SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-117.01 ARRL ANTES UP FOR PHASE 3-D HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 117.01 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1996 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-117.01 On Monday April 22nd, The American Radio Relay League sent a check to AMSAT-NA for $126,129 to AMSAT-NA. This fulfills the League's financial commitment to the Phase 3-D satellite project. In all, the ARRL has contributed $523,703 to the Project. This includes $363,022 raised from members during two fund drives and $161,681 from the ARRL itself to match individual contributions received during 1995. "While the Phase 3-D project could not exist without funding, the real heroes are the AMSAT volunteers in a number of countries who are donating their time and talents to the satellite's construction," said ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ. "If it were not for their dedication, Phase 3-D would still be a dream." As it now stands, Phase 3-D is anywhere from 8 to 12 months away. The satellite is being assembled and tested at a special facility set up by AMSAT in Orlando, Florida. (See "Phase 3-D Update," QST, Apr 1996, p 93). The League is among the Phase 3-D project's six major financial contributors. The others are the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club (DARC), the German Ministry of Science and Technology, AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NA. In all, 14 countries are participating in building Phase 3-D. A recent addition, France, recently delivered two L-band antenna reflectors. Also arriving recently, at the Phase 3-D Integration Laboratory in Orlando, Florida, were the completed flight-ready solar panels from Germany, one of the X-band horns from Finland and the two specific bearing structures (SBSs) manufactured in Utah. The flight main battery and the X-band traveling wave tube power amplifier (TWTA) are in Germany awaiting shipment. Despite the sizable amount of money raised by ARRL and others, individual contributions to the Phase 3-D effort are still welcomed and encouraged. ANS thanks the ARRL Letter for this bulletin item. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-117.02 JOEL HARRISON, WB5IGF, TO BE ARRL REP. ON PHASE 3-D HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 117.02 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1996 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-117.02 ARRL President Rod Stafford has designated Joel Harrison, WB5IGF, as the League's representative on the Phase 3-D Program Council. Joel, who is the former ARRL Delta Division Director and recently made a League Vice President, is well known to VHFers. He is active on most of the bands above 50 MHz, including participating considerable EME work. He has also operated on various amateur satellites over the years. The Phase 3-D Program Council, on which WB5IGF will serve, is currently made up of the six organizations which have so far made major financial contributions to the Project. It acts as the steering group for the Project. ARRL is the most recent member, having been voted in at the Council meeting held in Marburg Germany February 27th. The other organizations currently comprising the Council are, DARC, the German Ministry of Science and Technology, AMSAT-DL, AMSAT-UK and AMSAT-NA. Once the satellite is in orbit and operating, the Program Council is to determine operating policies that should be followed. David Sumner K1ZZ, ARRL General Manager represented the League at the February 27 meeting. ANS thanks the ARRL Letter for the material used in this bulletin. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-117.03 AMSAT-NA MEMBER TO ATTEND AO-13 COMMAND STATION MEETING HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 117.03 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1996 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-117.03 A meeting of the AO-13 Command Station Team will be held in Marburg Germany during the first half of May. In addition to the three current regular Team members, James Miller G3RUH, Peter Guelzow DB2OS and Graham Ratcliff VK5AGR, Stacey Mills WB4QKT of Charlottesville, Virginia, will be in attendance. Also present will be Karl Meinzer DJ4ZC, who conceived the Phase 3 series of amateur satellites, currently consisting of AO-10 and AO-13. The fourth in this series is, as everyone knows, Phase 3D, which is currently under construction. WB4QKT has spent several years training himself in the intricacies of amateur satellites, with a special emphasis on the specific needs of AO-13. This included assembling suitable equipment to receive and decode telemetry and analyze complex data. As a direct result of this significant effort, especially with respect to large fund of specialized knowledge he has acquired on the subject; Stacey, was asked by Miller and Guelzow, during the AMSAT-NA Annual Meeting and Space Symposium held in Orlando last October, to consider becoming an AO-13 Command Station. A qualified Command Station located in North America has long been sought, since