AMSAT NEWS SERVICE ANS-121 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.
********************************************************************* NOTICE: Requesting Volunteers to Help at the AMSAT booth at Dayton.* Gould, WA4SXM, is looking for volunteers to help man the AMSAT booth* during the 2011 Hamvention in Dayton. People are needed all 3 days * for 2 hour shifts. Please send the days and times you are available * to help as well as how many shifts you are willing to work to * wa4sxm at amsat.org. * ********************************************************************* Please send any amateur satellite news or reports to: [email protected] In this edition: * Dayton Update * AO-51 Status * OSCAR-11 REPORT 27 April 2011 * 2nd ARISS Amateur Radio Station Installed in ISS Columbus Module * Satellite Shorts From All Over * ARISS Status - 25 April 2011 * UT1FG/MM Photos Posted on the Web * Radio Hams on Endeavour's final flight SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-121.01 Dayton Update AMSAT News Service Bulletin 121.01 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 1, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-121.01 Dayton Update Hamvention is only 3 weeks away, please join AMSAT at all of the activities planned during the event. Stop by the booth to meet and talk with your AMSAT Officers and Board members. See the AMSAT Web site for complete details. As usual we have a nice renewal/new member premium this year. Thursday, 19 May booth setup and Get-Together at Tickets Pub Friday, May 20 Booth open with new items, ARISSat and Fox exhibits, visit by astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC AMSAT/TAPR Banquet with renowned voice codex expert David Rowe, VK5DGR. His talk will be on The Village Telco. Reservations for the Banquet close on Monday May 16th. Use the AMSAT store to make your reservations. Satellite demonstrations Saturday Booth open with new items, ARISSat and Fox exhibits, visit by astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC Satellite demonstrations AMSAT Forum 11:15 - 1:30 in Forum Room 5 Sunday Booth open with new items, ARISSat and Fox exhibits, visit by astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC Satellite demonstrations [ANS thanks Gould, WA4SXM, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-121.02 AO-51 Status AMSAT News Service Bulletin 121.02 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 1, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-121.02 For now, it looks like the PL tone management (and changes to other settings) has helped to keep AO-51 running and supporting normal operations. We are now running around 475 mW of power out on 435.300 MHz. Over the last few days, some of you on the east coast of the U.S. have probably heard command stations downloading telemetry files on the 435.300 frequency. You can expect this to happen every few days; sometimes in the AM, sometimes in the PM. Because it's 9600 baud packet, it sounds like a carrier or open squelch with a "SSSSSHHHHHHHHHH" sound to it. If you hear that sound, there isn't much use in trying to uplink; it means we're collecting telemetry and the voice repeater is off for the moment. Wait for the "SSSHHHHHHH" sound to go away, and you'll know the voice repeater is active again. The current power budget makes it very hard to run both transmitters at the same time. Also, we are trying to keep the amount of commanding to a minimum, so using the single transmitter for both voice and telemetry is our current approach. We'll see how it goes. It does mean that it eats into voice o perations a little, but the trade off is worth it-both for the short and long terms. In the meantime, keeping using our old bird when it's active! We don't want to take it for granted... 73 on behalf of the Command Team, Mark L. Hammond [N8MH] [ANS thanks Mark, N8MH, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-121.03 OSCAR-11 REPORT 27 April 2011 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 121.03 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 1, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-121.03 OSCAR-11 REPORT 27 April 2011 This report covers the period from 02 March to 27 April 2011 . During this time the satellite has been heard from 03 to 13 March, 24 March to 03 April, 13 April to 23 April 2011. It is expected to switch-on again 04 May until 14 May. Excellent signals have been reported from stations located around the world, and good copy obtained from decoded telemetry frames. Transmissions are controlled by the watchdog timer, which has a 20.7 day cycle time, 10.35 days on, 10,35 days off. Solar eclipses occur during every orbit, when signals are weaker. This indicates that there is still some capacity remaining in the battery. The on-board clock is now very stable. It gained 12 seconds during during the current reporting period. This is comparable with its accuracy when the satellite was fully operational, when it gained approximately one minute per year. However, there is still an accumulated loss of 309 days, which has occurred during eclipses of the last few years. The VHF beacon frequency is 145.826 MHz. AFSK FM ASCII Telemetry Reception reports have been received from Horatio CX8AF, Jerry WB5LHD and Stefano IZ1GRJ. Many thanks. At the present time, while OSCAR-11 is operating in a predictable way, I no longer need direct reports or files by e-mail. However, could all listeners continue to enter their reports on the general satellite status website http://oscar.dcarr.org/index.php. This is a very convenient