AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-132 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: [email protected] In this edition: * AO-51 Scehdule for May 2009 * 2009 AMSAT Field Day Rules * AMSAT DXpedition Loaner Gear Available * Opening on AO-51 Operations Committee * AMSAT Awards * ARISS Status - 27 April 2009 SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-132.01 AO-51 Schedule for May 2009 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 132.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 3, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-132.01 Due to rapidly increasing eclipse lengths throughout May, we need to keep the satellite in "normal" mode for Whole Orbit Data (WOD) collection via the BBS. Power output will steadily be decreased throughout the month. April 27 - May 31 FM Repeater, V/U Uplink: 145.920 MHz FM Downlink: 435.300 MHz FM 9k6 BBS and Telemetry Uplink: 1268.700 MHz FM Downlink: 435.150 MHz FM 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Operations [ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-132.02 2009 AMSAT Field Day Rules AMSAT News Service Bulletin 132.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 3, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-132.02 The AMSAT Field Day 2009 event is open to all Amateur Radio operators. Amateurs are to use the exchange as specified in ARRL rules for Field Day. The AMSAT competition is to encourage the use of all amateur satellites, both analog and digital. Note that no points will be credited for any contacts beyond the ONE allowed via each single-channel FM satellite. Operators are encouraged not to make any extra contacts via theses satellites (Ex: AO-27 & SO-50). CW contacts and digital contacts are worth three points as outlined below. 1. Analog Transponders ARRL rules apply, except: - Each phone, CW, and digital segment ON EACH SATELLITE TRANSPONDER is considered to be a separate band. - CW and digital (RTTY, PSK-31, etc.) contacts count THREE points each. - Stations are limited to one (1) completed QSO on any single channel FM satellite. If AO-51 has the V/U and L/S modes turned on, one contact each is allowed. If the PBBS is on - see Pacsats below, ISS (1 phone and 1 digital), Contacts with the ISS crew will count for one contact if they are active. PCSat (I, II, etc.) (1 digital), - The use of more than one transmitter at the same time on a single satellite transponder is prohibited. 2. Digital Transponders For the Pacsats (GO-32, AO-51) or Store and Forward hamsats, each satellite is considered a separate band. Do not post "CQ" messages. Simply upload ONE greeting message to each satellite and download as many greeting messages as possible from each satellite. The subject of the uploaded file should be posted as Field Day Greetings, addressed to ALL. The purpose of this portion of the competition is to demonstrate digital satellite communications to other Field Day participants and observers. Do not reply to the Field Day Greetings addressed to ALL. The following uploads and downloads count as three-point digital contacts. (a) Upload of a satellite Field Day Greetings file (one per satellite). (b) Download of Satellite Field Day Greetings files posted by other stations. Downloads of non- Field Day files or messages not addressed to ALL are not to be counted for the event. Save DIR listings and message files for later "proof of contact." Please note AMSAT uploaded messages do not count for QSO points under the ARRL rules. Satellite digipeat QSO's and APRS short-message contacts are worth three points each, but must be complete verified two-way exchanges. Remember, only one digipeat contact is allowed for the ISS and other satellites in this mode. The use of terrestrial gateway stations or internet gateways (i.e. EchoLink, IRLP, etc.) to uplink/downlink is not allowed. 3. Operating Class Stations operating portable and using emergency power (as per ARRL Field Day rules) are in a separate operating class from those at home connected to commercial power. On the report form simply check off Emergency or Commercial for the Power Source and be sure to specify your ARRL operating class (2A, 1C, etc.). AND FINALLY... The Satellite Summary Sheet should be used for submission of the AMSAT Field Day competition and be received by KK5DO (email or postal mail) by 11:59 P.M. CDT, Monday, July 13, 2009. The preferred method for submitting your log is via e-mail to [email protected] or [email protected]. You may also use the postal service but give plenty of time for your results to arrive by the submission date. Add photographs or other interesting information so that can be used an article for the Journal. You will receive an email back (within one or two days) from me when I receive your email submission. If you do not receive a confirmation message, then I have not received your submission. Try sending it again or send it to my other email address. If mailing your submission, the address is: Bruce Paige, KK5DO Director of Awards and Contests PO Box 310 Alief, TX 77411-0310. Certificates will be awarded to the first-place emergency power/portable station at the AMSAT General Meeting and Space Symposium in October, 2009. Certificates will also be awarded to the second and third place portable/emergency operation in addition to the first-place home station running on emergency power. Stations submitting high, award-winning scores will be requested to send in dupe sheets for analog contacts and message listings for digital downloads. Additional information and a copy of the submission form is available at http://www.amsatnet.com/2009fd.pdf [ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-132.03 AMSAT DXpedition Loaner Gear Available AMSAT News Service Bulletin 132.