it would fill an otherwise blank spot on the Globe. With Phase 3-D on the horizon, it is considered even more important that a properly equipped and qualified command facility be in place on this continent. Keith Pugh W5IU, AMSAT-NA's Vice President for Operations expressed extreme pleasure that Stacey Mills has been asked to fill this important position, a sentiment echoed AMSAT-NA President by Bill Tynan W3XO. Bill added, "I am sure that we are all grateful to Stacey Mills for the effort he has put into this endeavor, and wish him great success." /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-117.04 IT Video Patch from HQ HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 117.04 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1996 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-117.04 InstantTrack Patch #4 may also be obtained on diskette from AMSAT-NA headquarters for a minimum donation for $5.00 to cover the cost of distribution. Contact: AMSAT-NA 850 Sligo Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20910 USA voice: (301) 589-6062 fax: (301) 608-3410 This patch solves the incompatibility that InstantTrack 1.00 or 1.00b exhibits with certain newer video adapters. If you have the problem, you will see garbage at the bottom of the map screens where the text is supposed to be. If you don't see that garbage, this patch won't do you any good. InstantTrack Patch #4 remains available for free download from ftp://ftp.amsat.org/amsat/software/PC/InstantTrack/itpatch4.zip. It is also downloadable from CompuServe's HamNet forum as ITPATCH4.ZIP. Feel free to upload ITPATCH4.ZIP to any other archive of amateur radio software. ANS thanks Paul Williamson, KB5MU, for this update. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-117.05 Upgraded WISP files HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 117.05 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1996 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-117.05 Two upgraded WISP files have been uploaded to KO-23 and to the amsat ftp site. They are MSPE version 0.99j and PROCMAIL 0.95. The files are named MSPE0.99j.ZIP and PMAIL095.ZIP. They are on the ftp site now. They will be uploaded to KO-23 on the next few passes. These files include capability for Satgate use of the new filetype 18. They are for use with Windows 3.1. Since Roy is beta testing Windows 95 versions, he has not done any testing of these files. They have been tested extensively by G8TZJ however. As with any upgrade, always save your older versions until you are completely satisfied with the new ones. These versions may contain other minor changes as well so recheck the setup on each of them to be sure you have the options set as you want them. ANS thanks Roy Welch, W0SL, for this news item. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-117.06 Preparations for the maiden flight of Ariane-5 HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 117.06 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1996 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-117.06 Preparations for the maiden flight of Ariane-5 ESA/CNES JOINT STATUS REPORT No.3 Preparations for the maiden flight of Ariane-5 Paris, 26 April 1996 The campaign preparatory to the first Ariane-5 launch (501 flight) is continuing on the ELA-3 launch site at the Guiana Space Centre, Europe's Spaceport, in Kourou, French Guiana. The integrated launcher stages have been set up in flight configuration and the associated checks carried out. The few minor anomalies that came to light will give rise to further operations and checks in the coming days. After fitting of its protective casings, the launcher was transferred to the launch zone on 24 April. In the course of the launcher countdown rehearsal on 25 April, it was filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen and three synchronized sequences identical to those of a launch were performed. All the objectives of the rehearsal were achieved. The campaign for the Cluster satellites (501 flight passengers) resumed on 22April, with a view to starting launcher-satellite combined operations on 26April. Accordingly, and in view of the operations still to be carried out, the launch readiness review has been set for 22 and 23 May and the launch as from 25May. This timetable is compatible with the operational launch of Arianespace Flight86 scheduled for mid-May. The European Space Agency has delegated the management of its Ariane-5 program to CNES, the French space agency. ANS thanks Peter Guelzow for this news update. /EX SB SAT @ AMSAT $ANS-117.07 SATELLITE STATUS HR AMSAT NEWS SERVICE BULLETIN 117.07 FROM AMSAT HQ SILVER SPRING, MD, APRIL 26, 1996 TO ALL RADIO AMATEURS BT BID: $ANS-117.07 Both LO-19 and AO-16 are on and working. AO-16 is working fine. Try listening at 437.060 MHz for AO-16 and 437.135 MHz for Lusat at the start of the pass because of the Doppler shift. ANS thanks Dave Reeves, KF6PJ, for this update. RS-10/11 Operating normally RS-12/13 Operating normally RS-15 Operating normally Send your Satellite reports to bjarts@uslink.net or to wt0n@amsat.org /EX