and easy to use facility, which shows the current status of all the amateur satellites, and is of use to everyone. Reports around the expected times of switch-on and switch-off are of special interest, especially for times 12:00 - 17:00 and 22:00 - 07:00 UTC, to when the satellite is out-of-range in the UK. A longer version of this report report is available on my website, and new listeners to OSCAR-11 should read this for further information. The URL is www.g3cwv.co.uk/oscar11.htm . This page contains a links to the longer report, a short audio clip to help you identify the satellite and a file of the last telemetry received. The website also contains an archive of news & telemetry data which is updated from time to time, and details about using a soundcard or hardware demodulators for data capture. There is also software for capturing data, and decoding ASCII telemetry. 73 Clive G3CWV [email protected] (please replace the x's by g3cwv) [ANS thanks Clive, G3CWV, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-121.04 2nd ARISS Amateur Radio Station Installed in ISS Columbus Module AMSAT News Service Bulletin 121.04 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 1, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-121.04 2nd ARISS Amateur Radio Station Installed in ISS Columbus Module NASA reported this week that Astronaut Cady Coleman completed the installation of the original ARISS Ericsson radio in the Columbus Orbital Laboratory, connecting it to a 2 m/70 cm antenna installed last year via EVA and creating the second amateur radio station aboard the ISS. Astronaut Paolo Nespoli checked out the radio's audio for proper functioning by talking with ham operators on the ground. In addition to this second station, the Amateur Radio - Columbus (ARCOL) Working Group has already accomplished the assembly and installation of the L- and S-band patch antennas mounted on the exterior of the Columbus Module to be used with future radio sys- tems to be launched to the ISS. [ANS thanks the ARISS team for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-121.05 Satellite Shorts From All Over AMSAT News Service Bulletin 121.05 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 1, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-121.05 Satellite Shorts From All Over + Central States VHF Society Vice President Kent Britain, WA5VJB has issued a call for papers for the CSVHFS Proceedings. Kent says the deadline is May 20. The CSVHFS is trying to have an emphasis on smaller papers this year such as 1 to 2 page "Hints and Kinks" covering radio modifications, rover and contest oper- ations, antenna construction, etc. Kent says there are plenty of open slots and interested contributors should contact him at [email protected] immediately. + Word has been received that the XF2P HF, 50 MHz and Satellite operation initially planned from the Isla de Lobos, Veracruz State, Mexico has been forced to revise their plans. The group's webpage (http://xf2p.puebladx.org/XF2P/Bienvenida.html) reports that bad weather has closed down navigation to the island. The group plans to operate from Riachuelos, Veracruz, Mexico between April 28 through May 1. XE1AY will be conducting satellite operations from rare grids nearby. + JD1 - OGASAWARA, AS-031 satellite operation is planned when Makoto, JD1BLY (JI5RPT), Harry,JD1BMH (JG7PSJ), and Masaru,JD1BMT (JE4SMQ), are staying on Chichijima (AS-031) again by the end of April and be- ginning of May. Team members will stay there for different period of times. You can expect activities from: JD1BLY: Apr 30 until May 7 JD1BMT: Apr 30 until May 4 JD1BMH: May 4-13 Activities are planned in CW, SSB and digital modes on 160m-6m and via satellite. You can visit the websites of the OPs for news and logs: JD1BLY: http://www.ji5rpt.com/jd1 JD1BMH: http://sapphire.es.tohoku.ac.jp/jd1bmh JD1BMT: http://homepage3.nifty.com/maaberu/logsjd1/logsearch.html QSL cards should be sent via bureau or direct to their homecalls. + Remember to listen for the Camb-Hams members Bob G1SAA, Terry G3VFC, Martin G3ZAY, Colin G4ERO, Colin G8TMV, Mark M0MJH, Rob M0VFC, Steve M1ACB and Gavin M1BXF who will be active between May 1-8 the Isle of Arran. Website: http://dx.camb-hams.com/. + NASA is collecting names to be put on a microchip that'll be onboard the Mars Science Laboratory rover heading to Mars in the fall of 2011. Some Radio Amateurs have been adding their call sign to last name field. You can add your name and call on the Mars microchip at: http://tinyurl.com/marsham. [ANS thanks everyone for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-121.06 ARISS Status - 25 April 2011 AMSAT News Service Bulletin 121.06 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 1, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-121.06 1. Upcoming School Contacts The Italian Air Force Academy in Pozzuoli, Italy has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Thursday, April 28 at 07:04 UTC via telebridge station LU1CGB in Argentina. This contact has been integrated into the aerospace engineering curriculum for cadets and will draw interest from the scientific community. Ecole Primaire de Larochette (Fiels), Larochette (Fiels), Luxembourg has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, April 29 at 10:12 UTC via station WH6PN in Hawaii. School lesson plans have covered space exploration, communications and human spaceflight. Field trips, radio demonstrations and hands-on activities have been planned. The radio contact with the ISS will be the highlight of this science program. Scuola Secondaria I Grado M.Maccioni Nuoro, Nuoro, Italy, has been scheduled for an Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact on Friday, April 29 at 15:56 UTC via station IK1SLD in Italy. The contact will be held in collaboration with the Astronomical Association of Nuoro during Spring Festival and has been integrated in the Maccioni students studies of astronomy and space flight. 