[jamsat-news:2812] Re: ANS-108 AMSAT Weekly Bulletins for approval

AMSAT NEWS SERVICE
ANS-108

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.

Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to:

ans-editor@amsat.org

********************************************************************
* The AMSAT team is preparing for the 2010 Dayton Hamvention AMSAT *
*     Booth and activities. For the latest information go to:      *
*    http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/hamvention/2010/Dayton.php     *
********************************************************************

In this edition:
* BOD Nominations Due
* AO-51 New PL Operation Being Tested
* Deadline Extension To Reserve Rooms in AMSAT Block At Dayton
* Matching Funds Opportunity
* SO-67 Operation Expected to Resume Soon
* Dayton Happenings
* Satellite Shorts From All Over
* Arecibo on 432 MHz Moon Bounce (still time today)
* ARISS Status - 12 April 2010

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-108.01
BOD Nominations Due

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 108.01
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 18, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-108.01


It is time to submit nominations for the upcoming open seats on the 
AMSAT--NA Board of Directors.  A nomination requires either one Member 
Society or five current individual members to nominate an AMSAT member 
for the position.  Three director's terms expire this year:  
Tom Clark, K3IO, Lou McFadin, W5DID and Gould Smith, WA4SXM.  
Nominations must be in writing and mailed to:  
AMSAT, 850 Sligo Ave #600, Silver Spring MD 20910.  
They can arrive no later than June 15th.  

[ANS Thanks Martha for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-108.02
AO-51 New PL Operation Being Tested

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 108.02
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 18, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-108.02

AO-51 67Hz Access Tone Experiment in Progress

The AO-51 Control Team has enabled the new PL routine. This improved 
routine will turn the downlink on with an unsquelched uplink when it 
hears a 67 Hz tone. At present there is a tail of several minutes so 
the transmitter will stay on without hearing the tone.

AO-51 users are urged to program in a 67 Hz PL tone again, but this is
not absolutely required as long as someone else in the footprint has 
already enabled the satellite with the tone. It also means if you are 
the first person in the footprint (not very likely in North America, 
Europe, or Japan) you might not hear the satellite until after it hears 
67 Hz for a few seconds.

Mark, N8MH commented on the new operating mode, "The transmitter shuts 
off (for about a second, maybe less) after 2 minutes, even if people 
are talking with a 67Hz tone. So, a new 120 second period will not start 
until the current one ends."

Andre, ZS2BK observed, "On a south to north pass into ZS, the bird was 
off and was switched on with the tone. It stayed on for 120 seconds. It
goes off momentarily as a tone equipped station is transmitting."

The latest AO-51 Control Team news can be viewed on-line at:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/echo/CTNews.php

[ANS thanks the AO-51 Control Team for the above information]


/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-108.03
Deadline Extension To Reserve Rooms in AMSAT Block At Dayton

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 108.03
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 18, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-108.03

Again, a friendly reminder that the cutoff date for the 
AMSAT block of rooms in Dayton has been extended until 
April 20th.  If you are planning to stay with us, 
please call me at 301-589-6062 to make your reservation.  
I will need a credit card number to hold the room.

[ANS thanks Martha for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-108.04
Matching Funds Opportunity

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 108.04
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 18, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-108.04

Matching Funds Opportunity

The Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) will match one-for-one 
any donations made to AMSAT between now and June 30, 2010 up to a 
maximum of $5,000. You can make your donation count even more.  
Now is the time to accept the DARA challenge. Please support 
"Getting AMSAT Back into Space" and help us raise the funds 
needed for our next satellite project.

AMSAT's Project "Fox" is a cubesat that will provide a 2 meter-70 
Centimeter FM transponder that will match the ground performance of 
AO-51. You can send your donation to: AMSAT, 850 Sligo Ave #600, 
Silver Spring MD 20910. If you prefer, you can call Martha at the 
AMSAT office (US call toll free at 888-322-6728 or 301-589-6062) 
and contribute with a credit card.


[ANS thanks Martha for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-108.05
SO-67 Operation Expected to Resume Soon

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 108.05
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 18, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-108.05

SO-67 Operation Expected to Resume Soon

The SA AMSAT web page at http://www.amsatsa.org.za/ says, "Amateur 
Radio operation is expected to return soon. Keep an eye on the SA-
AMSAT web page. All requests for SO67 operation will be handled by 
SA AMSAT and schedules will be published on http://www.amsatsa.org.za. 
Details on how to apply for operation in your area will be announced 
soon."

This month saw the transfer of the control of the satellite from Sun-
space to the CSIR’s Satellite Application Centre at Hartebeeshoek. 
Sunspace will continue working on the commission of some of the ex-
perimental payload which include the NMMU string experiment, the DOC 
communication experiment and the VLF experiment from UKZN. 

Although a hugely successful mission thus far, the past six months 
have been challenging for Engineers at Sunspace and unfortunately not 
without incident.   

“We suffered a permanent loss of the Z-axis reaction wheel early on 
during commissioning” Jan-Albert Koekemoer commissioning engineer at 
Sunspace said. We adapted the  Attitude Determination and Control Sys-
tem (ADCS) algorithms so as to still allow for controlled imaging with 
the remaining two wheels - Yaw-control was then slightly impeded and 
the off-Nadir Roll angle limited to ±20°.”

”Due to a power system anomaly, we have also lost access to one of the 
two CCD control boards. Each control board interfaces to one three-
colour CCD. The board we lost contains the Green, Xantrophyl and Blue 
spectral bands. The remaining board contains the Red, Red-Edge and Near-
Infrared bands.”

”We recently also lost the Y-axis reaction wheel (most likely also 
due to a power distribution failure), this meant the loss of three-axis 
control, but amazingly we can still take high-resolution images as 
before."  An image captured by SUMBANDILASAT can be seen at:
  http://www.amsatsa.org.za/

[ANS thanks SA AMSAT for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-108.06
Dayton Happenings

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 108.06
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 18, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-108.06

AMSAT/TAPR Banquet
Dr. Bob McGwier will be the speaker at the 2010 AMSAT/TAPR Banquet. 
Bob has been a very active volunteer in both organizations for many 
years and always delivers an enteraining and informative presentation.  
Reserved tickets may be ordered via the AMSAT Web site store or by 
calling Martha at the AMSAT office  (301) 589-6062.

========================================================================
AMSAT Forum at Dayton
The 2010 AMSAT Forum at the Dayton Hamvention will be on:

Saturday, May 15 from 11:15 am to 1:30 pm in Forum Room 5

Alan Biddle, WA4SCA will moderate the Forum

Speakers

Barry Baines, WD4ASW, AMSAT President, "AMSAT Status Report"
What is happening within AMSAT? AMSAT President Barry Baines will 
highlight current activities within AMSAT and discuss some of the 
challenges facing the organization.

Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, AMSAT VP Operations,"AMSAT Satellite Operations 
and International Satellite Operations".
Drew, AMSAT VP of Operations, will discuss operational AMSAT satellites 
as well as update us on new and future International Satellites.

Mike Forsythe, AC2V, "Integrating Satellite Operations into DXpeditions"
Mike, K4T Team Leader will present the K4T DXpedition and how to have 
satellite operations as a major part of DXpeditions, involving youth 
and making it all work on green power!

Gould Smith, WA4SXM,AMSAT VP User Services, "Getting ARISSat-1 
Ready to Fly".
Gould is the AMSAT Project Manager for ARISSat-1 and will talk about 
the current status of the satellite project, testing and the delivery 
of two satellites to Russia in July.

Alex Harvilchuck, N3NP, "NextGen CubeSat Program Update".
Alex, a Systems Engineer with IBM, is the NextGen CubeSat Program 
Manager and will be providing an update on the Program.
A team of Binghamton University engineering students have been 
modifying the power systems from ARISSat-1 for use in a 3U CubeSat, 
with a U/V linear transponder, for AMSAT.


[ANS Thanks, Gould, WA4SXM, for the above information]

/EX

SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-108.07
Satellite Shorts From All Over

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 108.07
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 18, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-108.07

Satellite Shorts From All Over

+ K4T DXpedition video of the recent DXpedition to Dry Tortugas was 
  unique in being entirely wind powered and having two amateur radio 
  satellite stations. They have posted a video at: 
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifoDk36CaWA

+ Gavin, M1BXF reports the Camb-hams, the social side of the Cambridge 
  Repeater Group (ex Pye telecoms group) will be active on FM and SSB 
  satellites as GS3PYE/P  from grid IO67nt on the Island of Harris, 
  Scotland between May 1st and May 15th. More information can found on 
  their DXpedition webpage: 
  http://dx.camb-hams.com/dx-peditions/harris-dxpedition-10/

+ The 2010 CubeSat Developers' Workshop takes place this week at 
  Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo between April 21-23. A link to the 
  webcast of workshop forums has been posted at:
  http://www.cubesat.org/index.php/workshops/upcoming-workshops

+ The Mexican Federal Telecommunications Commission ("CoFeTel"), 
  Mexico's "FCC", announced today that hams in Mexico have been 
  authorized the use of the 4B prefix for 2010, to commemorate 
  both the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence and the 100th 
  anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. With this in mind, maybe 
  we will hear some of our Mexican friends using this prefix on the 
  satellites throughout the rest of 2010.

+ The Houston AMSAT Net simulcasts via an Icecast streaming server
  at this link: radio.arert.net:8000/amsat.m3u This net meets on 
  Tuesday 8PM Central Time (Wednesday 0100 UTC). The audio is also
  available on Echolink in the *AMSAT* conference.

[ANS thanks everyone for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-108.08
Arecibo on 432 MHz Moon Bounce (still Time Today)

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 108.08
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 18, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-108.08

The Arecibo Observatory Amateur Radio Club will be putting the 
1000-foot radio telescope on the air for 432 MHz EME from 
April 16-18.

It can be heard with a small hand-held yagi pointed at the moon.
The scheduled times of operation are:

April 18: 1840 - 2125 UTC(Today)

Callsign: KP4AO

Tx Frequency: 432.045 MHz

Rx Frequency: 432.050 to 432.060+

Tx power: 400 W

Antenna gain: 60 dBi

System noise temp: 120 K (cold sky)

System noise temp: 330 K (when pointed at moon)

KP4AO can be heard with a small hand-held yagi pointed 
at the moon and a good receiver. A 15 dBi antenna and 
100 W will be enough to work us on CW.

Operators at KP4AO will do their best to work as many 
stations as possible. Each session will start with a brief 
announcement and CQ in SSB. SSB QSOs may continue for 30 
minutes to an hour, if the QSO rate remains high.

The mode will be shifted to CW as soon as it is judged that 
higher QSO rates would result.

We will listen for calls at frequencies 5-15 kHz higher than 
our own, and even higher if QRM warrants. Callers who 
s-p-r-e-a-d o-u-t are more likely to be copied.

If you've already worked us in any mode, please do not call 
again -- give others a chance.

If we call "CQ QRP", we will listen for stations running 100 W 
or less to a single yagi. Please do not answer such a CQ if you 
are running more power or have a larger antenna.

On April 18, if we reach a condition where most calling stations 
have been worked, and we judge that operating in the digital mode 
JT65B would produce a higher QSO rate, we will switch to JT65B.

Note that any of these planned operating strategies may be changed 
as circumstances dictate.

We are extremely fortunate to have been granted access to the world's 
largest radio telescope for this amateur radio good-will event. 
We look forward to working as many stations as possible in the alloted time!

[ANS thanks John, KB1MGI, for the above information]

/EX


SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-108.09
ARISS Status - 12 April 2010

AMSAT News Service Bulletin 108.09
  From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD.
April 12, 2010
To All RADIO AMATEURS
BID: $ANS-108.09

Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) Status Report
April 12, 2010

1.	Upcoming School Contact

An Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact has been
scheduled 
for Jessup Elementary School in Houston, Texas on Monday, April 19 at 18:43
UTC. This 
will be a telebridge connection through ground station WH6PN in Hawaii. The
school has 
incorporated the ARISS activity into its curriculum, specifically focusing
on science, 
math, and language arts instruction across the pre-kindergarten to fourth
grade levels.

2.	Astronaut Timothy Creamer Speaks with Italian Students via ARISS

On Tuesday, April 6, on-orbit astronaut Timothy Creamer, KC5WKI participated
in an 
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact with
students from 
Scuola Primaria De Gasperi in Bari, Italy. The contact was held at the
Cittadella 
Mediterranea della Scienza, which was designed to stimulate interest of the
general 
public and especially youth, in fields of science and technology. To prepare
for the 
contact, students studied principles of radio communications and space
missions and 
were given a presentation on ARISS by ARISS mentor Francesco De Paolis,
IK0WGF. The 
event drew an audience of more than 100 students, teachers and guests as
well as 
members of the media. The contact audio and video were distributed
throughout 
Europe and America by webcast, receiving 500 connections.

3.	ISS Ham Debrief Held with Astronaut Jeff Williams

Expedition 21/22 astronaut Jeff Williams, KD5TVQ participated in an Amateur
Radio 
on the International Space Station (ARISS) debrief session on Friday, April
9.  
The feedback he provided on the ISS Ham radio equipment and school contacts
will 
help the ARISS team improve program operations.

4.	ARISSat Presentation to be Given at Dayton Hamvention

Dayton Hamvention 2010 will be held at the Hara Arena Complex in Dayton,
Ohio on 
May 14 - 16. The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and the Radio Amateur 
Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) will both man exhibit booths at the event.
Gould Smith, 
WA4SXM, AMSAT Project Manager for ARISSat-1, plans to give a presentation at

the AMSAT Forum titled, "Getting ARISSat-1 Ready to Fly."  The Dayton
Hamvention 
is an internationally attended amateur radio convention that draws crowds 
of 25,000 annually. For more information on Dayton Hamvention 2010, 
go to: http://www.hamvention.org/

5.	Four Women in Space Hold Amateur Radio Licenses

Shuttle STS-131 launched on April 5, carrying three women into space: 
Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, KE5DAT, Stephanie Wilson, KD5DZE and JAXA 
astronaut Naoko Yamazaki, KE5DAS. Upon docking with the ISS, they joined 
Expedition 23 crew member Tracy Caldwell-Dyson, KF5DBF. This was the first 
time that four women have been in space, and all are licensed hams. 
Caldwell-Dyson will participate in her first Amateur Radio on the 
International Space Station (ARISS) contact with Jessup Elementary 
School in Houston on April 19. Let's hope they like to make random 
contacts to give the Amateur Community some excitement.

[ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information]

/EX


73,
This week's ANS Editor,
Dee Interdonato, NB2F
nb2f at amsat dot org





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