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 3, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-132.03 AMSAT DXpedition loaner gear is available to members for use activating a DXCC entity or rare grids such as on a cruise. Currently AMSAT has two Arrow antennas, and a D7 handheld available for loan. Please contact Drew at [email protected] for more information. [ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-132.04 Opening on AO-51 Operations Committee AMSAT News Service Bulletin 132.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 3, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-132.04 We currently have an opening on the AO-51 Operations Committee for an enthusiastic individual interested in helping with scheduling, answering questions about operations, and supporting AO-51 in general. Interested parties are required to be an AMSAT member in good standing, have regular access to email, and be experienced in many of the modes in which AO-51 operates in order to be considered. This is an excellent opportunity to get involved with AMSAT for those new to volunteering for the organization. I don't expect to announce the new member until after Dayton. Also, please be patient while waiting for a response. Email the Operations Committee at [email protected], directly to me at [email protected], or see me in person at Dayton. 73, Drew KO4MA AMSAT-NA VP Operations [ANS thanks Drew, KO4MA, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-132.05 AMSAT Awards AMSAT News Service Bulletin 132.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 3, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-132.05 There continues to be a very high interest in AMSAT Awards which means a lot of new operators on the satellites. We would like to welcome the following to the satellite community. They have made their first satellite contact and are now members of the AMSAT Satellite Communicators Club. Benigno Gomez, XE2YBG Chris Lemon, KB9CL Evangelos Kafetzopoulos SV1EEK James Cutter, W7OJS Jim McCullough, KI4TWA Steve Niles, N5EN The following have earned the AMSAT Satellite Communications Achievement Award. L. Val Hanney, KN7D #486 Benigno Gomez, XE2YBM #487 Steve Niles, N5EN #488 (We are approaching number 500 on this award) To see all the awards visit http://www.amsat.org or http://www.amsatnet.com Bruce Paige, KK5DO AMSAT Director Contests and Awards [ANS thanks Bruce, KK5DO, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-132.06 ARISS Status - 27 April 2009 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 132.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 3, 2009 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-132.06 1. Ashland Contact Successful On Monday, April 20, St. Edward School in Ashland, Ohio experienced an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact. Koichi Wakata, KC5ZTA answered 13 questions posed to him by 12 children as approximately 170 students and teachers looked on. The audio was fed into the EchoLink AMSAT and JK1ZRW servers and received four connections from the U.S., England and Brazil. Television channel 39 and the Times-Gazette both covered the event. The newspaper article may be found here: http://www.times-gazette.com/news/article/4570900 2. Astronaut Training Status Astronaut Mike Fossum took and passed his amateur radio license exam on Wednesday, April 15. His new callsign is KF5AQG. 3. CQ Magazine Article on ARISS Contact Bob Hopkins, WB2UDC wrote an article on the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact between youth attending the Berkeley Heights Recreation Summer Playground in New Jersey and Expedition 17s Greg Chamitoff, KD5PKZ. NPARC (New Providence Amateur Radio Club) assisted with the contact which took place on August 13, 2008. The story, Believe in Your Dreams - Anatomy of an ARISS Contact, was published in the April 2009 issue of CQ Magazine. 4. Marcelino Canino Canino Contact Video Marcelino Canino Canino Middle School in Dorado, Puerto Rico, a 2005 NASA Explorer School, experienced a successful Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on March 31. The video of students speaking with Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP/HA5SIK is now available on YouTube. See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toOAAxEhKRA 5. Article on Simonyi Contacts Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) member Maurice-André Vigneault, VE3VIG wrote a short story for the Ottawa Valley Mobile Radio Club (OVMRC) news bulletin, The Rambler and Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) magazine, TCA. The article is about contacts made between the Canada Science and Technology Museum's VE3JW Amateur Radio Exhibit and Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi, KE7KDP/HA5SIK during his recent ISS flight. Space Contact may be found on page 7 of the April 2009 issue of The Rambler. See: http://www.pdfdownload.org/pdf2html/pdf2html.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ovmrc.on. ca%2FRambler%2FRam2009-04.pdf&images=yes [ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information] /EX In addition to regular membership, AMSAT 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. Application forms are available from the AMSAT Office. 73, This week's ANS Editor, Lee McLamb, KU4OS ku4os at amsat dot org _______________________________________________ Sent via [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author. Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program! Subscription settings: http://amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb
