated in January 2001. Prior to this switch RS-13 was
operational (mode T), but was apparently turned off following the recent
RS-12 switch.
The latest information on RS-12 and RS-13 can be found on the AC5DK
RS-12/13 Satellite Operators page at:
http://www.qsl.net/ac5dk/rs1213/rs1213.html
[ANS thanks Kevin Manzer, AC5DK, for this information]
KITSAT KO-23
Uplink 145.900 MHz FM (9600-baud FSK)
Downlink 435.170 MHz FM
Broadcast Callsign HLO1-11
BBS HLO1-12
Launched: August 10, 1992 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Intermittent operation with the downlink
transmitter operating at unpredictable intervals.
Jim, AA7KC, reported that KO-23's downlink transmitter continues in
non-operational status. Jim says that KO-23 shows some signs of trying
to recover, but no useful data has been downlinked. The duration of this
status is unpredictable. No data has been received since
October 28, 2000.
KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ, reports (from the KO-23 control team) that part
of the problem with non-operation has been the power budget aboard the
satellite. "We are not sure when the bird might turn off again due to
insufficient power. The capability of the onboard power system has been
less and less," said Kim. HL0ENJ also noted that as of October 30, 2000
the onboard computer was reset and a reboot of operational software
is/was underway.
[ANS thanks Jim Weisenberger, AA7KC, and KyungHee Kim, HL0ENJ,
for KO-23 status information]
TECHSAT-1B GO-32
Downlink 435.225 MHz using HDLC telemetry
Launched: July 10, 1998 by a Russian Zenit rocket from the Baikonur
Cosmodrome. Status: Semi-operational.
Efforts were reported to be underway to bring GO-32 on line, however,
no information has been received by ANS (the last report was dated
November 1999).
Last reported, the satellite does transmit a 9600-baud burst every 30
seconds (the GO-32 beacon sends one short telemetry status
transmission of 44 bytes) and upon request the complete telemetry
buffer.
[ANS has no further information]
PANSAT PO-34
Uplink/downlink frequency (listed on the PanSat web site) 436.500 MHz
Launched: October 30, 1998 by the Shuttle Discovery. Status: Unknown
The satellite is not available for general uplink transmissions.
The Naval Postgraduate School developed PanSat. At the time of
launch, PanSat spread-spectrum digital transponders were to
be available to Amateur Radio operators along with software to utilize
this technology.
For more information, visit the official PanSat web site at:
http://www.sp.nps.navy.mil/pansat/
PanSat was the featured cover article on the July/August 1999 issue of
the AMSAT-NA Journal (the story written by KD6DRA and N7HPR).
[ANS has no further information]
DOVE DO-17
Downlink 145.825 MHz FM (1200-baud AFSK)
2401.220 MHz
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Non-operational.
DOVE stopped transmitting in March 1998. The 145.825 MHz and
2401.220 MHz downlinks are off the air and the satellite has not
responded to ground station control.
[ANS has no further information]
WEBERSAT WO-18
Downlink 437.104 MHz SSB (1200 baud PSK AX.25)
Launched: January 22, 1990 by an Ariane launcher from Kourou,
French Guiana. Status: Non-operational.
WO-18 was last reported to be in MBL mode after a software crash.
[ANS has no further information]
SEDSAT-1 SO-33
Downlink 437.910 MHz FM (9600-baud FSK)
Launched: October 24, 1998 by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral,
Florida. Status: Semi-operational.
The satellite is not currently available for uplink transmissions and the
image and transponder recovery efforts have been unsuccessful.
SedSat-1 signifies Students for the Exploration and Development of
Space (satellite number one).
SedSat-1 has downlinked months worth of telemetry data on the
performance of its electrical power system parameters. The Nickel
Metal Hydride batteries on the spacecraft were experimental and
experienced some abuse due to a power negative situation. This
information has provided NASA with useful information. With the
exception of the imaging system and the use of the transponders,
SedSat-1 has been judged a success.
For more information on SedSat-1 visit the satellite web site at the
following URL:
http://seds.uah.edu/projects/sedsat/sedsat.htm
[ANS has no further information]
/EX
--ANS END---
ANS would like to thank Mike Seguin, N1JEZ, ANS principal satellite
investigator, for helping provide current satellite information.
Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:
ans-editor@amsat.org
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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