2. Recent ARISS Contacts On Monday, April 18, an ARISS contact was held between youth visiting the Toyota Childrens Scientific Expedition in Toyota, Aichi, Japan and Cady Coleman, KC5ZTH on the ISS. The Scientific Expedition teaches children about science and engineering through the various experiments it offers and on this day, the ARISS contact was the featured event, drawing approximately 100 people including representatives from four newspapers. Video is available: http://www.ariss.jp/toyota/video/ARISS.wmv On-orbit astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZØJPA participated in a successful contact with students from Primary School Dante Alighieri De Neuquen located in Neuquen Patagonia, Argentina, on Monday, April 18. Four hundred students and guests attended the event and were pleased that Nespoli continued answering their questions over a second ISS pass. The contact was performed with support from CETRA (Science Education and Technology united by Ham Radio), a delegation of AMSAT-Argentina which promotes space activities and amateur radio in schools, using station LU8YY. This activity was integrated into the science and technology curriculum. On Saturday, April 23, Istituto Comprensivo Dedalo 2000 Scuola secondaria di Cingia de Botti students in Solarolo Rainerio, Italy spoke with astronaut Paolo Nespoli, IZØJPA via an ARISS contact, using telebridge station W6SRJ in California for the radio link. Nearly 150 students, teachers and guests turned out for the event during which Nespoli answered 18 space-related questions. The contact was the culmination of science lessons covering astronomy, physics of radio waves, the history of space flights and the history of radio communications. 3. ARISS International Team Meeting Held The ARISS International Team held its monthly teleconference on Tuesday, April 19. A status was given on the radio that will be installed in the Columbus Module and a discussion was held about issues concerning the recent Gagarin Commemorative Event. Minutes have been posted. See: https://www.rac.ca/ariss/arisstel2011-04-19.htm 4. ARISS in ARRL QST The American Radio Relay League (ARRL) included an ARISS item in its May QST. The In Brief column discusses how Astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC, will be attending the ARRL Expo exhibits at the Dayton Hamvention as a special guest of ARRL and AMSAT. 5. AMSAT Update on ARISSat-1 The AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) News Service put out a bulletin (ANS-114) on April 24 that gave an update on ARISSat-1. The item talks about the satellites battery status and how this affected its activation during the Gagarin Event on April 12. See: http://amsat.org/pipermail/ans/2011/000508.html [ANS thanks Carol, KB3LKI, for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-121.07 UT1FG/MM Photos Posted on the Web AMSAT News Service Bulletin 121.07 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 1, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-121.07 UT1FG/MM Photos Posted on the Web John, K8YSE invites you to view the photos he has posted on his web page showing Yuri, UT1FG/MM aboard his ship the MV Mottler. Yuri has operated maritime mobile on his sea voyages between Russia, Europe, North America, Central America, and South America sailing across the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific Oceans. John explains, "Yuri, UT1FG/MM, is currently in port at San Juan Puerto Rico. Walt, WP4T and his family drove over to San Juan to attempt to see him. They were successful and were treated to a red carpet tour of his ship the Mottler. They took pictures and they are available for viewing on my website: http://www.papays.com/sat";. The Mottler is very modern and was just built in 2009. Yuri has log- ged many miles on it He will fly home to the Ukraine later this week. [ANS thanks John, K8YSE and Walt, WP4T for the above information] /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-121.08 Radio Hams on Endeavour's final flight AMSAT News Service Bulletin 121.08 From AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD. May 1, 2011 To All RADIO AMATEURS BID: $ANS-121.08 Radio Hams on Endeavour's final flight Radio Amateurs Greg Chamitoff KD5PKZ, Mike Fincke KE5AIT and Robert Vittori IZ6ERU will be on the Space Shuttle Endeavour when it blasts off. The launch will be broadcast on NASA TV. During the 14-day mission, Endeavour will deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) and spare parts including two S-band communica- tions antennas, a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for Dextre. This will be the 36th shuttle mission to the International Space Station. Follow these links for additional information" NASA TV http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/ NASA - STS-134: Endeavour http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/134_flash/ NASA Podcast - STS-134: What's Going Up http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/whatsgoingupsts134.html [ANS thanks the Southgate ARC News Site 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, Dee Interdonato, NB2F nb2f 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
